National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: The Maas at Dordrecht

Overview

Cuyp's masterful depiction of Dordrecht differs extensively from Jan van Goyen's View of Dordrecht from the Dordtse Kil, 1644, a calm and serene view of this island city. Here the river Maas is the focus of great activity; in the foreground a dignitary dressed in a black jacket with an orange sash has just arrived at a large sailing ship. He is greeted by a distinguished–looking gentleman who stands among other figures, including a man beating a drum. On the left, a second rowboat approaches, carrying other dignitaries and a trumpeter who signals their impending arrival. Most of the ships of the large fleet anchored near the city have their sails raised and flags flying as though they are about to embark. The early morning light, which floods the tower of the great church and creates striking patterns on the clouds and sails, adds to the dramatic character of the scene.

Cuyp was probably commissioned to represent an event that occurred during the summer of 1646. At that time an enormous fleet of ships carrying thirty thousand soldiers was anchored at Dordrecht; presumably for symbolic purposes rather than for specific military ones as peace was finally at hand. The Treaty of Münster, which ended all hostilities with Spain and created an independent Dutch nation, was signed only two years later.

Inscription

on sideboard of ship in right foreground: A.cuyp

Marks and Labels

null

Provenance

Johan van der Linden van Slingeland [1701-1782], Dordrecht, by 1752.[1] (his estate sale, at his residence by J. Yver and A. Delfos, Dordrecht, 22 August 1785 and days following, no. 70); "Rens" or "Delfos."[2] (Alexis Delahante, London), c. 1804 to 1814; sold to Abraham Hume, Bart. [1749-1838], Wormley, Hertfordshire, by 1815;[3] by inheritance to his grandson, John Hume Cust, Viscount Alford, M. P. [1812-1851], Ashridge Park, Hertfordshire; by inheritance to his son, John William Spencer, 2nd earl Brownlow [1842-1867], Ashridge Park; by inheritance to his brother, Adelbert Wellington, 3rd earl Brownlow [1844-1921], Ashridge Park and London; (his estate sale, Christie, Manson & Woods London, 4 and 7 May 1923, no. 75); (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[4] by exchange 1940 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1940 to NGA.

[1] Gerard Hoet, Catalogus of Naamlyst van Schilderijen..., 2 vols., The Hague, 1752, 2: 490. Van Slingeland's inventory describes two paintings as: "Two pieces, being the view of the City of Dordrecht to the Huys Merwede with many yachts and ships, being a rendezvous there [of] Prince Maurits of Orange in a 'Chaloup' with several other Princes from the city brought over to the yacht across from this 'Chaloup' is another in which Oldenbarnevelt stands looking down on Prince Maurits, from life, by Aelbert Cuyp. each h. 43 d. w. 64 1/2 d." ["Twee stukken, zynde het Gezigt van de Stad Dordrecht tot het huys Merwerde met veele Jachten en Scheepen, zynde een Rendevous daar Prins Maurits van Orange in een Chaloup met eenige andere Prince van de Stad na het jagt wert gevoert tegens over welke Chaloup een andere is waarinne Oldenbarnevelt overend staande op Prince Maurits siet, na het Leven, door Albert Kuyp. ieder h. 43 d. br. 64 en een half d."] The description and dimensions seem to identify these paintings as Cuyp's View on the Maas near Dordrecht at Waddesdon Manor and the Gallery's The Maas at Dordrecht. As Oldenbarnevelt was executed in 1619 and Prince Maurits had died in 1625, these identifications were clearly fanciful.

[2] A margin note in the NGA copy of the sale catalogue gives the buyer as Delfos (who was one of the auctioneers and also bought several other paintings in the sale), but a note in a copy at the British Museum Library gives the buyer as "Rens." Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, trans. Edward G. Hawke, 8 vols., London, 1907-1927, 2: 17-18, no. 36, says lot 70, which he mistakenly believed to be the Waddesdon Manor painting (Stephen Reiss, Aelbert Cuyp, Boston, 1975: 145, no. 106), was sold to "Reus," and although the note in the copy of the catalogue in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorisches Documentatie, The Hague, could be read as either "Reus" or "Rens," the one in the British Museum Library is not ambiguous.

[3] William Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting, 2 vols., London, 1824: 2:192. The dates for Delahante's ownership are from the Duveen prospectus for the painting, in NGA curatorial files. Hume lent the painting to an exhibition in 1815.

[4] Details about Duveen’s ownership of the painting (it was their inventory number 4870) can be traced in the Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: reel 36, box 108, page from the Paris stockbook for May 1923; reel 45, box 133, folder 5; reel 66, box 186, page from the general stockbook where the painting is number 28069; reel 89, box 234, folder 18; reel 189, box 334, folder 2, correspondence about the "loan" of the painting to the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in 1931 and the possibility of it being exchanged for a work in the Berlin museum's collection.

Exhibition History

1815
British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom, London, 1815, no. 67.
1838
British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom,London, 1838, no. 37.
1867
British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom, London, 1867, no. 21.
1878
Nottingham Castle, 1878, no. 78.
1892
Loan Collection of Pictures, The Corporation Art Gallery (Guildhall), London, 1892, no. 85.
1925
Loan Exhibition of Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1925, no. 3.
1926
Inaugural Exhibition, The Art Gallery of Toronto, 1926, no. 143.
1928
Exhibition of Art Treasures, The Grafton Galleries, London, 1928, no. 1424.
1929
Exhibition of Dutch Art 1450-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1929, no. 267.
1935
Cinq Siècles d'Art, Exposition universelle et internationale, Brussels, 1935, no. 714.
1936
Tentoonstelling van Oude Kunst, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1936, no. 37.
1939
Loan Exhibition of Dutch Landscape Paintings. 20th Loan Exhibition of Old Masters, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1939, no. 7.
1939
Rétrospective d'art, Exposition internationale, Liège, 1939, no. 54.
1990
Great Dutch Paintings from America, Mauritshuis, The Hague; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, 1990-1991, no. 17, color repro., as Ships on the Maas River at Dordrecht.
2001
Aelbert Cuyp, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The National Gallery, London; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2001-2002, no. 28, repro.
2008
Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age, Royal Picture House Mauritshuis, The Hague; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2008-2009, no. 15, repro.

Bibliography

1752
Hoet, Gerard. Catalogus of Naamlyst van Schilderijen.... 2 vols. The Hague, 1752: 2:490 (supplement by Pieter Terwesten, 1770; reprint ed. Soest, 1976).
1753
Descamps, Jean Baptiste. La Vie des peintures flammands, allemands et hollandais. 4 vols. Paris, 1753-1765: 2(1754):80.
1824
Buchanan, William. Memoirs of Painting. 2 vols. London, 1824: 2:192, no. 10.
1829
Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829-1842: 5(1834):311, no. 98.
1854
Jervis, Lady Jervis White. Painting and Celebrated Painters, Ancient and Modern. 2 vols. London, 1854: 2:217, 326.
1854
Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illustrated Mss., etc. etc. 3 vols. London, 1854: 2:316.
1884
Veth, G. H. "Aelbert Cuyp, Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp en Benjamin Cuyp." Oud Holland 2 (1884): 284, no. 70.
1891
Cundall, Frank. The Landscape and Pastoral Painters of Holland: Ruisdael, Hobbema, Cuijp, Potter. London, 1891: 96-97, 163.
1907
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century.... 8 vols., translated from the German edition. London, 1907-1917: 2(1909):15-16, no. 28.
1925
Washburn Freund, F. E. "Eine Ausstellung niederländischer Malerei in Detroit." Der Cicerone 17 (1925), pt. 1: 460-464.
1928
"America Lends Dutch Paintings to London Show." Art News 27 (29 December 1928): 1, 12-14.
1929
Bauch, Kurt. "Ausstellung holländischer Kunst von 1450-1900 in London." Zeitschrift für Bildende Kunst 63 (1929): 9-23.
1929
Borenius, Tancred. "Die holländische Ausstellung in London." Pantheon 3 (February-March 1929): 57-64.
1929
Gibson, William. "The Dutch Exhibition at Burlington House." Apollo 9 (January 1929): 1-12, 81-94, repro.
1929
Martin, Wilhelm. "Die holländische Ausstellung in London." Der Kunstwanderer 10 (1929): 199-202, 299-303.
1929
Martin, Wilhelm. "Last Words on the Dutch Exhibition." Connoisseur 83 (1929): 131-142.
1929
Rutter, Frank. "Notes from Abroad." International Studio 92 (1929): 64-66.
1929
Zwartendijk, J. "Wijzigingen in onzen smaak. Naar aanleiding van de tentoonstelling van Hollandsche kunst, te London gehouden." Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift 39 (1929): 385-393, repro.
1930
Schneider, Hans. "Aelbert Cuyp: The Maas near Dordrecht." In Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. Wilhelm R. Valentiner, ed. London, 1930: no. 57, repro.
1936
Hennus, M. F. "Tentoonstelling oude kunst uit het bezit van den internationalen handel." Maandblad voor beeldende kunsten 13 (1936): 219-253.
1941
Duveen 1941, fig. 209.
1941
Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 51.
1942
Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 249, repro. 23.
1949
Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 97, repro.
1952
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Great Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1952: 104, color repro.
1960
Baird, Thomas P. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1960 (Booklet Number Seven in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.): 20, color repro.
1961
Reitlinger, Gerald. The Economics of Taste: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices, 1760-1960. 3 vols. London, 1961-1970: 2:204 (also 3 vols., New York, 1982: 2:204).
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 196, repro.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 35.
1966
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:244, color repro.
1966
Stechow, Wolfgang. Dutch Landscape Painting of the Seventeenth Century. National Gallery of Art Kress Foundation Studies in the History of European Art, no. 1. London, 1966: 119, fig. 237.
1968
European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 29, repro.
1973
Bol, Laurens J. Die holländische Marinemalerei des 17. Jahrhunderts. Braunschweig, 1973: 268-269, fig. 271.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 90, repro.
1975
Reiss, Stephen. Aelbert Cuyp. Boston, 1975: 143, no. 104, repro., 204, 212.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 296-297, repro.
1977
Butlin, Marin, and Evelyn Joll. The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner. 2 vols. New Haven and London, 1977: 2:92 (also rev. ed. 1984: 104).
1978
Reiss, Stephen. "The Old Guardhouse by Aelbert Cuyp." The Burlington Magazine 120 (February 1978): 88, note 12.
1979
Watson, Ross. National Gallery of Art. London, 1979: 79, pl. 66, color repro.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 297, no. 392, color repro.
1984
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1984: 22-23, repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 109, repro.
1986
Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Grand Rapids and Kampen, 1986: 306.
1990
Russell, Margarita. "Aelbert Cuyp. The Maas at Dordrecht: The Great Assembly of the Dutch Armed Forces, June-July 1646." Dutch Crossing 40 (1990): 31-82.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 156, 158, color repro.
1992
Chong, Alan. Aelbert Cuyp and the Meanings of Landscape. Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1992: 409, no. 161.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 129, repro.
1995
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History, New York, 1995, p. 793, no. 19-52, repro. (Rev. ed. 1999: 792, fig. 19-49, repro.)
1995
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 36-43, color repro. 39.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 184-185, no. 145, color repro.
2005
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Rev. 2nd ed., combined volume. Upper Saddle River, 2005: 773, color fig. 19.60.

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