(Amsterdam 1638–1709) A shepherd and his flock in a ford, oil on panel, 80 x 103 cm, framed,

Provenance: Kleykamp auction, The Hague (before 1938).

Literaturee: Georges Brouilhiet, Meindert Hobbema, Paris 1938, pp. 230 and 411, cat. raisonné no. 257. The painting is cited and illustrated as an autograph work in the catalogue raisonné.

Meindert Hobbema is one of the most important Dutch landscape painters of the 17th century. His work was influenced at first by that of Cornelis Vroom and Anthonie van Borssom. Around 1656 he took his first art lessons from Jacob van Ruisdael, who had just moved from Haarlem to Amsterdam. Hobbema's training under Ruisdael does not seem to have lasted long, since his first signed painting of 1657 demonstrates that he was already established as an independent master. He enjoyed friendly relations with Ruisdael over the coming years. Together they travelled through the Dutch provinces to the region of Twente and over the border into the county of Bentheim. The suggestion that Hobbema continued painting as a hobby only after his appointment as a wine-gauger seems improbable given his comprehensive body of work.

Provenance: Kleykamp auction, The Hague (before 1938). Literaturee: Georges Brouilhiet, Meindert Hobbema, Paris 1938, pp. 230 and 411, cat. raisonné no. 257. The painting is cited and illustrated as an autograph work in the catalogue raisonné. Meindert