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signed and dated 1857 l.r.

oil on panel

PROVENANCE

Bought directly from the artist by J.C. van Pappelendam (Amsterdam) on 4 August 1857 for Dfl. 350
Sale Cologne (Lempertz), 17 November 1950
Private collection, Germany

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

W. Laanstra, H.C. de Bruin, Dr. J.H.A. Ringeling, Cornelis Springer (1817-1891), Utrecht 1984, no. 57-9 on p. 108, illustrated

CATALOGUE NOTE

Cornelis Springer was the most reputed painter of Dutch townscapes in the nineteenth century. Raised in a family of carpenters and building contractors, he mastered the principles of architectural drawing and perspective at an early age. The Dutch artist Kaspar Karsen taught him the necessary painterly skills. Like his teacher Karsen, Springer painted mainly fantasised town views (capriccio's) in the early part of his career. From the mid-50's onwards he shifted his attention to recognisable townscapes, realising that topographical accurate scenes were much more in demand. Springer travelled throughout the country and prepared studies on the spot (in charcoal and watercolour), which he turned into finished paintings in his Amsterdam studio. He usually focussed his attention on the centre of a town, rendering the late-medieval and renaissance architecture with a keen eye for historical detail. Although Springer didn't eschew to embellish his town views to heighten picturesque effects, most of his paintings reflect the actual situation quite accurately. This certainly applies to the present lot, which depicts a busy market scene in the town of Zutphen, located in the east of the Netherlands. Springer visited the town several times, at first in 1857, the year he painted this lovely town view. As the picture shows, the richly decorated Wijnhuistoren furnished him with a wonderful opportunity to display his painterly skills. One of the most attractive aspects is certainly the lively market scene. Springer portrays the town on a busy day: numerous figures populate the market square, some gathered around vegetable stalls, others just taking a stroll on the square. In the distance we see several horse-drawn carts approaching. Springer shows himself a real chroniqueur of his time, portraying life in a Dutch town in an imaginative way.

The present lot was painted in 1857, at the height of Springer's career. By then the artist was so famous that he needed to draw up a waiting list of buyers, which mounted up to two, three years. Because the artist worked in a painstakingly precise manner - resulting in an incredible wealth of detail - it took him long to finish this painting. From the artist's notebooks it can be deduced that Springer needed around three weeks. He sold the painting to J.C. van Pappelendam on 4 August 1857 for 350 Dutch guilders, a substantial amount given the fact that an average yearly income was not more than 85 Dutch guilders.

A VIEW OF THE WIJNHUISTOREN, ZUTPHEN