(Utrecht 1656–1701 Amsterdam)
A pair of capricci, The roman harbour Ripa Grande and an idealized view with the Sponda del Tevere,
oil on canvas, each 62 x 99 cm, framed(2)

We are grateful to Francesco Petrucci for his identification of the present pair as characteristic works by de Heusch. A written report by Petrucci accompanies this lot.

These recently rediscovered paintings form an important addition to the artists’ oeuvre. In January 1675, Heusch, who received his training from his brother Willem, is mentioned for the first time as a member of the Schildersbent, an association formed by Netherlandish artists in Rome. Though it is not known how long he remained in the Eternal City, we may assume it was quite a while, because the Italian motifs in his work all come from Rome and its surroundings. He was employed by all of the great Roman families, the Doria Pamphilj, Falconieri, Colonna, Rospigliosi and the Corsini, and almost all significant Roman collections own works by the artist. By 1699 he had returned to Utrecht, where he died two years later.

Jacob de Heusch belongs to the generation of Netherlanders who visited Rome during the last quarter of the 17th century. Unlike the Bamboccianti of the previous generation, who were interested in the life of the people in the old city, these artists were fascinated above all by the Roman campagna, as it had been immortalized by Claude Lorrain and Gaspard Dughet. Just as hundreds of their compatriots had done since the 16th century, they recorded the interesting buildings and picturesque views that they observed during their walks in sketchbooks. Most of them, including De Heusch, used these sketches to compose idealised landscapes in the style of the French-Roman masters. Most of De Heusch’s paintings are freely conceived landscapes incorporating topographical motifs, in a style that recalls both Gaspard Dughet and Salvator Rosa. These highly atmospherical views, with their occasionally powerful architectonic effects and rather prominent clusters of figures, were highly sought after by contemporary collectors, and influenced a whole generation of Roman and Venetian Landscape painters such as Andrea Locatelli, Jan Frans van Bloemen, Adrien Manglard, Paolo Anesi, Giovan Battista Busiri and Luca Carlevarijs.

The Ripa Grande is a motif de Heusch employed in a couple of his paintings. There is a very similar composition in Lisbon, formerly in the Collection of Cardinal Giuseppe Sensi (see: A. Busiri Vici, Jacob de Heusch 1656-1701, ed. by C. Martini, Rome 1997, p. 108, n. 8), and another one that was on the Roman art market (see: A. Busiri Vici, ibid. 1997, p. 114, n. 14). The left part of the composition depicts a topographical detail of the old Roman harbour with a great deal of accuracy, whilst the right bank and the background are imaginative. Two designs by Isaac de Moucheron (Ripa Grande, Albertina, inv. no. 10480, see fig. 1, and Otterlo, Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller) show this exact view of the buildings and the harbour. The second view also incorporates existing elements in an imaginative scenery. This composition is known in several other versions too: Lisbon, Collection Cardinal Giuseppe Sensi (see A. Busiri Vici, ibid. 1997, p. 109, n. 9); formerly art market, Milan (see A. Busiri Vici, ibid. 1997, p. 111, n. 11); and a painting formerly on the art market, Rome (see A. Busiri Vici, ibid. 1997, p. 113, n. 13).

Additional image:
Isaac de Moucheron, Ripa Grande, Graphische Sammlung, inv. no. 10480, Albertina, Vienna.