The Maas at Dordrecht

c. 1650

Aelbert Cuyp

Artist, Dutch, 1620 - 1691

A fleet of ships gathers in a river lined by trees and buildings in this horizontal painting. The horizon is low, less than a quarter of the way up the composition, and the immense pale blue sky above is filled with clouds with golden tops above dove-gray undersides. The river spans the width of the painting and is congested with boats and ships, many festooned with red, white, and blue flags and banners. The vessels are crowded with people, mostly men wearing hats and black or brown garments. A ship to our right is closest to us and is the largest in the composition. A rowboat has pulled up to the side of the ship, and is occupied by a seated man wearing crimson red and a standing man wearing black. Another man, wearing brown, pulls the rowboat closer to the ship. Amid the densely packed deck over the rowboat, a musician plays a drum while another drinks from a flagon. Ships with unfurled sails, rowboats, and ferries fill the river behind and around the large ship. Churches and buildings are clustered along the riverbank to the left and trees line the river to the right.

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Dordrecht, situated at the confluence of the Maas and the Merwede rivers, serves as a backdrop to this historical scene on the water. In July 1646, a large Dutch transport fleet carrying thirty thousand soldiers and their equipment gathered at Dordrecht in a show of force by the rebel northern provinces—fighting for independence from the Spanish crown—at the onset of the negotiations that would eventually result in the Peace of Münster in 1648. The lasting appeal of Cuyp’s masterful depiction derives from the extraordinary light effects that bring an early summer morning to life and from the dramatic sweep of clouds that enhances the massive scale of the painting.

Spectators jam the quays, bugles and drums sound fanfares, and a shipboard cannon fires a salute. The young officer standing in the small boat wearing a white-and-red sash—the colors of Dordrecht—is likely the person who commissioned Cuyp to paint this historic event. The officer and his brightly clad companion are greeted by a distinguished-looking gentleman and numerous other figures, including a drummer, on the larger vessel. Attempts to identify the blue-and-white flag on the stern of this ship have thus far been unsuccessful. A second rowboat, carrying other dignitaries and a trumpeter who signals their arrival, approaches from the left. Most of the ships have their sails raised as though they are about to depart, and fluttering flags suggest the presence of a nice breeze, yet the overall sense of the scene is one of great calm.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 49

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 114.9 x 170.2 cm (45 1/4 x 67 in.)
    framed: 151.1 x 205.1 x 15.2 cm (59 1/2 x 80 3/4 x 6 in.)

  • Accession

    1940.2.1

More About this Artwork

Scholarly Article:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century: The Maas at Dordrecht, c. 1650

This horizontal painting shows a group of eight light-skinned musicians and onlookers gathered closely around a rectangular, carpet-covered table. The front edge of the table runs parallel to the bottom edge of the painting, and seems close to us. Shown from about the waist up, the men and women’s vivid lapis-blue, coral-red, buttercup-yellow, lilac-purple, and moss-green garments fall in crisp folds. Bright reflections on the fabric suggest a satin-like material. Two women wear feathers in their hair and one man’s hat is plumed. One man, wearing crimson red and black, sits with his back to us to our left on the near side of the table. He holds the neck of a bass viol, about the size of a cello, with his left hand, and points to pages of an open music book with the bow in his right hand. The other people cluster on the far side of the table. A man to the left plays a violin; a woman at the center plays a guitar-sized bandora, and a woman to our right plays a lute. The musicians, along with a man who leans over the table from between the two women, look down at the music books. A young man behind the woman at the center holds up a glass of pale liquid with his right hand as he touches his left forefinger to his smiling lips. A man and woman stand close together in the background to our right, in the top right corner of the canvas.

Scholarly Series:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century

Artwork history & notes

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: "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." ["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."] 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 (copies in NGA curatorial files): 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 83, box 228, folders 10 and 11; 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.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1815

  • British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom, London, 1815, no. 67.[1]

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.[2]

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

  • Rétrospective d'art, Exposition internationale, Liège, 1939, no. 54.

  • Loan Exhibition of Dutch Landscape Paintings. 20th Loan Exhibition of Old Masters, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1939, no. 7.

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.

2018

  • Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2018, unnumbered brochure, fig. 2

2021

  • In the Light of Cuyp: Aelbert Cuyp & Gainsborough – Constable – Turner, Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht, 2021 - 2022, no. 21, repro.

Bibliography

1752

  • Hoet, Gerard. Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen. 2 vols. The Hague, 1752: 2:490.

1753

  • Descamps, Jean Baptiste. La vie des peintres flamands, allemands et hollandais. 4 vols. Paris, 1753-1763: 2(1754):80.

1815

  • British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom. Catalogue of pictures by Rubens, Rembrandt, Vandyke, and other artists of the Flemish and Dutch Schools. Exh. cat. British Institution, London, 1815: 17, no. 67.

1822

  • Burnet, John. Practical hints on Composition in Painting. London, 1822: 14-15, pl. 2, fig.4 (etching).

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

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss.. 3 vols. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake. London, 1854: 2:313, 316.

  • Jervis-White-Jervis, Lady Marian. Painting and Celebrated Painters, Ancient and Modern. 2 vols. London, 1854: 2:217, 326.

1867

  • British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom. Catalogue of pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, French and English masters: with which the proprietors have favoured the Institution. June 1867. Exh. cat. British Institution, London, 1867: 17, no. 67.

1880

  • Burnet, John. "Practical Hints on Light and Shade in Painting." In A Treatise on Painting in Four Parts. Reprint. London, 1880: Part 2:14-15, pl. 2, fig. 4 (etching).

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. Illustrated biographies of the great artists. London, 1891: 96-97, 163.

1892

  • Temple, Alfred G. Descriptive catalogue of the loan collection of pictures. Exh. cat. Art Gallery of the Corporation of London, 1892: no. 85.

1906

  • Wurzbach, Alfred von. Niederlandisches Kunstler-Lexikon. 3 vols. Vienna, 1906-1911: 1(1906):367.

1907

  • Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. 8 vols. Translated by Edward G. Hawke. London, 1907-1927: 2(1909):15-16, no. 28.

  • Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907-1928: 2(1908):16, no. 28.

1913

  • Graves, Algernon. A Century of Loan Exhibitions, 1813–1912. 5 vols. London, 1913-1915: 1(1913):240, 243, 245, 250.

1925

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Loan Exhibition of Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. Exh. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1925: no. 3.

  • Washburn-Freund, Frank E. "Eine Ausstellung niederländischer Malerei in Detroit." _Der Cicerone _ 17 (1925): 460.

1926

  • Art Gallery of Toronto. Catalogue of inaugural exhibition. Exh. cat. Art Gallery of Toronto. Toronto, 1926: 36, no. 143.

1928

  • "America Lends Dutch Paintings to London Show." Art News (29 December 1928): 1.

  • Grafton Galleries. Exhibition of art treasures. Exh. cat. Grafton Galleries, London, 1928: no. 1424.

1929

  • Bauch, Kurt. "Ausstellung holländischer Kunst von 1450–1900 in London." Zeitschrift für Bildende Kunst 63 (1929): 9-23.

  • Borenius, Tancred. "Die holländische Ausstellung in London." _Pantheon _ 3 (February 1929): 64.

  • Gibson, William. "The Dutch Exhibition at Burlington House." Apollo 9 (January 1929): 84, repro.

  • Martin, Wilhelm. "Die holländische Ausstellung in London." Der Kunstwanderer 10, no. 1 (1929): 199–202, 299–303.

  • Martin, Wilhelm. "Last Words on the Dutch Exhibition." The Connoisseur 83 (1929): 131–142.

  • Rutter, Frank. "Notes from Abroad." International Studio 92 (1929): 64-66.

  • Zwartendijk, J. "Wijzigingen in onzen smaak naar aanleiding van de tentoonstelling van Hollandsche kunst, te London gehouden." Elsevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandschrift 67, no. 6 (1929): 391, 393, pl. 87.

  • Witt, Robert Clermont. Exhibition of Dutch art, 1450-1900. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1929: no. 267.

1930

  • Schneider, Hans. "Aelbert Cuyp: The Maas near Dordrecht." In Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. Wilhelm R. Valentiner, ed. London, 1930: n.p., pl. 57.

  • Schneider, Hans. "Aelbert Cuyp: The Maas near Dordrecht." In Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. Edited by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. London, 1930: no. 57, repro.

1935

  • Exposition Universelle et Internationale. Cinq siécles d'art. Exh. cat. Exposition Universelle et Internationale, Brussels, 1935: no. 714..

1936

  • Hennus, M. F. "Tentoonstelling oude kunst uit het bezit van den intemationalen handel." _Maandblad voor Beeldende Kunsten _ 13 (1936): 229-230, repro.

  • Pelinck, Egbert. Catalogus van de tentoonstelling van oude kunst uit het bezit van den internationalen handel. Exh. cat. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1936: 9, no. 37.

1939

  • Lambotte, Paul. Les beaux-arts a l'exposition internationale de l'eau à Liège. Paris, 1939: 196, repro.

  • Detroit Institute of Arts. Loan Exhibition of Dutch Landscape Paintings. Exh. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1939: unpaginated, no. 7, repro.

  • Exposition internationale de Liège. Rétrospective d'art, peinture, sculpture, tapisserie, gravure, art japonais. Liége, 1939: 37, no. 54.

1941

  • Duveen Brothers. Duveen Pictures in Public Collections of America. New York, 1941: no. 209, repro.

  • National Gallery of Art. Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1941: 51, no. 501.

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. Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art 7. Washington, 1960: 20, color repro.

1961

  • Reitlinger, Gerald. The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices 1760-1960. (Vol. 1 of The Economics of Taste). London, 1961: 204.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. New York, 1963: 196, repro.

1965

  • National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 35.

1966

  • Stechow, Wolfgang. Dutch Landscape Painting of the Seventeenth Century. Kress Foundation Studies in the History of European Art 1. London, 1966: 119, fig. 237.

  • 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.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 29, repro.

1973

  • Bol, Laurens J. Die holländische Marinemalerei des 17. Jahrhunderts. Braunschweig, 1973: 268-269, fig. 271.

1975

  • Reiss, Stephen. Aelbert Cuyp. Boston, 1975: 143, no. 104, repro., 204, 212.

  • National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 90, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 296-297, repro.

1976

  • Hoet, Gerard. Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen. 3 vols. Reprint of 1752 ed. with supplement by Pieter Terwesten, 1770. Soest, 1976: 2:490.

1977

  • Butlin, Martin, and Evelyn Joll. The Paintings of J. M. W. Turner. 2 vols. Studies in British Art. New Haven, 1977: 2:92.

1978

  • Reiss, Stephen. "The Old Guardhouse by Aelbert Cuyp." The Burlington Magazine 120 (February 1978): 88 n 12.

1979

  • Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 79, pl. 66.

1982

  • Reitlinger, Gerald. The Economics of Taste: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices, 1760–1960. 3 vols. Reprint. New York, 1982: 2:204.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 297, no. 392, color repro.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1984: 22-23, repro.

  • Butlin, Martin, and Evelyn Joll. The Paintings of J. M. W Turner. 2 vols. Rev. ed. New Haven, 1984: 104.

1985

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 109, repro.

1986

  • Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Washington and Grand Rapids, 1986: 306.

  • Ford, Terrence, compiler and ed. Inventory of Music Iconography, no. 1. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York 1986: 5, no. 124.

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.

  • Broos, Ben P. J., ed. Great Dutch Paintings from America. Exh. cat. Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The Hague and Zwolle, 1990: no. 17, 212-217, color repro. 212.

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. dissertation, New York University, 1992: 409, no. 161.

  • National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1992: 129, repro.

1995

  • Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York, 1995: 793, fig. 19-52.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 36-43, color repro. 39.

2001

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Aelbert Cuyp. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; National Gallery, London; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Washington, 2001: no. 28, 146-149, 198-200, repro.

2002

  • Kloek, W. Th. Aelbert Cuyp: land, water, light. Rijksmuseum dossiers. Translated by Lynne Richards. Zwolle, 2002: 31, fig. 42.

  • Kaufmann, Thomas DaCosta, ed. L'art flamand et hollandais: Belgique et Pays-Bas, 1520-1914. Paris, 2002: 213, 219, 225, fig. 190.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr., and Anna Tummers. "Aelbert Cuyp peintre de l'Arcadie hollandaise." L'Estampille-L'Objet d'Art 367 (February 2002): 38, repro.

2003

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake. Facsimile edition of London 1854. London, 2003: 2:313, 316.

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. Upper Saddle River, 2005: 773, color fig. 19.60.

2008

  • Suchtelen, Ariane van, and Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. Pride of Place: Dutch cityscapes of the Golden Age. Exh. cat. Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague; National Gallery of Art, Washington. Zwolle, 2008: 102-105, 211, no. 15, repro.

2021

  • Enklaar, Marlies and Sander Paarlberg, ed. In the Light of Cuyp: Aelbert Cuyp & Gainsborough, Constable, Turner. Exh. cat. Dordrechts Museum 2021-2022. Dodrecht, 2021: 12, 20, 74-75, no. 21, 176-177, color frontispiece.

Inscriptions

on sideboard of ship in right foreground: A.cuyp

Wikidata ID

Q5822565

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