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-singers.htm http://harrisschrank.com/the-singers.htm#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:22:58 +0000 Harris Schrank http://harrisschrank.com/?p=162 Adriaen Van Ostade, The Singers, circa 1668, etching. References: Godefry, Hollstein 19. The fourth 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 15/32, the sheet 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches. On old laid paper with the Fleur de Lys in Crowned Shield watermark, a variant of the several comparable watermarks cited by Godefry as characteristic of the early impressions. Provenance: J. Danser Nyman, sale Amsterdam, March 19, 1798, to Hendriks [Knoedler Gallery, New York (Lugt 2007)]; Martin Carlsson, [...]]]>

Adriaen Van Ostade, The Singers, circa 1668, etching. References: Godefry, Hollstein 19. The fourth 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 15/32, the sheet 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches. On old laid paper with the Fleur de Lys in Crowned Shield watermark, a variant of the several comparable watermarks cited by Godefry as characteristic of the early impressions.

Provenance: J. Danser Nyman, sale Amsterdam, March 19, 1798, to Hendriks [Knoedler Gallery, New York (Lugt 2007)]; Martin Carlsson, Stockholm; George Bjorklund, Stockholm, acquired from him on August 18, 1966 by Dr. S. W. Pelletier (with his stamp [twice] verso). Inscribed in graphite by J. Danser Nyman verso, also by another unidentified collector [OE] in violet ink verso.  (This is the earliest state impression of this print collected by the eminent Van Ostade collector Dr. S. W. Pelletier.)

A fine richly printed impression in black ink with plate tone, with superb contrasts – a fine example of Van Ostade’s use of chiaroscuro - on ivory laid paper.  This state shows Van Ostade’s signature bottom right, and the three very tiny vertical strokes across the border above the jug at the top, before the further shading above.

It is of course only in the early, lifetime impressions that Van Ostade etchings can be fully appreciated. Additional printings were made posthumously; this is the fourth state; the Picart (posthumous) edition was made in the sixth state (not the fifth, as noted by Godefry).  Godefry described impressions of this state as “rare.”

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.

Adriaen Van Ostade (1610-1685), Bust of a Peasant (or, A Female Peasant Laughing), etching, 1647 (see discussion below). Reference: Godefroy 2, third state (of 5). In very good condition, with small margins outside of the platemark, 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 inches.

A fine strong impression, before the artist’s initials were added and the borderline was strengthened with a burin.

Godefroy indicates that impressions from this state were included in the later Picart edition, but there is evidence that impressions of this state were also taken before the Picart edition; this impression appears sufficiently fine to suggest that it is a lifetime impression.

Godefroy dates this to 1636, but subsequent authorities have concluded that this work is far too mature to date that early, and suggest a later date (Schnackenburg 1647-52; Slatkes 1650-52).

This was probably meant as a companion piece or pendant to Godefroy 1, Bust of a Laughing Peasant.

Adriaen Von Ostade (1610-1685) etching, circa 1647(Godefry 41, Bartsch 41), 6th state (of 8). [signed in the plate] In very good condition, with (small) margins all around, archival matting. 118 x 116 mm (4 5/8 x 4 1/2 inches)

A fine, bright and clear impression, with traces of inky plate edges and wiping scratches still printing outside of the image.

The Pig Killers is the first of Ostade’s complex compositions, made when he was in his late 30’s. It portrays the entire farm family in this celebratory ritual: the head of the family oversees the operation (at the left), the farmhand kneels on the just slaughtered pig while the farmer’s wife collects the blood in a ladle; the eldest son holds a candle lighting up the scene while two other children – perhaps understandably – are less focused on what’s going on.

Night scenes such as this were popular with Van Ostade and his contemporaries (most notably, Rembrandt). Van Ostade’s work at this time sometimes resembles that of Rembrandt, although Van Ostade’s teacher was Frans Hals, and Van Ostade worked and lived in Haarlem his whole life (but of course Rembrandt’s etchings were known to him, and the tradition of night scenes in 17th Century Dutch etching precedes both Van Ostade and Rembrandt).

A fine strong impression.

Godefry indicates that impressions from this state were included in the later Picart edition, but there is evidence that impressions of this state were also taken before the Picart edition; this impression (highly magnified in the above illustration)  appears sufficiently fine to suggest that it is a lifetime impression.

Impressions of the first state of this print are quite rare; in fact the distinguished S.W. Pelletier collection’s earliest impression was of the second state (he also had a third state).

Godefry dates this to 1636, but subsequent authorities have concluded that this work is far too mature to date that early, and suggest a later date (Schnackenburg 1647-52; Slatkes 1650-52).

Although tiny, the etching is very detailed and expressive; this is apparently an older man, and its companion print (Bartsch 2), an older woman, are sometimes seen in copies printed in pendant fashion facing one another, consistent with a northern tradition showing pairs of heads in relationship to each other. Copies of these etchings were used in a 1716 Haarlem songbook in which the two peasants talked about old age, and eventually focused on the frailty of the human condition.

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.

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), Village Romance, etching and drypoint, circa 1667. Godefry 11, Hollstein 11. Godefry’s 9th state (of 12). In good condition, remains of prior hinging verso, with margins, 6 1/2 x 5, the sheet 7 1/8 x 5 3/4 inches. On old laid paper with a Foolscap with 7 points watermark. This is Godefry’s watermark 21-22, characteristic of lifetime impressions c. 1680.

Provenance: Arthur FriederickTheodor Bohnenberger, Stuttgart (stamp verso, Lugt 68, Suppl.); Heinrich Buttstaedt, Gotha and Berlin (ink signature verso, Lugt 320); Martin Carlson, Stockholm; George Bjorklund, Stockholm; Dr. S. William Pelletier (acquired from Bjorklund August 18, 1966, with stamp, date and initials verso).

A fine impression in black ink on cream laid paper. In this state there are stong vertical stokes on the man’s hat. Godefry describes the 9th state impressions of this print as “rare.”

This impression of Village Romance is illustrated and discussed in the landmark volume on Van Ostade’s prints “Adriaen Van Ostade, Etchings of Peasant Life in Holland’s Golden Age,” by Pelletier, Slatkes and Stone-Ferrier, pages 71-3.

Van Ostade made the Village Romance at a relatively late stage in his career, after he had demonstrated his ability to create both large scale scenes (such as Dance in the Inn) and smaller more intimate plates. This is one of his most successful plates of the latter type (though it is not particularly small); the drawing is supple, the expressions of the young woman, and the much older man (whose hand is firmly planted on her breast, apparently with her consent), are both quite telling. The composition is intriguing, the framing of the images (with the window device, and the vine upper right) superb.

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 (tiny loss upper left outside of platemark, 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.