.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Koekoek's large upright Boslandschap, dating from 1839, and acquired by King Willem II (1792-1849), earned him a Golden Medal at both the Tentoonstelling van Leevende Meesters, The Hague in 1839, as well as at the Paris Salon a year later.
It were similar monumental forest landscapes that would establish Koekkoek's reputation. From 1850 onwards Koekkoek applied changes in the composition lay-out of his landscapes. He predominantly arranged the trees in the foreground, thus filling the whole image.
The dense character of these compositions is strenthened by the small rim of sky. A. Nollert points out that the present lot clearly marks Koekkoek's modified conception of the composition lay-out.
In a dense forest, near a stream, an uprising chapel is revealed. In front of the chapel a hermit converses with a peasant girl. The hermit attracts attention by his habit and his white beard. Apparently the girl has disturbed the hermit in his reading. His pilgrim's staff leans against a rock. Given the narrative character of the staffage, one can well presume that the artist was influenced by German romanticism. The work in any case brings to mind the Biedermeier compositions with hermits by Moritz von Schwindt (1804-1871) and Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885).
The oak trees in Boslandschap met kapel, with their gnarled trunks, uneven and thick bark, and especially the knotty, almost artificial appearing branches, were a reoccuring feature in his landscapes from this period. (A. Nollert, op.cit, p. 50).
Throughout his career Koekkoek clearly drew his inspiration from the Dutch 17th century masters, such as Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682) and Meindert Hobbema (1638-1709). The present lot's motives can in many ways be compared with those used by Jacob van Ruisdael; the monumental oak trees alongside a track, a rippling stream and a ruinous chapel. In comparison to Van Ruisdael Koekkoek added staffage with a narrative element. The accent on these elements is what makes Koekkoek's art romantic. In Koekkoek's Herinneringen en Mededeelingen van eenen Landschapschilder, published in 1841, he thought it necessary to correct his 17th century predecessor by advising the upcoming landscapist not to apply heavy, cut down tree trunks in the foreground. (Koekkoek, Herinneringen en Mededeelingen van eenen Landschapschilder, 1841, p. 187).
Koekkoek stated that these traces of human intervention (sporen van ontluistering), when used by an artist, should always be bestowed with a distinct religious nature (eenige bewijzen van godsdienstig gevoel) (Ibidem, pp. 187-188).(See also cat. note lot 207)
Besides the old masters, Nature was his main source of inspiration. He wrote 'Leest de geschiedenis en ziet de werken der oude meesters; het was de natuur alleen, die zij, met haren verhevenste schoonheden hadden leeren kennen, tot eene hoogte, waartegen wij, (...) nog met verbazing opzien! (...) Alles wat gij naar de natuur maakt, is nieuw, dus origineel,want uw model blijft het altijd. Gij zijt volkomen onafhankelijk; behoeft geene penseelsbehandeling te volgen, want de natuur is niet geschilderd; volgt slechts de waarheid. Gij verrijkt Uwe portefeuille met een schat van schoonheden, die gij naderhand in het barre jaargetijde, in uwe kamer gezeten raadpleegt (...), om iets schoons te scheppen en eene nieuwe schilderij de wereld te laten zien'. (Ibidem, pp. 244-245).
Koekkoek however rejected a grotesque portrayal of nature, considering this an example of German romantic painting.
Koekkoek opposed to symbolic landscape painting and the use of sacral or historical motives. Koekkoek considered the motif of tiny figures by an uprising chapel as a sign of humility and the smallness of humanity in contrast to the greatness of creation, just like he considered his portrayals of the landscape as a celebration of the greatness of nature.
He limited himself in his paintings to subjects he came across in the Lower- and Central Rhine. Without attaching a symbolic value to them, he merely uses these to describe his ideal landscape in the best possible manner. (cf. literature; A. Nollert, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803-1862), Prins der Landschapschilders (exh. cat.), Zwolle 1997). For more information on the artist see also cat. notes with lots 188 and 212
Due to Koekkoek's overwhelming artistic success his painting were forged already by his life. This is why Koekkoek attached written certificates of authenticity with a red lacquer seal to the reverse of his paintings (Nollert, op. cit., p. 22).
It were similar monumental forest landscapes that would establish Koekkoek's reputation. From 1850 onwards Koekkoek applied changes in the composition lay-out of his landscapes. He predominantly arranged the trees in the foreground, thus filling the whole image.
The dense character of these compositions is strenthened by the small rim of sky. A. Nollert points out that the present lot clearly marks Koekkoek's modified conception of the composition lay-out.
In a dense forest, near a stream, an uprising chapel is revealed. In front of the chapel a hermit converses with a peasant girl. The hermit attracts attention by his habit and his white beard. Apparently the girl has disturbed the hermit in his reading. His pilgrim's staff leans against a rock. Given the narrative character of the staffage, one can well presume that the artist was influenced by German romanticism. The work in any case brings to mind the Biedermeier compositions with hermits by Moritz von Schwindt (1804-1871) and Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885).
The oak trees in Boslandschap met kapel, with their gnarled trunks, uneven and thick bark, and especially the knotty, almost artificial appearing branches, were a reoccuring feature in his landscapes from this period. (A. Nollert, op.cit, p. 50).
Throughout his career Koekkoek clearly drew his inspiration from the Dutch 17th century masters, such as Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682) and Meindert Hobbema (1638-1709). The present lot's motives can in many ways be compared with those used by Jacob van Ruisdael; the monumental oak trees alongside a track, a rippling stream and a ruinous chapel. In comparison to Van Ruisdael Koekkoek added staffage with a narrative element. The accent on these elements is what makes Koekkoek's art romantic. In Koekkoek's Herinneringen en Mededeelingen van eenen Landschapschilder, published in 1841, he thought it necessary to correct his 17th century predecessor by advising the upcoming landscapist not to apply heavy, cut down tree trunks in the foreground. (Koekkoek, Herinneringen en Mededeelingen van eenen Landschapschilder, 1841, p. 187).
Koekkoek stated that these traces of human intervention (sporen van ontluistering), when used by an artist, should always be bestowed with a distinct religious nature (eenige bewijzen van godsdienstig gevoel) (Ibidem, pp. 187-188).(See also cat. note lot 207)
Besides the old masters, Nature was his main source of inspiration. He wrote 'Leest de geschiedenis en ziet de werken der oude meesters; het was de natuur alleen, die zij, met haren verhevenste schoonheden hadden leeren kennen, tot eene hoogte, waartegen wij, (...) nog met verbazing opzien! (...) Alles wat gij naar de natuur maakt, is nieuw, dus origineel,want uw model blijft het altijd. Gij zijt volkomen onafhankelijk; behoeft geene penseelsbehandeling te volgen, want de natuur is niet geschilderd; volgt slechts de waarheid. Gij verrijkt Uwe portefeuille met een schat van schoonheden, die gij naderhand in het barre jaargetijde, in uwe kamer gezeten raadpleegt (...), om iets schoons te scheppen en eene nieuwe schilderij de wereld te laten zien'. (Ibidem, pp. 244-245).
Koekkoek however rejected a grotesque portrayal of nature, considering this an example of German romantic painting.
Koekkoek opposed to symbolic landscape painting and the use of sacral or historical motives. Koekkoek considered the motif of tiny figures by an uprising chapel as a sign of humility and the smallness of humanity in contrast to the greatness of creation, just like he considered his portrayals of the landscape as a celebration of the greatness of nature.
He limited himself in his paintings to subjects he came across in the Lower- and Central Rhine. Without attaching a symbolic value to them, he merely uses these to describe his ideal landscape in the best possible manner. (cf. literature; A. Nollert, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803-1862), Prins der Landschapschilders (exh. cat.), Zwolle 1997). For more information on the artist see also cat. notes with lots 188 and 212
Due to Koekkoek's overwhelming artistic success his painting were forged already by his life. This is why Koekkoek attached written certificates of authenticity with a red lacquer seal to the reverse of his paintings (Nollert, op. cit., p. 22).