Jan van Goyen's sketchbook, 1650-1651

Jan van Goyen's sketchbook, 1650-1651

Front cover (detail): Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A town with windmills seen from a distance, 1650-1651 Black chalk and grey wash 96 x 156 mm., no. 13

Jan van Goyen's sketchbook, 1650-1651 22 - 30 January 2021 Mireille Mosler, Ltd. exhibiting at Jill Newhouse Gallery 4 East 81st Street #1B New York, NY 10128

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Jan van Goyen was ambitious in his yearning for prosperity and recognition. Son of a cobbler in Leiden, he was apprenticed at the young age of ten to local painters. After a year of travelling through France, Van Goyen's received his formative training from the landscapist Esaias van de Velde in Haarlem in 1617. Haarlem, center of monochrome still lifes, put Jan van Goyen forward as the first and leading painter of Dutch tonal landscapes. Eventually, Van Goyen moved to the court city, The Hague, where he became head of the Guild of Saint Luke. Regardless his substantial artistic output, Van Goyen was also active as an art collector, dealer, auctioneer, appraiser, tulip and real estate investor.

Surrounded by artists, he let the adjoining house to acclaimed fellow landscapist Paulus Potter. Two of Van Goyen's daughters married respectively his student, the genre painter Jan Steen and still life painter Jacques de Claeuw.

Van Goyen's portrait by acclaimed colleague Gerard ter Borch confirms his prominent position among the Dutch artworld elite.

Van Goyen travelled the length and breadth of the Netherlands recording details of landscape and topography in black chalk. A small sketchbook tucked into his pocket, the draughtsman in search of inspiration could quickly delineate sand dunes and architectural structures in the vicinity of his hometown or accompany him on extended journeys. Back in his studio, the sketches would provide endless inspiration, combining different motifs into imaginary landscape compositions. These drawings not only functioned as preliminary studies for motifs in paintings, Van Goyen at times also reworked them into larger, more finished drawings, typically monogrammed and dated, and intended for sale. Never attempting to depict accurate views, Van Goyen's preliminary studies unfold as topographical elements in his composite landscapes.

Gerard ter Borch (1617-1681) Portrait of Jan van Goyen, ca. 1652–53 Oil on panel, 20 x 16 cm.

Liechtenstein. The Princely Collections, Vaduz- Vienna. Inv. GE893

The following twenty-seven drawings originate from a now dispersed sketchbook fifty-four-year-old Van Goyen took along on his trip to Kleve. The first drawing in the sketchbook, showing two wanderers under a rainbow on their way to Kleve, inscribed 7 June 1650, establishes the date and goal of Van Goyen’s journey.1 Following the path of the artist through his sketches, he travelled along the rivers Rhine and Waal to Tiel, Nijmegen, and Emmerich. At his destination, he spent a considerable amount of time depicting Kleve and outskirts on numerous sheets.

The return trip took the artist through Arnhem via Renkum and Bodegraven. The remaining pages in the sketchbook are likely filled after his return to The Hague with shorter trips, including a visit to Amsterdam, where he recorded the damage caused by the infamous breach of the Saint Anthony’s dike at Houtewael, on 5 March 1651, and the old Town Hall, destroyed by fire the following year.

Although numbered by a later hand, it is unclear how many drawings were originally in the album.

When Abraham Bredius (1855-1946), director of the Mauritshuis, exhibited the album in 1895 in the museum, it seemed to have some 170 leaves.2 After it was shown a second time in the Mauritshuis in 1918, the Amsterdam dealer Anton Mensing (1866-1936) removed the drawings from their binding and eliminated the essence of the sketchbook. By the late 1950s, the New York dealer Karl Lilienfeld (1885-1966) sold the drawings separately, sadly disseminating the sketchbook.3 Present whereabouts unknown. Last reported on the art market in the sale of Carel Goldschmidt (1904-1989, Christie’s, New York, 11-12 January 1995, lot 220.

Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (1863-1939), the first academically trained art historian in the Netherlands, catalogued and described 190 drawings, possibly including double-sided drawings. As a facsimile of the album does not exists, this is the information Beck relied on while compiling his catalogue raisonné. https://rkd.nl/explore/excerpts/177354.

3 German born Lilienfeld, who like Hofstede de Groot had studied art history in Leipzig, moved to The Hague in 1911 to become his assistant and was most likely familiar with the sketchbook at the time. In 1926, Lilienfeld became director of the Van Diemen Gallery in New York.

1 2

Drawings from the sketchbook are now in the collections of The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Amsterdam City Archives, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA, Art Institute of Chicago, Fogg Museum/Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH, Fondation Custodia/Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, and The National Gallery of Art, Washington, and in numerous private collections.

Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Sketchbook, 1650-1651 Black chalk and grey wash on cream antique laid paper Partial watermark arms of Lorraine 105 by 160 mm. overall dimensions Provenance Possibly Andrew Geddes (1738-1844), London, 1845 His sale, Christie's, London, 8-14 April 1845, lot 361 Private collection, England, 1879 Johnson Neale, London, by 1895 Thomas Mark Hovell (1853-1925), London, June 1918 Thomas Dinwiddy His sale, Sotheby's, London, 3 July 1918, lot 124 (ÂŁ610) With P. and D. Colnaghi & Obach, London (stock no. A1700) Frederik Muller & Cie, Amsterdam, 15 August 1918 (sold for ÂŁ800) With Anton Mensing (1866-1936), Amsterdam His sale, Frederik Muller & Co., Amsterdam, 27 April 1937, lot 218 (for 7,200 florins to Hirschmann4) With Adolf Mayer, the Hague and New York With Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, New York, 1957 4

Most likely Dr. Otto Heinrich Hirschmann (1898-1962), a branch manager at art dealership Van Diemen & Co. and independent art dealer from 1934 onwards.

Exhibited The Hague, Mauritshuis, 1895 The Hague, Mauritshuis, 1918 Literature Verslagen omtrent ‘s Rijks Verzamelingen van Geschiedenis en Kunst, Vol. 18, 1895-1896, pp. 64-66 Campbell Dodgson, ”A Dutch Sketchbook of 1650”, Burlington Magazine, Vol. 32, no. 183 (June 1918), pp. 234-240 Abraham Bredius, in response to Campbell Dodgson, “A Dutch Sketchbook of 1650,” Burlington Magazine, Vol. 33, no. 186, (September 1918), p. 112 Campbell Dodgson, “A Dutch Sketchbook of 1650,” Burlington Magazine, Vol. 66, no. 387 (June 1935), p. 284 Hans-Ulrich Beck, ”Jan van Goyens Handzeichnungen als Vorzeichnungen”, Oud-Holland, Vol. 72, 1957, pp. 241-250 Friedrich Gorissen, Conspectus Cliviae, Cleve, 1964, p. 84-86 Hans-Ulrich Beck, Ein Skizzenbuch von Jan van Goyen, The Hague, 1966, p. 5 H. Dattenberg, Niederrheinansichten holländischer Künstler, Düsseldorf 1967 Hans-Ulrich Beck, Jan van Goyen, 1596-1656: Ein Oeuvreverzeichnis. Katalog der Handzeichnungen, Vol. I, Amsterdam 1972, cat.no. 847, pp.

285-315 Hans-Ulrich Beck, Jan van Goyen, 1596-1656: Ein Oeuvreverzeichnis. Erganzungen zum Katalog der Handzeichnungen, Vol. III, Doornspijk 1987, cat.no. 847, pp. 124-125b Edwin Buijsen, ”De schetsboeken van Jan van Goyen”, in: Jan van Goyen, Leiden 1996, pp. 22-37, 80, 130 Ann H. Sievers, Master Drawings from the Smith College Museum of Art, New York 2000, pp. 65-69, nos. 12-13 Additional provenance, literature and exhibition information for each drawing after the sketchbook was dispersed is listed by catalogue entry.

1 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Village church with turret, arched gateway and a house, 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘5’ Provenance W. Suhr, New York Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth Their sale, Sotheby’s, London, 6 July 1987, lot 15, ill. (£3,000) Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/5, p. 287, ill.

The end of the Eighty Years' War, the Dutch revolt against the Spanish, marks the beginning of the Golden Age. The 1648 treaty known as the Peace of Munster recognized the Dutch Republic as an independent country no longer under the control of the Holy Roman Empire.

Dutch pride and prosperity certainly contributed to the immense popularity of landscape painting, the most popular genre in the seventeenth century. Jan van Goyen's panoramic View on The Hague, a five meters wide painting commissioned by the city in 1650, certainly shows his mastery of the cityscape. It is possible that his connection to the court was the catalyst for his trip east to Kleve, a city under the control of stadholder Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679) since 1647. Maurits, the art loving aristocrat of German origin, commissioned the renovation of Kleve's Schwanenburg castle and the construction of extensive gardens that greatly influenced European landscape design.

2 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A small castle with two towers, 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 157 mm.

Inscribed '7' and 'd'kerck te tiel' verso Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild (1900-1987), New York Dr. Leo Steinberg (1920-2011), New York, 1964 Christie’s, New York, 26 January 2012, lot 15 Private collection, New York Literature Hans-Ulrich Beck, Vol. 1, p. 287, no. 847/7 (not ill.)

The present drawing of two towers of an unidentified castle is marked with an inscription on the verso: 'd'kerck te tiel', referencing the large church at Tiel, depicted on the succeeding sketch in the album.5 Both sheets were previously in the collection of Dutch born but New York based painting conservator Louis de Wild, who had bought a total of eighty sketchbook drawings from the Van Diemen-Lilienfeld gallery.6

5 6

Beck, op.cit., Vol. I, cat.no. 847/8, p. 287, ill. Private collection.

Beck, op.cit., Vol. I, “Register der Sammlungen und Museen”, p. 354

3 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A village church, 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 95 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘14’ and partial watermark Provenance Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York, later Vienna Galerie Sankt Lucas, Vienna, 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/14, p. 288 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/14, p. 125a (not ill.)

The present drawing provided the artist with the main motif for the larger drawing, dated 1653, in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Group of buildings on a Seashore, 1653 Black chalk and brush and gray wash on beige laid paper 118 x 204 mm.

Signed & dated ‘VG 1653’ Cleveland Museum of Art, inv.no. 1929.542

4 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Before a farmhouse, 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 95 x 155 mm.

Inscribed ‘15’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild (1900-1987), New York, from whom reacquired by Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, New York, 1959 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, 1987/1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/15, p. 288 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/15, pp. 125a-b, ill.

The village church from the previous sketchbook page emerges in the background providing us a clear impression of how Van Goyen captured the world around him on paper.

5 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) View on the Abbey: the hill of Eltenberg and the castle at Lobith (recto) A sailboat on the water (verso), 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘31’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wildt, New York Mr. and Mrs. Carel Goldschmidt, New York Sale, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 21 March 1977, lot 66B, ill. (sold together with lot 66A, Beck no. 847/10 for ƒ13,500) With Th. Laurentius, Zaltbommel, The Netherlands, cat. 1978, no. 22, ill.

Sale, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 18 November 1980, lot 53 (ƒ5,600) With Beets & Fontein, Lochem, The Netherlands Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/31, p. 291, ill.

Eltenberg is a relatively high hill near the German border village of Elten on the northbank of the Rhine before the river flows into the Netherlands. Because of its strategic location, whoever dominated this area, controlled the shipping traffic and gateway to the Republic. The castle at Lobith was used by Maurits as his headquarters during the Eighty Year war. After 1648, it gradually fell into disrepair. From Lobith, Van Goyen certainly crossed the Rhine by boat, as the drawing of the small sailboat immediately following on the back indicates.

The castle at Lobith, ca. 1635

verso

6 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Kleve: the tower and city wall with ruins of the Cowdeer tower, 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘35’ and partial watermark Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Exhibited Leiden, Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal, Jan van Goyen, 4 June - 27 July 1960; Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, 31 July - 26 September 1960, no. 107 Literature Friedrich Gorissen, Conspectus Cliviae, Cleve, 1964, no. 137, p. 85 H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/35A, p. 291, ill.

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/35A, p. 125a (not ill.)

The present sketch is related to a finished drawing in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A ruined castle, 1653 Black chalk and gray wash 105 x 200 mm.

Signed & dated ‘VG 1653’ The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, inv.no. PD.367-1963

7 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Kleve: the castle at the fish market, with the Swanntower (recto) Bleichenberg seen from the new wall (verso), 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘53’ Provenance W. Suhr, New York With Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam, 1984 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature F. Gorissen, Conspectus Cliviae, Cleve 1964, nos. 153 & 115a (verso), p. 86, ill.

H. Dattenberg, Niederrheinansichten holländischer Künstler, Düsseldorf 1967, ill.

H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/53, p. 294 (not ill.)

Swanenburgh (Swan Castle) and Schwanenturm (Swan Tower) are the symbol of Kleve, leaving their mark on the silhouette of the city. The castle's medieval inhabitants, the counts and dukes of Cleves, trace their lineage to the Swan Knight Elias, immortalized in Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin. Van Goyen eternalized not just the castle but dedicated more than twenty pages in his sketchbook to Kleve and its surroundings.

verso

8 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Trees with a windmill in the distance, 1650 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 95 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘61’ and partial watermark arms Provenance Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-8 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/61, p. 295 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/61, p. 125a (not ill.)

Hofstede de Groot suggested possibly Schenkenschanz, a fortress north of Kleve, for the location depicted on the drawing's horizon. The fortress was of military significance during the Dutch revolt, its location is at the split of the Rhine river and controlled access to the Netherlands.

9 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Hunting ground near Arnhem, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘70’ Provenance Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/70, p. 297 H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/70, p. 125a

10 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A house with chimneys and an archway, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘74’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York Curtis O. Baer, New Rochelle, 1964 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/74, p. 297, ill.

11 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Barn and farm house before an empty boat, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 155 mm.

Inscribed ‘1[?]20’ Provenance With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1959 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/120E, pp. 125a-b, ill.

12 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A village along a riverbank, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 95 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘140’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1961 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, 1987-8 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/140A, p. 303 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/140A, p. 125a-b, ill.

13 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A village with windmills seen from a distance, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘140’ Provenance Curtis O. Baer, New Rochelle, 1964 Christie’s, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/140B, p. 303 (not ill.)

14 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Houses, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 154 mm.

Inscribed ‘143’ and partial watermark Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York Curtis O. Baer, New Rochelle, 1964 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/143, p. 304

15 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Windmill on a dike on the right river bank (recto) Seven merchants with wire baskets and a man on the right (verso), 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 95 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘144 (recto) & 145 (verso)’ with partial watermark Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York N.L.H. Roesler, New York, 1964 Christie's, New York, 31 May 1990, lot 83 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/144-145, p. 304 (not ill.)

Although the location of the windmill and river are unknown, the bustling scene of marketeers and their merchant suggests that Jan van Goyen arrived in Amsterdam. Successive sheets in the sketchbook depicting vendors offering their goods for sale propound the idea that the artist visited a lively market noteworthy enough to grab his attention.

(verso)

16 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Amsterdam: windmill on a high dike with barns and a boat, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 95 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘150’ Provenance With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1959 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Exhibited Leiden, Stedelijk Museum, Jan van Goyen, 4 June - 27 July 1960; Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, 31 July - 26 September 1960, no. 107 Literature Hans-Ulrich Beck, “Jan Van Goyen am Deichbruch von Houtewael (1651),” Oud Holland, Vol. 81, 1 (1966), p. 21, fn. 10, as one of the Amsterdam sketches, ‘Mühle am Wall’ (“mill on the wall”) H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/150A, p. 305 (ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/150A, p. 125a (not ill.)

As the previous sketchbook page shows Amsterdam's Old Town Hall (Beck no. 847/149, present whereabout unknown), destroyed in a fire on 6/7 July 1652, we learn that Jan van Goyen visited Amsterdam to record architectural pinnacles as well as the periphery. It is unfeasible to reconstruct the artist's exact whereabouts when he captured this windmill but following his journey, there are at least sixteen drawings executed in this prosperous town. By 1650, Amsterdam was the center of a worldwide trading network and the leading financial center of the world. The harbor provided the most important point for the transfer of goods in Europe, attracting wealthy merchants who would flaunt their wealth with houses on the canals.

17 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Amsterdam: along a coastline with sailing vessels in the distance, 1650-1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 97 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘157’ and with partial watermark Provenance With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1962 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature Hans-Ulrich Beck, “Jan Van Goyen am Deichbruch von Houtewael (1651),” Oud Holland, Vol. 81, 1 (1966), p. 21, fn. 10, as one of the Amsterdam sketches, ‘Am Deich’ (“At the dike”) H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/157, p. 306 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/157, p. 125a-b (not ill.)

18 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Amsterdam: windmill above an Arched Bridge, at left a Quay Wall, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 98 x 155 mm.

Inscribed ‘159’ Provenance Frederick Mont, New York, by 1964 -1994; thence by descent until 2018 Exhibited Leiden, Stedelijk Museum, Jan van Goyen, 4 June - 27 July 1960; Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, 31 July - 26 September 1960, no. 107 (according to an inscription on the reverse; one of five sheets lent by Van-Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries) Literature Hans-Ulrich Beck, “Jan Van Goyen am Deichbruch von Houtewael (1651),” Oud Holland, Vol. 81, 1 (1966), p. 21, fn. 10, as one of the Amsterdam sketches, ‘Mühle am Wall’ (“mill on the wall”).

H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/159, p. 306 (not ill.)

Although the exact location of the windmill is unclear, from the sequence of drawings in the sketchbook it can be concluded that we are viewing Amsterdam through the artist's perspective.

19 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Amsterdam, before the Haarlem city gate with a horse carriage on a bridge and a boat on the river, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘160’ Provenance W. Suhr, New York Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 16 January 1985, lot 113, ill.

Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature Hans-Ulrich Beck, “Jan Van Goyen am Deichbruch von Houtewael (1651),” Oud Holland, Vol. 81, 1 (1966), p. 21, fn. 10, as one of the Amsterdam sketches, ‘vor dem Haarlemmer Tor’ (“before the Haarlem city gate”) H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/160A, p. 306, ill.

20 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Houtewael: an estate on a dike with a sandhill on the left and farmhouses beyond, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘175’ and partial watermark Provenance Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1961/62 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, 1987-1988 Christie's, New York, 31 May 1990, lot 80 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, ”Jan van Goyen am Deichbruch von Houtewael (1651)”, Oud-Holland, Vol. 81, No. 1 (1966), fig. 13, p. 28, ill., fn. 11, p. 21, p. 33 H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/175, p. 309 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/175, p. 125a (not ill.)

On Sunday, 5 March 1651, after a heavy Northwestern storm, the levees of the Saint Anthony dyke at Houtewael gave in, flooding the entire area. The damage was considerable: the collapsing Diemer lake water inundated the country more than four meters high, and even flooded the streets of Amsterdam. Soon afterwards, Van Goyen visited the disaster site since no repair work is visible yet. Disasters and cataclysms provided popular subject matter in the seventeenth century and artists would often fill the demand of the art market and disseminate the news through prints. Thank to these sketchbook pages, we know Van Goyen visited Houtewael in person as eighteen renderings suggest.

21 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Houtewael: farmhouse with figures, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 97 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘178’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York N.L.H. Roesler, New York Christie's, New York, 31 May 1990, lot 81 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, ”Jan van Goyen am Deichbruch von Houtewael (1651)”, Oud-Holland, Vol. 81, No. 1 (1966), fig. 16, p. 30, ill., fn. 11, p. 21, fn.

14, p. 33 H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/178, p. 309 (not ill.)

The disaster of the breach of the Saint Anthony dike at Houtewael on 5 March 1651, flooding land until Amsterdam, inspired many artists to eternalize the devastation. Perhaps Van Goyen traveled to Houtewael on his return from Kleve or made a special trip from The Hague, documenting the tragedy on nineteen leaves in his sketchbook.

22 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Houtewael: buildings with an Inn, two ladders against the dike, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 97 x 156 mm.

Inscribed ‘179’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York N.L.H. Roesler, New York Christie's, New York, 31 May 1990, lot 80 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, ”Jan van Goyen am Deichbruch von Houtewael (1651)”, Oud-Holland, Vol. 81, No. 1 (1966), fig. 17, p. 30, ill., fn. 11, p. 21, p. 33 H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/179, p. 309, ill.

23 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Farmroofs over the dunes, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘199’ Provenance With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1959 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/199, p. 125a (not ill.)

As relatively late works, these sketchbook drawings present a different view on the artist’s studio practice towards the end of his prolific career when relatively fewer paintings were produced. These impressions are loosely drawn doodles, capturing the essence of the landscape with a minimum of detail.

24 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Dunes, a farmhouse and trees, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 154 mm.

Inscribed ‘220’ Provenance Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/220C, p. 313 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/220C, p. 125a (not ill.)

25 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Landscape with a windmill in the distance, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 155 mm.

Inscribed 221’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1962 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-8 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/230C, p. 314 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/230C, pp. 125a-b, ill.

26 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) Landscape with a farmhouse in the distance, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 95 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘280’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York, 1962 Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1887-8 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/280A, p. 315 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/280A, p. 125a (not ill.)

Although most of the - sometimes double-sided - sheets are posthumously numbered, some bear the same numbering. Possibly the artist added sheets of the same location from other, same sized, sketchbooks.

27 Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) A village beyond a hill, 1651 Black chalk, with brush and gray wash on ivory laid paper 96 x 157 mm.

Inscribed ‘290’ Provenance C.F. Louis de Wild, New York With Dr. K. Lilienfeld, New York Prof.Dr. Fred P., New York and later Vienna Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna 1987-1988 Christie's, London, private sale, 2014 Private collection, New York Literature H.-U. Beck, Vol I, no. 847/290, p. 315 (not ill.)

H.-U. Beck, Vol III, no. 847/290, p. 125a-b, ill. (also read as '220')

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