Lot 1227: Jan van der Heyden (Gorinchem 1637-1712 Amsterdam)

A pavilion in the garden of Goudesteyn on the Vecht, Maarssen signed and dated 'JVDHeyde.A 01666' (JVDH in monogram, centre right, on the fence) oil on panel 22.2 x 28.7 cm. (83/4 x 111/4 in.) PROVENANCE A. Henderson, 3 Montague Street, London, by 1857, and by descent to J. Henderson; Christie's, London, 16 February 1882, lot 384, 'The Garden of a Dutch Chateau with two figures near a dovecote' (27 guineas to Pool j[unior?]). Maurice Kann, Paris, 1911; Georges Petit, Paris, 9 June 1911, lot 28, 'Le Jardin Potager. Au milieu, au premier plan, une paysanne est agenouill‚e et travaill‚ … une plate-bande de l‚gumes, sous le regard attentif d'un personnage en habit brun, qui se tient debout pr‚s d'elle; celui-ci est coiff‚ d'un chapeau noir … larges bords et s'appuie des deux mains sur sa canne. Derri‚re eux, il y a une all‚e qui longe une cl“ture en charpentes de bois et un pavillon rectangulaire de briques dont le toit de tuiles est surmont‚ d'un petit belv‚dŠre o— doivent fr‚quenter les pigeons. Vers la gauche, plus loin que le potager et plus loin qu'un pr‚, on aper‡oit, parmi de grands arbres aux frondaisons ‚paisses, d'autres constructions de briques. Au-devant du ciel blue, il y a toute une chevauch‚e de grands nuages gris. Sign‚ … droite, vers le bas, sur la cl“ture en charpente: V.D.Heyde, 1666. (Les trois lettres VDH sont organis‚es en monogramme.). Panneau. Haut., 22 cent. 1/2; larg., 31 cent.' (21.500 francs to Frederik Muller). A.W.M. Mensing, Amsterdam; Frederik Muller & Cie., Amsterdam, 15 November 1938, lot 48 (3,100 florins to Rosenberg). Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 11 July 1973, lot 40 (to Dreesmann). Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann (inventory no. A-6). LITERATURE G.F. Waagen, Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain, London, 1857, p. 210, in the Drawing-Room, 'On the left is a summer-house and a wall, on the right a garden, with a building in the distance with trees before it. At one of the garden-beds is a woman stooping, and a man. The sky is very transparent. Signed. This beautiful little picture is especially attractive for delicacy and harmony of chiaroscuro'. C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonn‚ etc., VIII, London, 1923, pp. 377-8, no. 58, as depicting Elswout near Haarlem. H. Wagner, Jan van der Heyden 1637-1712, Amsterdam/Haarlem, 1971, pp. 45, 61 and 96, no. 129, fig. 129. G. Schwartz, 'Jan van der Heyden and the Huydecopers of Maarsseveen', The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, II, 1983, pp. 215 and 217, note 62. EXHIBITION Amsterdam, Historisch Museum, Jan van der Heyden, 1937, no. 5. NOTES Jan van der Heyden is generally regarded as the most important founder and representative of the genre of the independent city-view in the second half of the seventeenth century. Already highly praised by Houbraken in his Groote Schouburgh of 1721, Van der Heyden has been consistently renowned for his ability perfectly to paint buildings and houses down to the mortar between the bricks. Unusually, he is famous not only for his views of Amsterdam canals but also for his inventions, notably the fire-hose and the street-lighting, and also for his cityscapes, most notably his views of the Amsterdam canals and the Cologne church-squares. A considerable part of his oeuvre consists of views on country estates comparable to the present lot. The colour schemes in Van der Heyden's works are often rich, with deep blues and warm reds, as are to be found in the present picture, that create a distinctively warm atmosphere. Although the delicately rendered masonry and the detailed rendering of the buildings in general would suggest topographical accuracy, Van der Heyden's views are not always true to life. He would frequently combine elements of different views in order to enhance his compositions, or make small amendments as he did in the present lot where the mansion of Goudesteyn has been slightly altered. As noted by H. Wagner ( op. cit., pp. 44-6), his views of country houses were often made to glorify the country life enjoyed by the wealthy merchantmen and noblemen living in the city. For Amsterdam merchants the favorite areas were the Beemster and the river Vecht, where Maarsseveen is located. Goudesteyn (Golden Farm) was bought in 1608 by the Amsterdam merchant Jan Jacobsz. Huydecoper (1541-1624). He converted the farmhouse into a modest country place, which he left to his son Joan (1599-1661). Joan on his turn, had Goudesteyn extensively restored with the addition of a new wing - possibly using Jacob van Campen as his advisor - between 1627 and 1629, transforming Goudesteyn into the first true country estate on the Vecht. The Huydecopers were an extremely powerful family, and Joan Huydecoper I and II both served as Burgomasters of Amsterdam between 1651 and 1693. The sophisticated estate on the Vecht served to underline the family's status and wealth and was highly praised by poets such as Barlaeus and Joost van den Vondel. Constantijn Huygens spent three days in Goudesteyn in 1656 and thanked Huydecoper for his hospitality in three flattering short poems, published in 1658 in Korenbloemen, pp.768-9. When Van der Heyden painted the present lot, in 1666, Goudesteyn was owned by Joan Huydecoper II (1625-1704). As pointed out by L. de Vries, ( Jan van der Heyden, 1984, p. 36), Van der Heyden painted no less than six view of Goudesteyn between 1666 and 1674, not all of them topographically accurate.