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Italian landscape with river, bridge and tower

Maker

(artist)
1620-1683

Title

Date of Production

(circa) 1655 - 1663

Medium

pen and grey ink, grey wash on laid paper, with black ink framing lines, now laid down on Japanese tissue

Dimensions

Height: 30.1 cm
Width: 51.3 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.384

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Berchem was one of the best known and most prolific of the Dutch painters of Italianate themes. It is considered likely that he travelled to Italy, although documentary evidence is lacking. Italianate motifs in this drawing include the massive outcrops of rock and the fortified bridge, possibly inspired by the Ponte Molle in Rome, here given a rustic character. The sense of space, achieved by means of the tonal contrast between the sharply drawn foreground and the pale, almost hazy background, is characteristic of his work at this time.

Provenance

Thomas Dimsdale, London (1758-1823), L.2426; William Amhurst Tyssen-Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst of Hackney (1835-1909); by descent to his wife, Margaret Susan Mitford (1835-1919); her estate sale, Sotheby's (London), 14 December 1921, lot 57 (the artist's first name given as Claes); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952) (£3.3); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

The Witt Collection - Four centuries of drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/04/2004-20/06/2004

Landscapes in the Making: Dutch & Flemish 16-17th Century Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery, Tobu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 03/11/2000-24/12/2000; Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Shizuoka, 02/02/2001-11/03/2001; Koriyama City Museum of Art, Koriyama, 17/03/2001-15/04/2001

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 16/10/1991-19/01/1992 ...More

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/09/1986-30/11/1986; The Drawing Center, New York, 08/04/1986-26/07/1986

Old Masters from the Witt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 01/01/1943-01/05/1943

Empire Art Loan Collections Society Exhibition, South Africa, 1937-38 ...Less

Literature

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1991
cat. no. 8
pp. 24, 172
Illus. p. 25

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 30
Illus. p. 85

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right corner, grey ink, signed by the artist, first letters monogram: "NcBerchem. F:-". Verso (now hidden under Japanese tissue): lower left corner, ink: "No. 552".

Collector's mark: Former backing sheet (now missing, recorded in file): Thomas Dimsdale (L.2426).

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