Imitator of Jacob van Ruisdael, 'A Castle on a Hill by a River', probably 1650-1700
About the work
Overview
This picture was painted by a seventeenth-century Dutch imitator of Jacob van Ruisdael and is possibly an early work by the artist’s follower Johan van Kessel. It may be based on a lost work by van Ruisdael showing Bentheim Castle, which is on the border between Germany and the Netherlands, although the viewpoint is different from any of his known paintings of this subject.
The painting has atmosphere. The sky has some life and movement, and the buildings still dominate, but the picture has long since been lost under coats of discoloured varnish and it lacks the dramatic vitality of a van Ruisdael. Details on the trees aren't delicately defined and the river is little more than a muddy path.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Castle on a Hill by a River
- Artist
- Imitator of Jacob van Ruisdael
- Artist dates
- 1628/9? - 1682
- Date made
- probably 1650-1700
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 140 × 176 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876
- Inventory number
- NG996
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Edmund Higginson, Saltmarsh Castle, by 1842; sale, E. Higginson, Christie’s 4–6 June 1846, No. 120, as van Kessel (Norton, £78 15s.); Wynn Ellis, London; Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876.
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1907C. Hofstede de Groot, Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 10 vols, London 1907
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1938G. Broulhiet, Meindert Hobbema (1638-1709), Paris 1938
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1960Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
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1980Z. Kolks, 'Zwei wenig bekannte Gemälde vom Schloß Bentheim', Jahrbuch des Heimatvereins der Grafschaft Bentheim e. V. 1980, XCVI, 1980, pp. 105-9
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1991Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
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1992A.I. Davies, Jan van Kessel (1641-1680), Doornspijk 1992
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1993N. Büttner and G. Unverfehrt, Jacob van Ruisdael in Bentheim, Bielefeld 1993
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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