(Amsterdam 1638–1709)
A landscape with a bridge,
oil on panel, 50 x 75 cm, framed

Provenance:
Galerie Frans Buffa en Zonen, Amsterdam, June 1925;
sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 18 May 1989, lot 651;
Morat-Institut für Kunst und Kunstwissenschaft, Freiburg im Breisgau

Literature:
G. Broulhiet, Meindert Hobbema, Paris, 1938, p. 433, no. 423, ill. p. 313

When the present painting was sold in these rooms in 1989, it was accompanied by a written report by Christopher Wright from 21 January 1987. Christopher Wright wrote: ‘In my opinion, this beautiful landscape with a bridge is an excellently preserved example of the artist’s mature style. It was painted around 1663, when Hobbema broke free from Jacob Ruisdael’s tutelage and developed into a painter of greater independence. The watermill at the centre is familiar to us from many compositions by this master. The painting will be included as an autograph work by Hobbema in my forthcoming catalogue raisonné.’ The works of the landscapist Meindert Hobbema, who was trained by Jacob van Ruisdael, differ from those of his teacher in their more pronounced impasto, their stronger chiaroscuro, and through a wealth of subtly finished detail. Rendering the shimmering, reflecting sunlight, Meindert resorted to a palette that contained more yellows, greens, and browns, as opposed to Van Ruisdael’s, which was dominated by shades of grey. The staffage, fused in their surroundings, was, as a rule, painted by Hobbema’s own hand.