Lot 204: Jan ten Compe (Amsterdam 1713-1761)

The Witte Vrouwenpoort, Utrecht oil on panel 34.1 x 47.3 cm. NOTES Jan ten Compe began his career as an apprentice to the decorative wallpaper and landscape painter Dirk Dalens III (1688-1753), before establishing himself as one of the leading Dutch painters of cityscapes of the eighteenth century. He studied the works of his famous predecessors, Jan van der Heyden and Gerrit Berckheyde and, like them, painted mostly topographically accurate views. These works were much sought after and Ten Compe received commissions from several distinguished art-lovers and connoisseurs, including Gerrit Braamcamp. The famous collector praised Ten Compe's ability to capture reality and to follow nature with extraordinary accuracy. Another view of the Wittevrouwenpoort, signed, oil on panel and measuring 46 x 61 cm., is in the Centraal Museum, Utrecht, showing the gate from the right instead of the angle from which the present lot was painted. The Witte Vrouwenpoort, one of the entrance gates to Utrecht, was the final point of the century-old route between De Bilt and the city. It was here that travellers from outside paid a toll in order to be permitted entrance into the town. After the demolition of the gate, a police checkpoint was established on its location.