(Antwerp circa 1590–1652 The Hague)
(Amsterdam circa 1590–1630 The Hague)
A classical arcade with elegant figures, a city view to the right,
signed lower right, on the base of the column: B V Bassen,
oil on panel, 59 x 92.7 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of the Grand Dukes of Saxony-Weimar, Weimar;
Princess of Saxony-Weimar;
Private collection, Madrid, Spain;
where bought by the present owner

Exhibited:
New York and London, Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Gallery, Vermeer and the Delft School, 2001

The present picture underwent technical examination at the National Gallery on the occasion of its inclusion in the 2001 exhibition Vermeer and the Delft School, which revealed underdrawing consistent with van Bassen’s method of working out the composition directly on to the panel.

Van Bassen, probably born in Antwerp, revolutionised the depiction of architectural interiors in the Low Countries. Whilst he kept the single viewpoint employed by the masters of his hometown – Hendrick van Steenwijk and Hans Vredeman de Vries – he employed novel light and atmospheric effects to articulate architectural space. The current picture uses shadow crossing the foreground in a repoussoir effect, creating a more convincing sense of depth. Van de Velde’s figures, notably the caped boy and the cripple by the riverside, cast their own shadows, harmonising perfectly with van Bassen’s composition. In spite of his high status as architect for both the Stadtholder, and for the exiled ‘Winter King’ of Bohemia, Frederick V of the Palatinate, for whom he converted a monastery into a palace ‘well built after the Italian manner’ (as John Evelyn described it in 1641) van Bassen is not mentioned by the important art historians of his day. Nothing is known of van Bassen’s training. He was admitted to the Delft Guild of Saint Luke in 1613. By 1624 he was a member of the Guild at The Hague, where he became dean in 1627. In addition to being court architect he was made comptroller of municipal buildings in The Hague in 1638.

Esaias van de Velde, who painted the staffage in the present work, was trained in Haarlem and painted figures for Van Bassen in The Hague - the 2001 exhibition noted that their joint efforts are often cited in Delft inventories, however, his importance goes far beyond this collaboration. Van de Velde reduced the number of figures and subdued the strong local colours traditional in 16th century northern landscape painting, so achieving a new unity of atmosphere and tone. His significant works such as the View of Zierikzee (1618) and etchings such as The Gallows helped define the progressive landscape style of the epoch. His best-known pupil was Jan van Goyen, whose tonal landscapes show his master’s influence.