45 - Jan Josefsz. van Goyen

Jan Josefsz. van Goyen (Dutch, 1596-1656) Figures Working by Farm Cottages, 1630 oil on panel monogrammed and dated (lower right) 12 1/4 x 17 5/8 in. (31 x 44.7 cm) Property from the Estate of Ambassador J. William Middendorf II, Rhode Island This lot is located in Philadelphia. Framed: 20 x 25 x 2 in. Please contact Fineart@freemansauction.com for a detailed condition report. Provenance: For the collection at Taymouth Castle, Perthshire, John, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane KT. FRS. PSA. PBA. (1796-1862). Lady Elizabeth Pringle (1794-1878), Langton House, Duns, elder sister to the above. The Hon. Mrs. Robert Baillie-Hamilton, died 1912, daughter of the above. Lady Hervey, died 1913, sister of the above. Lt. Col. The Hon. Thomas Morgan-Grenville-Gavin (1891-1965), godson & first cousin twice removed of the above. By descent to the Earls of Breadalbane & Holland, Taymouth Castle. Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh, sale of May 18, 2021, Lot 38. Lot Note: The present painting was recorded in a Christie Manson & Woods 1853 Inventory of Taymouth Castle as hanging in the Drawing Room. Along with fellow Haarlem artists Pieter Molijn and Salomon van Ruysdael, Jan van Goyen initiated what was to become the golden age of Dutch landscape painting in the 17th century. He was a key figure in the development of the “tonal phase,” in which artists relied on variations of a limited range of hues, rather than a broad mixture of colors, to create mood and atmosphere. Using subtle tones of blue, grey, and ochre, van Goyen skillfully evoked the Dutch damp climate and the expansive, cloud-filled skies. Despite the imposing sky and the suggestion of a landscape stretching beyond the farm, this small painting captures an intimate scene set on a modest farm. There are patches of sunlight that fall across the ground, a vine climbs over the cottage wall and roof, and a tree stands in the full foliage of spring. Puffy clouds drift gently across the sky, suggesting a moment of calm after a passing storm. Two figures, illuminated by the sunlight, appear to be casually conversing outside the modest farm cottage, while a third figure, partially obscured in the shadow behind the fence, is absorbed in work. These touches of human activity give the scene a sense of everyday life without disturbing its overall tranquility. The painting’s near-monochromatic palette is subtly enlivened by the blue doublet worn by the seated figure and the watery blue openings in the sky.