The Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, looking towards the Leidsestraat

Details

Hendrik Keun (Haarlem 1738-1788)
The Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, looking towards the Leidsestraat
signed and dated 'Hk Keun 1772.12/7' (lower centre)
oil on panel
53.4 x 75.5 cm. (21 x 29¾ in.).

Provenance

(Probably) Nicolaes Doekscheer, Amsterdam; P. van der Schley etc., Amsterdam, 9 September 1789, lot 21, 'Hendrik Keun, 1772. Paneel. Hoog 21, breed 30 duim. Een Gezicht langs de zuidzyde der Keizersgracht, naar de Leidschestraat en de Leidschegracht te zien; rijk gestoffeerd met verscheidene beelden, ry- en vaartuigen. Dit stuk is zeer uitvoerig gepenseeld, en de zonnelichten, als mede de slagschaduwen der boomen, op de huizen en den grond, zyn in het zelve wel waargenomen' (90 florins to Jan Veening).
(Probably) Jan Veening; P. van der Schley etc., Amsterdam, 13-14 April 1796, lot 40 (34 florins to H. van Kleeft).
Anonymous sale; Christie's, Amsterdam, 26 April 1983, lot 196 (to Dreesmann).
Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann (inventory no. A-48).

Literature

(Probably) R. van Eynden and A. van der Willigen, Geschiedenis der Vaderlandsche Schilderkunst, Haarlem, 1840, IV, p. 182.
(Probably) I.H. van Eeghen, 'De verzamelaar Nicolaas Doekscheer', in Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum, no. 4, December 1971, pp. 175-7.
R. Baarsen, et al., catalogue of the exhibition, Rococo in Nederland, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2 November 2001 3 February 2002, pp. 66 and 312, under no. 9, note 1.

Special notice

Christie's charges a Buyer's premium calculated at 20.825% of the hammer price for each lot with a value up to €90,000. If the hammer price of a lot exceeds €90,000 then the premium for the lot is calculated at 20.825% of the first €90,000 plus 11.9% of any amount in excess of €90,000. Buyer's Premium is calculated on this basis for each lot individually.

Lot Essay

The first house depicted on the left is number 524. In 1772 it was owned by Nicolaes Doekscheer (1706-1789) and Elisabeth Groen (1728-1782). Doekscheer, the son of the merchant Caspar Doekscheer and Anna Piek, bought the property in 1743 for 26.500 florins (see Van Eeghen, op. cit., p. 173); in 1754 he had the facade renewed and enlarged, and between 1756 and 1758 the coach-house built. A view of the garden and the coach-house, also dated 1772, is now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Baarsen, op. cit., p. 66, no. 9). Given that the latter picture must have been commissioned by Doekscheer - he and his family can be seen strolling in the garden - it seems likely that he ordered the present lot directly from the artist too (see also provenance).

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