0024
Jan Vermeer van Haarlem der Ältere
(Haarlem 1628 - 1691 Haarlem)
„Dune Landscape near Nordwijk“
1650s
oil on panel
40 x 55 cm
Signed and partly indistinctly dated lower right: J vd meer / 165(?)
Provenance
collection Otto Wesendonck (1815-1896), Berlin;
art dealer Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam 1956;
Galerie St. Lucas, Vienna, 1975/76;
Private collection, Vienna;
Galerie St. Lucas, Vienna, 1983/84;
collection Erna Weidinger (1923-2021)
Exhibition
1890 Berlin, exhibition of works of Dutch art in private ownership in Berlin organised by the Kunstgeschichtliche Gesellschaft in the rooms of the Königliche Akademie, 1 April - 15 May, no. 307;
Winter 1975/76 Vienna, Galerie St. Lucas, old master paintings, no. 15;
Winter 1983/84 Vienna, Galerie St. Lucas, old master paintings, no. 18
Literature
Catalogue of the Exhibition of Works of Dutch Art of the Seventeenth Century, Kunstgeschichtliche Gesellschaft in Berlin, Berlin 1890, no. 307
Estimate: € 25.000 - 50.000
Result: € 23.680 (incl. fees)
Auction is closed.
Two thirds of the painting are taken up by the sky above the low-set horizon, extending the landscape in perspective into the depths of space. The recessed clouds covering the surface of the sky suggest tranquillity and allow the viewer to immerse himself in the atmospheric expanse of the landscape below. Starting with painters such as Pieter de Molijn (1595-1661) or Jan van Goyen (1596-1656), Dutch landscape painting of the 17th century developed an increasingly naturalistic conception of the image in combination with simpler, reduced motifs in uniform compositions and monochrome colouring in shades of blue, green and brown.
The unpretentious depiction, devoid of a conspicuous main motif, inspires with its atmospheric light ambience created in intermediate tones, which harmoniously unites the individual levels of the landscape into a homogeneous environment.
Jan Vermeer van Haarlem the Elder was a pupil of Jacob Willemszoon de Wet (c. 1610-probably 1691), who was strongly influenced by Rembrandt. He mainly created views of the villages around his hometown Haarlem, which are strongly reminiscent of Jacob van Ruisdael's (1629-1682) landscapes. The latter even coined the term "Haerlempjes" for his panoramic views of the Haarlem surroundings, and the present painting is part of this tradition.