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Lot Essay
Berchem was a key figure in the second generation of Dutch Italianate painters and particularly celebrated for his idealised scenes of country life. The son of the great still life painter Pieter Claesz (1596-1660) he worked initially in Haarlem, training with a number of prominent masters including his father, Jan van Goyan and Claes Moeyaert. Though Arnold Houbraken asserted that he undertook two journeys to Italy, neither can be confirmed through documentary evidence. It is possible that such a visit took place sometime between 1651 and 1653 since at this period Berchem made a notable adjustment to his palette. A complete lack of documentation and the fact that no topographical drawings by Berchem are known has led to scholars to question which such a journey was actually ever made by the artist (P. Bieboer, in Nicolaes Berchem: In the Light of Italy, exhibition catalogue, Haarlem, 2006, p. 23). Indeed, it is possible that Berchem had no need to undertake the journey to Italy himself and was able to develop his Italianate landscapes from studying the work of older painters like Jan Both and Jan Asselijn, both of whom worked in the Italianate idiom following trips to the country in circa 1638 and before 1645 respectively.
The idyllic, pastoral quality of this Italianate river landscape is highly characteristic of Berchem’s mature work. Dated to 1663, the painting demonstrates the distinctive ‘playful brushstrokes’ (‘dartele penceeltoetzen’ as Houbraken wrote) and harmonious combination of shades of auburn and green accented by lively spots of colour, seen here in the vibrant pure blue of the bodice worn by the woman at the right of the scene, which became so characteristic of his mature oeuvre. The figures in Berchem’s composition are all grouped at the extreme right of the painting on the steps of a rustic quay, leading to the calm waters of the river beyond. On the boat harboured before the bridge, family is busily engaged in stripping wood and reeds for use in weaving baskets. Focusing the figures to the lower portion of the composition allowed for the sweeping architecture of the bridge and rolling landscape beyond to assume equal importance in the work.
The idyllic, pastoral quality of this Italianate river landscape is highly characteristic of Berchem’s mature work. Dated to 1663, the painting demonstrates the distinctive ‘playful brushstrokes’ (‘dartele penceeltoetzen’ as Houbraken wrote) and harmonious combination of shades of auburn and green accented by lively spots of colour, seen here in the vibrant pure blue of the bodice worn by the woman at the right of the scene, which became so characteristic of his mature oeuvre. The figures in Berchem’s composition are all grouped at the extreme right of the painting on the steps of a rustic quay, leading to the calm waters of the river beyond. On the boat harboured before the bridge, family is busily engaged in stripping wood and reeds for use in weaving baskets. Focusing the figures to the lower portion of the composition allowed for the sweeping architecture of the bridge and rolling landscape beyond to assume equal importance in the work.