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An Italianate Landscape with Travelers on a Path
Jan Both (Dutch, about 1618–1652)
1645-50
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
138 × 167.5 cm (54 5/16 × 65 15/16 in.)
171.5 × 201 × 5.5 cm ( 67 1/2 × 79 1/8 × 2 3/16 in.)
171.5 × 201 × 5.5 cm ( 67 1/2 × 79 1/8 × 2 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession Number2021.714
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Here, late afternoon light illuminates towering cliffs, a series of waterfalls, and clusters of travelers in the Italian countryside. Jan Both, who spent several years in Rome, specialized in mountainous views bathed in a golden haze. Such paintings were an alternative to the horizontal topography and cooler light of Dutch landscapes. His pictures were popular with armchair travelers, who could enjoy the warmth of the Mediterranean sun without leaving the comforts of home.
ProvenanceWillem Jan van Vollenhoven (b. 1730 – d. 1783), Amsterdam; by descent to his wife, Maria Feitama van Vollenhoven (b. 1733 - d. 1793); April 2, 1794, van Vollenhoven estate sale, Voorhoeve, Amsterdam, lot 10, sold for 1960 fl. to Pieter van Winter (b. 1743 – d. 1807), Amsterdam [see note 1]; by descent to his daughter, Anna Louisa Agatha van Winter (b. 1807 – d. 1877), Amsterdam [see note 2]; 1877, Van Loon collection sold en bloc by the heirs of Anna Louisa Agatha van Loon-van Winter to Alphonse, Gustave, Edmond, Lionel and Ferdinand de Rothschild (acting in syndicate) [see note 3]; allocated by the syndicate to Baron Lionel de Rothschild (b. 1808 – d. 1879), London; to his son, Nathaniel Rothschild (b. 1840 – d. 1915), 1st Lord Rothschild, London; May 7, 1898, anonymous (Rothschild) sale, Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, lot 82, sold to A. Smith [see note 4]. Thomas Humphry Ward (b. 1845 – d. 1926), London. Dowdeswell and Dowdeswell Ltd., London [see note 5]. Probably Johann Felbrach (b. 1861 – d. 1942), Wesel, Germany [see note 6]. Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; May 20, 2006, anonymous (North Rhine-Westphalia collection) sale, Lempertz, Cologne, lot 1015. 2007, sold by Johnny van Haeften (dealer), London, to Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA; 2021, gift of Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 15, 2021)
NOTES:
[1] According to Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibendes und Kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der Hervorragendsten Hollandischen Maler des XVII Jahrhunderts (Esslingen, 1926), no. 209. See also Ruud Priem, “The ‘Most Excellent Collection’ of Lucretia Johanna van Winter,” Simiolus 25 (1997), p. 218.
[2] According to John Smith, Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters, vol. 6 (London, 1835), no. 67, this painting was in the Van Loon collection, Amsterdam. Anna van Winter married Willem van Loon (b. 1794 - d. 1847) in 1815. See Priem (as above, n. 1), pp. 103-104.
[3] See Michael Hall, “Le Goût Rothschild: The Origins and Influences of a Collecting Style” in British Models of Art Collecting and the American Response (Surrey, 2014), p. 110.
[4] Frederik Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Collection of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo (New Haven, 2011), cat. no. 12, identifies the anonymous sale as that of Nathaniel Rothschild.
[5] According to Duparc 2011 (as above, n. 4).
[6] Ruud Priem, “Catalogue of Old Master Paintings Acquired by Lucretia Johanna van Winter, 1809-22,” Simiolus 25 (1997), Appendix l, p. 218, no. 22.
NOTES:
[1] According to Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibendes und Kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der Hervorragendsten Hollandischen Maler des XVII Jahrhunderts (Esslingen, 1926), no. 209. See also Ruud Priem, “The ‘Most Excellent Collection’ of Lucretia Johanna van Winter,” Simiolus 25 (1997), p. 218.
[2] According to John Smith, Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters, vol. 6 (London, 1835), no. 67, this painting was in the Van Loon collection, Amsterdam. Anna van Winter married Willem van Loon (b. 1794 - d. 1847) in 1815. See Priem (as above, n. 1), pp. 103-104.
[3] See Michael Hall, “Le Goût Rothschild: The Origins and Influences of a Collecting Style” in British Models of Art Collecting and the American Response (Surrey, 2014), p. 110.
[4] Frederik Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Collection of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo (New Haven, 2011), cat. no. 12, identifies the anonymous sale as that of Nathaniel Rothschild.
[5] According to Duparc 2011 (as above, n. 4).
[6] Ruud Priem, “Catalogue of Old Master Paintings Acquired by Lucretia Johanna van Winter, 1809-22,” Simiolus 25 (1997), Appendix l, p. 218, no. 22.