Lot Essay
Koekkoek's meticulously painted landscapes with church spires in the distance, majestic oak trees, and dramatic cloud-filled skies, occupy a prominent place in his oeuvre and reveal a dependence on the work of the 17th Century Dutch master Jacob Ruisdael. Other 17th Century masters also influenced Koekkoek; for example, the coloured accents on the clothing of the riders, ferrymen, girls and herdsmen who people his landscapes hark back to Nicolaes Berchem.
The present lot dates to the early 1850s when the artist's romanticism reached its peak: his compositions became more articulate, complex and chromatically powerful compared ot his earlier work. The dominating architecture of the castle on the riverbank provides a visual counterweight to the heavy vegetation on the left, framing the river and leading the eye from the group of figures in the foreground into the depth of the composition. The artist controls the balance of the composition meticulously, every element carefully placed, creating a linear harmony of feigned simplicity.
Koekkoek's work from the 1850s often carries a label and his seal on the reverse, an acknowledgement of authenticity forced upon the artist by his great fame. The present lot carries not only a label in Dutch but also in English, indicating that it was meant for the foreign market and reflecting the artist's international acclaim and appeal.
The present lot was recorded in 1962 in the archive of Friedrich Gorissen under no. 52/59. The authenticity of the present lot has kindly been confirmed by Drs Guido de Werd, director of Museum Haus Koekkoek, Cleves, on the basis of a photograph.
The present lot dates to the early 1850s when the artist's romanticism reached its peak: his compositions became more articulate, complex and chromatically powerful compared ot his earlier work. The dominating architecture of the castle on the riverbank provides a visual counterweight to the heavy vegetation on the left, framing the river and leading the eye from the group of figures in the foreground into the depth of the composition. The artist controls the balance of the composition meticulously, every element carefully placed, creating a linear harmony of feigned simplicity.
Koekkoek's work from the 1850s often carries a label and his seal on the reverse, an acknowledgement of authenticity forced upon the artist by his great fame. The present lot carries not only a label in Dutch but also in English, indicating that it was meant for the foreign market and reflecting the artist's international acclaim and appeal.
The present lot was recorded in 1962 in the archive of Friedrich Gorissen under no. 52/59. The authenticity of the present lot has kindly been confirmed by Drs Guido de Werd, director of Museum Haus Koekkoek, Cleves, on the basis of a photograph.