Jonas Suyderhoef (1610-1690), La Rixe (The Brawl), after Adriaen Van Ostade (1610-1685), engraving, c. 1660. [with the lettering A. Ostaden pinxit at the bottom left; J. Suyderhoef sculpsit bottom center; and Clemendt de Jonghe excudit bottom right]. Reference: Wussin 127, third state (of 5). In adequate condition but laid down on card, upper right tip repaired, a spot of paint upper left, moderate age toning, trimmed outside of plate mark,  17 3/8 x 14 5/8 inches.

A good impression of this large engraving, in the state before the de Jonghe address was taken off and the address of F. de Wit added. In the fifth state the plate passed into the hands of Basan, who removed the de Wit address.

Suyderhoef created this engraving after van Ostade’s painting in the Pinacotheque in Munich.

The brawl is lively: two peasants threaten each other with knives; a dog cowers below the table at the center; an elderly man moves to pick up a weapon at the right.

Detail

Jonas Suyderhoef 1613-1686),  The Three Women (les Parques Hollandaises), c. 1650, engraving and etching, after Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Reference: Wussin 120, fourth state (of 6), with the inscription “Nicolaus Visscher excu”lower right, and with the letters on the wall in the background “A. Van Ostaden pinxit; J. Suyderhoef sculpsit”. In excellent condition, on old laid paper with a margin, 11 3/4 x 8 5/8, the sheet 12 1/8 x 9 3/8 inches.

A very good, strong impression.

Wussin notes that in this state the horizontal lines have been added to the areas outside of the oval, but the address has yet to be changed to that of P. Schenk (who bought the plate from the Visscher firm, around 1700).

The painting may represent the three Destinies or Fates, the myth of the three sisters or old women who, a few days after a child is born, spin or weave its fate. The distaff (or spinning tool) at the bottom front, and the reel and spindle represent this; the three women appear to be having a drink after a hard day’s work.

Detail

Adriaen Van Ostade, The Singers, circa 1668, etching. References: Godefry, Hollstein 19. The fifth state (of seven). In very good condition. [with the inscription on the plate [A. v. oftade fecit et excud.]. With margins, 9 7/16 x 7 17/32, the sheet 9 17/32 x 7 19/32  inches. On old laid paper.

Provenance: Craddock and Barnard, London, acquired on December 8, 1967 by Dr. S. W. Pelletier (with his stamp verso, not yet in Lugt).  Dr. Pelletier was known for his fine collection of Van Ostade etchings (as well as superb examples of etchings by Rembrandt, Van Dyke, Meryon, and others).

A fine impression in black ink on ivory laid paper, with superb contrasts.

In this state the three vertical lines above the jug are crossed by three diagonal strokes, also appearing in the margin, before the scratch on the nose of the standing man).  Godefry is not correct in stating that state V is a Picart (and thus possibly posthumous) printing; the Picart is of state VI (cf. Adriaen Van Ostade, Etcher of Peasant Life in Holland’s Golden Age, pp. 109-110. This impression is illustrated in this volume, p. 106).

It is of course only in the early, lifetime impressions that Van Ostade etchings can be fully appreciated.

The Singers is one of Van Ostade’s most important and impressive works. It shows four singers, three of whom are highlighted by the candlelight held by the man at the left; a fourth man is in the shadows upper left, and other shapes, suggesting figures, lurk in the background as well.

The Singers probably depicts members of a rhetorical group; these groups were common in The Netherlands during the late 15th and 16th centuries (there were two in Haarlem at the time, and many local artists such as Frans Hals and Esaias van de Velde, were members). Their members presented public readings, plays, and sponsored literary competitions. Jan Steen created well-known paintings of such a group (at Worcester and Philadelphia), probably after Van Ostade’s conception. Van Ostade as well made several drawings and a watercolor on the subject, and probably at least one painting (now lost). The triangular shape at the bottom of the etching is surely the upper half of a “blazon” or coat of arms that these rhetorical groups used to identify themselves.

Detail

]]> http://harrisschrank.com/the-singers-5th-state.htm/feed 0 http://harrisschrank.com/the-anglers.htm http://harrisschrank.com/the-anglers.htm#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:59:45 +0000 Harris Schrank http://harrisschrank.com/?p=1046 Adriaen Van Ostade (1610-1685) etching The Anglers, circa 1647, Godefry 26, Bartsch 26. Very good condition, with small (1/2 inch) margins, on cream laid paper, archival mounting. 4 1/2 x 6 5/8 inches. A fine, rich impression of the sixth state of seven. This state appears identical to Godefry’s fifth state, but the borderline appears a bit stronger than that pictured in Godefry, so we’ve taken a conservative position and assigned it as sixth state. But the horizontal lines in the sky upper right are printing quite well as in the earlier states, and the inking is quite rich and [...]]]>

Adriaen Van Ostade (1610-1685) etching The Anglers, circa 1647, Godefry 26, Bartsch 26. Very good condition, with small (1/2 inch) margins, on cream laid paper, archival mounting. 4 1/2 x 6 5/8 inches.

A fine, rich impression of the sixth state of seven.

This state appears identical to Godefry’s fifth state, but the borderline appears a bit stronger than that pictured in Godefry, so we’ve taken a conservative position and assigned it as sixth state. But the horizontal lines in the sky upper right are printing quite well as in the earlier states, and the inking is quite rich and black, with details fine.  Godefroy notes that 5th state impressions of The Anglers were  included in the Picart edition.

Adriaen Van Ostade (1610-1685) specialized in scenes of individuals indoors, but in the few etchings he made of the outdoors he displayed mastery. In The Anglers on a Bridge, perhaps influenced by his contemporaries Rembrandt, and the landscape specialist Ruysdael, Van Ostade focuses on the landscape, the bridge and the water, not the two tiny figures on the bridge.

Adriaen Van Ostade (1610-1685), The Breakfast (Le Gourmet en Compagnie), etching, c. 1647-52. References: Godefry, Hollstein 50. Seventh state (of 12). On cream laid paper, in very good condition, with margins (collector’s stamp verso showing through slightly bottom left below image), no watermark discernible, 8 1/2 x 10 1/4, the sheet 8 15/16 x 11. Archival mounting.

A fine early delicately printed impression. Godefry observes that impressions of this early (lifetime) state are “tres rare.”

Provenance: ex Collection Dr. S. William Pelletier (with his stamp verso, and dated by him as acquired 11/15/99). ex Collection ES (with the colored initials stamp verso, possibly Emilio Santarelli, cf. Lugt 907). Also in graphite “K&K” with the date 5-6-’59, possibly referring to the auction house of Kornfeld and Klipstein, Bern.  Dr. Pelletier was one of the most eminent of old master – particularly Rembrandt and Van Ostade - collectors.

The Breakfast is one of Van Ostade’s greatest accomplishments in printmaking. It is his second largest print, after the Dance in a Tavern.  The background patterning of The Breakfast is extraordinarily detailed and rich, and the composition of figures at the center is moving and alive. At the left a child helps a younger child drink, as a cat watches and the five adults to their right engage in a frenzy of drinking and conversation.

The Latin at the bottom, which was added by Ostade (we know this because he maintained control of all his plates during his lifetime), is translated: “We spend time for an untroubled table. After a lengthy wait, a fair day comes.” This suggests that despite the drinking, clutter, and the playing cards on the ground Ostade was portraying an essentially sympathetic view of peasant life (it’s not, however clear that these people are in fact a family, or that they’re eating breakfast!). The picture at the left on the wall depicts the Old Testament story of Tobias and the Angel.

The Breakfast went through 12 states, the last 3 being posthumous. In this seventh state the borderline was strengthened, but the cross-hatching lines from left to right under the bench have yet to be added. The etching lines are relatively strong despite the great delicacy of the close work.