Poppy Harvey-Jones
Head of Sale
Lot 14
Hans II Liefrinck(Leiden circa 1567-circa 1599)A Rocky coastal landscape with a Man-of-War firing a salute
Amended
3 December 2014, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £31,250 inc. premium
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Hans II Liefrinck (Leiden circa 1567-circa 1599)
A Rocky coastal landscape with a Man-of-War firing a salute
signed with initials 'HL FE' (HL in ligature, lower right)
oil on copper
14.7 x 20.2cm (5 13/16 x 7 15/16in).
signed with initials 'HL FE' (HL in ligature, lower right)
oil on copper
14.7 x 20.2cm (5 13/16 x 7 15/16in).
Footnotes
Lots 14-24 were acquired over the last forty years by an amateur collector of sixteenth and seventeenth century paintings who died recently. Displaying a passion for the great masters of Flemish painting in particular he built up considerable knowledge and expertise from his wide travels, resulting in a diverse and eclectic collection of North European art. These are now being offered for sale by his heirs.
Provenance
The Collection of Lord Wharton, Halswell Park, Bridgewater
His sale, Sotheby's, London, 17 November 1948, lot 5 (as by Brill, £74 to Lambert)
The Collection of Capt. E.G. Spencer-Churchill, Northwick Park
His sale, Christie's, London, 29 October 1965, lot 84 (as by The Monogramist I.F, 1200 guineas to Koetser)
Sale, Christie's, New York, 22 May 1998, where purchased by the present owner's father
Literature
T. Borenius, The Northwick Park Rescues, 1912-1961, London, 1921, no. 144 (as by Joachim Patinir)
M. Russell, 'Paintings of Coastal Scenes by Hans and Cornelis Liefrinck of Leiden', in The Burlington Magazine, March 1992, pp. 175-177, fig. 26
The author of the present composition - hitherto known as the monogramist I.F. - remained a mystery until W. Wurfbain, Director of the Lakenhal Museum, Leiden, recognised the faint monogram which had been incompletely read by Christie's as identical with that of Hans II Liefrinck. It reads HL (in ligature) FE. This picture is entirely consistent with the character of North-Netherlandish landscape painting of the 1560s-80s. The group of rocks is ultimately derived from Joachim Patinir, whose popularity remained at a high level throughout the sixteenth century and beyond. The present work was painted around 1575-85 and adapted by his son, Cornelis Liefrinck I, in a celebrated work which was until Margarita Russell's Burlington article of 1998 regarded as the earliest of Jan Brueghel I's extant oil paintings.
The present work is of immense importance in the history of maritime art. Despite Liefrinck's Flemish roots, it has been noted for its distinctly Dutch flavour and more than any other contemporary landscape artist, Liefrinck has been regarded as emphasising the marine character of the scene, dispensing with foreground motifs and letting the sea expand uninterrupted in the far distance. Even before marine painting became established as an independent genre Hans Liefrinck's approach is a fascinating precursor of the Dutch obsession with the sea.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the present lot is oil on panel and not as previously stated in the catalogue.
