Lot 233: Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne , Delft 1589 - 1662 The Hague An Extensive Landscape with Princes Maurits and Frederik Hendrik Nassau in a Carriage and other elegant travellers passing a river, a huntsman in the left foreground and the tower of the

signed and dated lower center AV VENNE 1616 ( AV in ligature) oil on panel

measurements note 12 1/2 by 24 1/2 in.; 31.7 by 62.2 cm.

With Newhouse Galleries, New York, from whom acquired by
Thomas Mellon Evans;
His deceased sale, New York, Christie's, May 22, 1998, lot 52, for $134,500;
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, January 26, 2001, lot 171, for $149,000.

PROPERTY FROM AN AMERICAN COLLECTION
Dated 1616, this river landscape belongs to the early part of Van de Venne's career when he was active in Middelburg, in central Zeeland. Following Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau's signing of the Twelve Years Truce with the Southern Netherlands in 1609, Van de Venne executed numerous works for the House of Orange as propaganda for the Stadholder and his successor Frederick Hendrick, both of whom are seen here descending the small hill in a horse-drawn carriage. Many of these works celebrated the peace and prosperity brought about by the signing of the Truce, and here figures are depicted richly dressed on horseback while others entertain themselves in the pastimes of shooting or fishing. In this respect the present work may be closely compared with a winter landscape by Van de Venne from 1620, where Prince Maurits himself is seen hunting, that sold London, Sotheby's, July 4, 2007, lot 25, for £1,308,000.

A note on the Provenance: Thomas Mellon Evans, a previous owner of this work, was one of the great twentieth-century American collectors of fine and decorative arts. As well as Old Master Paintings by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Pieter Brueghel II, Hendrick Avercamp and Frans van Mieris to name but a few, his collection included large numbers of Sporting and American paintings. He was considered a financial genius for his forward-thinking tactics in mergers and acquisitions in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a great patron of the turf, breeding and owning the Kentucky Derby winner, Pleasant Colony, in 1981. His collection was sold after his death in 1998.