1133 - WOUWERMAN, PHILIPS

WOUWERMAN, PHILIPS 1619 Haarlem–1668 Haarlem Title: The Hayfield. Date: Around 1655. Technique: Oil on panel. Measurement: 40.5 x 41.5cm. Notation: Monogrammed lower left: 'PsL.W'. Reverse: On the panel an old, partly torn label (presumably a collection label dated 15 May 1841), remains of a red wax seal, collection stamps on the panel and frame, and, on the frame, a number label and a label from the Dr H. Girardet Collection. Frame: Framed. Provenance is the lineage of a work of art; if the discerning eye of a recognized connoisseur has deemed an object to be of high quality and has included it in and retained it in his or her own collection, this is a mark of distinction that elevates the work’s standing within the artist’s body of work as well as the value of the object itself. It is a true pleasure and honor to be able to offer works of art with such well-documented provenance. Here we now present four works from the magnificent collection of the Essen-based publisher Herbert Girardet, which he built up with great passion and with the assistance of art historians Eduard Plietzsch and Horst Gerson (who served for many years as director of the RKD in The Hague) beginning in the late 1950s. Herbert Girardet’s father and grandfather had already been collectors of the highest caliber, though they specialized in 19th-century painting. During a study visit to London, Herbert Girardet discovered his interest in the 'Golden Age' of the Netherlands while visiting the city’s museums, and from that point on, he was committed to building a collection and continually raising its quality. In 1970, a large part of this collection was presented to the public in a major exhibition at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum and the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen and documented in a catalog. A particular highlight is lot number 1133, Philip Wouwerman’s painting 'In the Hayfield' which Herbert Girardet was able to acquire with a 'highly distinguished' provenance and which is also extensively referenced in the literature. It depicts a break from work in the countryside. Wouwerman, who was famous for his depictions of horses, places a gray horse at the center of the composition, resting next to a reclining donkey. The drawbar of the wagon from which he was presumably unhitched is just barely visible at the right edge of the painting. In addition to the high, cloud-filled sky, this nearly square painting is particularly striking for the graphic lightness with which the figures of the farmers — some still working, others already resting — are painted. With the subtlest of nuances, the painter has even made the direction of the wind visually perceptible: the horse’s mane, the ripples on the water, and the branches of the tree reveal which way the wind is blowing. Provenance: - Dr Herbert Girardet Collection, Essen; Sotheby’s auction, London, 2 July 1958, lot 33 (as Philips Wouwerman), sold to Edward Speelman; Joseph Barchard Collection, London; Lürmann Collection, Bremen 1863; Lady Louisa Stuart Collection, London, sold on 15 May 1841, lot 71; Auction, Paris, 8 April–6 June 1777, Lot 346; Collection of the Prince de Conti, 1717–1776; Auction, Paris, 6 April 1772, Lot 52 (as Philips Wouwerman), sold to the Boileau Collection; Duc de Choiseul Collection, Paris 1719–1785; presumably the Jacques Meijers Collection, Rotterdam, sold on 9 September 1722, Lot 107. Exhibition: Herbert Girardet Collection: Holländische und Flämische Meister. Wallraf-Richartz-Museum Cologne und Museum Boijmans-Van Beuningen Rotterdam, 1970; British Institution for Promoting Fine Arts in the United Kingdom, London 1847, no. 7. Literature: B. Schumacher: Philips Wouwerman (1619-1668). The Horse Painter of the Golden Age, Doornspijk 2006, no. A449 with ill. panel 419; Girardet, Herbert, Vey, Horst: Sammlung Herbert Girardet. Essen 1970, no. 67, with ill.; C. Hofstede de Groot: A Catalogue Raissonné of the works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, Vol. II, London 1909, p. 572, no. 963b. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: The lot is unsuitable for parcel shipping. Transport only by shipping company after consultation following the auction. additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance up to total invoice amount of 25,000 Euros: max. 41.65 Euro over a total invoice amount of 25,000 Euros: 1.8 o/oo USA by individual arrangement after the auction. #Philips Wouwerman #Dutch School #The Netherlands #17th C. #Horses #Landscape #Old Masters.