Lot 35: Ription Frans de Hulst (Haarlem um 1610 - 1661)

Ription Frans de Hulst (Haarlem um 1610 - 1661) Wide river landscape with anglers, oil on panel, 44 x 63 cm, framed, (Wo) Frans de Hulst belongs to a group of Haarlem-based landscapists working in the manner of Jan van Goyen and Salomon van Ruysdael. His river landscapes, most of which feature diagonal compositions with a distant view of an elevated town silhouette or fortress, are executed in olive green and brownish hues. Later on, his palette changed to dark brown, so that he was closer to Roelof van Vries. Between 1630 and 1650 there was a flourishing production of river landscapes and flatland scenery in Haarlem, Leyden, and The Hague, featuring simple motifs done in greenish yellow, blueish grey, and brown tones and radiating the misty atmosphere typical of Dutch painting. The present painting seems to evoke the impression as if one could follow the master's hand - the brushstrokes are clearly visible. It also illustrates that clouds were an important compositional element; the play of sunlight an clouds alternately illuminating and obscuring the sober, flat scenery lends the composition's unspectacular monotony exciting nuances.