Hendrik Van Minderhout

LOT 57 PROPERTY FROM A GERMAN PRIVATE COLLECTION HENDRIK VAN MINDERHOUT ROTTERDAM 1632 - 1696 ANTWERP A LEVANTINE HARBOUR WITH A GALLEY AND A MAN-OF-WAR COMING IN TO ANCHOR, TOGETHER WITH MANY FIGURES ON SHORE signed and dated lower left on the side of the boat: H van Minderhout.1681 oil on canvas 162.5 by 242.5 cm.; 64 by 95 1/2 in.

Hendrik van Minderhout (Rotterdam 1632-1696 Antwerp) An oriental harbour with a fortress, a man-o'-war, figures unloading cargo, and other vessels beyond oil on canvas 65 5/8 x 109¼ in. (166.7 x 277.5 cm.) Charles Scarisbrick, Scarisbrick Hall and Wrightington Hall, Lancashire; (+) Christie's, London, 10-11 May 1861, first day, lot 100 (28 gns. to Durlachen[?]). R.N. James, Painters and their works. A dictionary of great artists, who are not alive, giving their names, lives, and the prices paid for their works at auctions, II, London, 1897, p. 239. Not much is known about Hendrick van Minderhout's early years. Born in Rotterdam, he lived in Bruges between 1652 and 1672, entering the Guild of Saint Luke in 1663. He later settled in Antwerp until his death, where he remarried in 1673 and had five children, two of whom, Anton and Willem, were also painters. Having preferred a Dutch palette of silvery greys in his early canvases, the adaption of a warmer and more colourful palette along with a strong predeliction for Mediterranean harbour scenes in his later works, suggest that Minderhout had at least visited Italy. The bold contrasts created by the light falling on the rippling water and on the monumental ships, as well as the Levantine figures on the quay, is very striking. The theatre of this composition, with the dramatically angled man-of-war and towering rocky fortress, is a hallmark of Minderhout's paintings, other particularly fine examples include works at the Musée Royal des Beaux-Artes, Antwerp, the Groeningemuseum, Bruges, and at the National Gallery, Oslo.

Hendrik van Minderhout (Rotterdam 1632-1696 Antwerp) The Battle of The Sound, 29th October, 1650 oil on canvas 33¼ x 43½ in. (84.4 x 110.5 cm.) Oils Provenance Anonymous Sale; Christie's, London, 12 May 1967, lot 7 (sold for£800). Lot Notes In 1657 Denmark, with Dutch support, declared war on Sweden as ameans of frustrating Charles X's plans for the Swedish dominationof the Baltic and its vast hinterland. Quite apart from itsfundamental opposition to a Swedish subjugation of Denmark, theNetherlands, with its extensive trading connections throughoutNorthern Europe, did not want to find itself having to obtainSwedish permission to use The Sound, the only entry into the BalticSea and the key to those territories beyond. The War began with anindecisive action between the evenly-matched Danish and Swedishfleets off Falsterbv in September 1657 and this was followed, inFebruary 1658, by the short-lived Peace of Roskilde. Satisfyingneither side, Charles X broke the peace and resumed hostilitiesafter five months by sending his fleet under Count Wrangel toblockade Copenhagen, a decision he came to regret as it broughtabout the active involvement of the Dutch whose fleet was the mostpowerful in Western Europe. When the Danish request for assistancereached The Hague that summer, the Dutch did not hesitate and, assoon as it could be made ready, their fleet put to sea under thecommand of Jacob van Wassenaer van Obdam. The Dutch fleet consisted of thirty-five ships-of-the-line, incompany with thirty transports containing 2,000 soldiers, whilstthe Swedes had the same number of men o'war together with eightsmaller armed vessels. As the Swedish fleet waited off Helsingvr,the Dutch sailed through The Sound early on the morning of 29thOctober (1658) and battle was joined at about 8.00am. in the narrowseaway between the Danish island of Zeeland and the southern tip ofSweden. The two flagships, Victoria (Count Wrangel) and Eendracht(Wassenaer), were soon disabled and both fleets suffered extensivedamage exacerbated by the fact that they were so well matched.Apart from the Brederode (Tromp's old flagship), the Dutch lostseveral smaller ships and about 1,700 men, including two admirals,were killed. Swedish losses amounted to only three ships andslightly fewer men but they nevertheless decided to break off theaction and withdraw in the late afternoon. Despite this lack of anyoutright victory, Copenhagen was relieved and the Dutch fleet wasleft in control of The Sound with Swedish power and influencecurtailed for the remainder of the War.

MEASUREMENTS 170 by 246 cm. DESCRIPTION signed with monogram lower right: H.M. oil on canvas Born in Rotterdam, Minderhout moved to Bruges in 1652 where he became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in 1663. After having spent twenty years in Bruges he relocated in 1672 to Antwerp where he remained until his death. Minderhout painted marines, views of Antwerp and Bruges and from the 1670s onwards mediterranean harbour scenes such as the present work. Capriccios such as this appealed to a clientele much of whose wealth came from overseas trade. They were often of a large, monumental size with an Italianate handling of the figures and colour scheme. This unrecorded work could possibly be identical with one of several untraced paintings listed by Clifford Duits in his provisional catalogue of paintings by Minderhout in 1964 (see C. Duits, 'Hendrick van Minderhout 1632-1696', in: Duits Quarterly, no. 5, 1964, pp. 16, cat. nos. 48, 50, 51 or 53).