Lot No. 27


Marten Ryckaert


Marten Ryckaert - Old Master Paintings

(Antwerp 1587–1631)
A rocky landscape with a waterfall,
oil on canvas, 85.5 x 128 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Walther Bernt (1900–1980), Munich, sold 22 February 1954;
sale, Antiquariat F. Dörling, Hamburg, 3-4 December 1987, lot 6201 (as Paul Bril);
sale, Christie’s, Amsterdam, 12 December 1990, lot 129 (as Paul Bril);
with Cesare Lampronti, Rome, 1990;
Private collection, Germany, until 2020

We are grateful to Luuk Pijl for confirming the attribution of the present picture to Marten Ryckaert on the basis of a photograph. A copy of his certificate (dated 29 March 2021) is available.

The present picture is listed in the archives of the RKD under no. 279298, as Marten Ryckaert.

This Rocky landscape with a waterfall is a characteristic and refined example of Ryckaert’s oeuvre which also bears testament to collecting tastes in Antwerp, and to the Italianate scenery so favoured by Flemings who had worked in Rome. Pijl notes the figure of a shepherd playing his flute on the left who ‘emphasises the peaceful and pastoral atmosphere of the scenery.’ Pijl notes the skill with which Ryckaet lends a sense of scale to the natural elements of the scene, by rendering the two figures bent over at the mouth of the cave to the right, and the goats and birds which so enliven the composition.

The present painting is observed by Pijl to typically be a reinterpretation by Ryckaert of motifs employed adeptly by earlier masters, in this case Paul Bril (1554–1626) who was active in Rome in the 1590s at the same time as Ryckaert’s tutor Tobias Verhaecht (1561–1631). Pijl identifies the present canvas as inspired by Bril’s 1619 work Mountain Landscape with Deer and a Waterfall (sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 29 January 2015, lot 33). He adds that Bril’s work is featured in the renowned 1626 Cabinet of Cornelis van der Geest. by Willem van Haecht, today conserved in the Rubenshuis, Antwerp (see fig. 1). Thus sometime after ‘its completion in 1619, Bril’s work must have been available to Ryckaert in Antwerp in the 1620s, the likely date of execution for the present work.’ Pijl remarks finally that in spite of the ‘bright greens, reds and blues deriving from Bril’s works, the worked-out execution, with dot-like highlights are typical for Ryckaert.’

Specialist: Damian Brenninkmeyer Damian Brenninkmeyer
+43 1 515 60 403

damian.brenninkmeyer@dorotheum.at

10.11.2021 - 16:00

Estimate:
EUR 30,000.- to EUR 50,000.-

Marten Ryckaert


(Antwerp 1587–1631)
A rocky landscape with a waterfall,
oil on canvas, 85.5 x 128 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Walther Bernt (1900–1980), Munich, sold 22 February 1954;
sale, Antiquariat F. Dörling, Hamburg, 3-4 December 1987, lot 6201 (as Paul Bril);
sale, Christie’s, Amsterdam, 12 December 1990, lot 129 (as Paul Bril);
with Cesare Lampronti, Rome, 1990;
Private collection, Germany, until 2020

We are grateful to Luuk Pijl for confirming the attribution of the present picture to Marten Ryckaert on the basis of a photograph. A copy of his certificate (dated 29 March 2021) is available.

The present picture is listed in the archives of the RKD under no. 279298, as Marten Ryckaert.

This Rocky landscape with a waterfall is a characteristic and refined example of Ryckaert’s oeuvre which also bears testament to collecting tastes in Antwerp, and to the Italianate scenery so favoured by Flemings who had worked in Rome. Pijl notes the figure of a shepherd playing his flute on the left who ‘emphasises the peaceful and pastoral atmosphere of the scenery.’ Pijl notes the skill with which Ryckaet lends a sense of scale to the natural elements of the scene, by rendering the two figures bent over at the mouth of the cave to the right, and the goats and birds which so enliven the composition.

The present painting is observed by Pijl to typically be a reinterpretation by Ryckaert of motifs employed adeptly by earlier masters, in this case Paul Bril (1554–1626) who was active in Rome in the 1590s at the same time as Ryckaert’s tutor Tobias Verhaecht (1561–1631). Pijl identifies the present canvas as inspired by Bril’s 1619 work Mountain Landscape with Deer and a Waterfall (sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 29 January 2015, lot 33). He adds that Bril’s work is featured in the renowned 1626 Cabinet of Cornelis van der Geest. by Willem van Haecht, today conserved in the Rubenshuis, Antwerp (see fig. 1). Thus sometime after ‘its completion in 1619, Bril’s work must have been available to Ryckaert in Antwerp in the 1620s, the likely date of execution for the present work.’ Pijl remarks finally that in spite of the ‘bright greens, reds and blues deriving from Bril’s works, the worked-out execution, with dot-like highlights are typical for Ryckaert.’

Specialist: Damian Brenninkmeyer Damian Brenninkmeyer
+43 1 515 60 403

damian.brenninkmeyer@dorotheum.at


Buyers hotline Mon.-Fri.: 10.00am - 5.00pm
old.masters@dorotheum.at

+43 1 515 60 403
Auction: Old Master Paintings
Auction type: Saleroom auction with Live Bidding
Date: 10.11.2021 - 16:00
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 29.10. - 10.11.2021