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View of Haarlem
Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde (Dutch, 1638–1698)
1671
Medium/Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
42.2 x 60.3 cm (16 5/8 x 23 3/4 in.)
Framed: 61.9 x 80 x 5.4 cm (24 3/8 x 31 1/2 x 2 1/8 in.)
Framed: 61.9 x 80 x 5.4 cm (24 3/8 x 31 1/2 x 2 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession Number2019.2092
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
In this view of Haarlem, Berckheyde’s focus is not the church of St. Bavo, looming in the distance, beautifully rendered though it is. No, the real subject is the painting’s barren, muddy foreground. Though it’s sparse, the foreground is brimming with greenery and depictions of everyday life. This area would soon be developed during a city expansion in 1671. Scholars have suggested that the backers of this expansion commissioned the painting, eager to document the potential of the site.
Signed
Signed lower center: "g. Berckhyde"
ProvenancePossibly Leopold von Wertheimstein (b. 1801 – d. 1883) and Josephine von Wertheimstein-Gompertz (b. 1820 – d. 1894), Vienna; to their daughter, Franziska von Wertheimstein (b. 1844 – d. 1907), Vienna; to her uncle, Theodor von Gomperz (b. 1832 – d. 1912), Vienna [see note 1]; to his daughter, Bettina Holzapfel-Gomperz (b. 1879 – d. 1948), Vienna and Bern [see note 2]. Franz Josef Honig (b. 1877 - d. 1930), Vienna; July 13, 1926, Honig sale, Mensing-Muller, Amsterdam, lot 732, to B. de Haas on behalf of Friedrich J. E. Horstmann (b. 1876 – d. 1929), Schloss Oud Clingendaal, Wassenaar [see note 3]; November 19, 1929, Horstmann sale, Mensing-Muller, Amsterdam, lot 2, to Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker, Amsterdam [see note 4]; sold by Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker to Siegfried von Buchenau (b. 1870 – d. 1932), Niendorf, Germany [see note 5]; by descent to his widow, Anna Emilie Buchenau-Vermehren, Niendorf, Lübeck [see note 6]; after 1939, sold by the Buchenau family to Walther Bernt (b. 1900 – d. 1980), Munich [see note 7]; by descent within the family; December 7, 2010, anonymous (Bernt family) sale, Christie's, London, lot 20, to Noortman Master Paintings, London [see note 8]; 2011, sold by Noortman Master Paintings to Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA [see note 9]; 2019, gift of Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 11, 2019)
NOTES:
[1] According to the 1929 Mensing-Muller sale catalogue.
[2] According to the 2010 Christie’s sale catalogue.
[3] The painting was sold to Haas on behalf of Horstmann according to Frederik J. Duparc in Dutch and Flemish Masterworks: From the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (Boston, 2020), p. 20.
[4] Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker purchased the painting at the 1929 sale according to Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20.
[5] According to Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20.
[6] The Buchenau family lent the painting to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, from July 23, 1934 to August 26, 1939, according to Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20. During this period, the Buchenau family also loaned the painting to Cinq siecles d’art: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Brussels, from May 24 to October 13, 1935.
[7] In the night between July 25 and 26, 1970, the painting was stolen from Bernt’s residence in Munich (see Weltkunst, August 1, 1970). The painting, along with nine other works, was later recovered.
[8] The 2010 Christie’s sale catalogue does not identify the consigner, but notes that the family presumably acquired it from the Buchenaus. Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20, identifies the family as the Bernt family.
[9] Provenance between 2010 and 2011 is taken from Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20.
NOTES:
[1] According to the 1929 Mensing-Muller sale catalogue.
[2] According to the 2010 Christie’s sale catalogue.
[3] The painting was sold to Haas on behalf of Horstmann according to Frederik J. Duparc in Dutch and Flemish Masterworks: From the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (Boston, 2020), p. 20.
[4] Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker purchased the painting at the 1929 sale according to Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20.
[5] According to Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20.
[6] The Buchenau family lent the painting to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, from July 23, 1934 to August 26, 1939, according to Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20. During this period, the Buchenau family also loaned the painting to Cinq siecles d’art: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Brussels, from May 24 to October 13, 1935.
[7] In the night between July 25 and 26, 1970, the painting was stolen from Bernt’s residence in Munich (see Weltkunst, August 1, 1970). The painting, along with nine other works, was later recovered.
[8] The 2010 Christie’s sale catalogue does not identify the consigner, but notes that the family presumably acquired it from the Buchenaus. Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20, identifies the family as the Bernt family.
[9] Provenance between 2010 and 2011 is taken from Duparc 2020 (see above, note 3), p. 20.