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Artist or Maker: Cornelis Springer (Dutch, 1817-1891)
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Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by C.M. van Gogh, Amsterdam, 30 December, 1870 (fl. 2.000).
Anonymous Sale, Bielders, Amsterdam, 4 November 1890, lot 41.
Kunsthandel H. van der Ploeg, Amsterdam.
Kunsthandel Pieter A. Scheen, The Hague, 1959.
Mr D.R. Dooyes, 's-Graveland.
Anonymous Sale, Sotheby's Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 18-19 February 1974, lot 74 (fl. 113.000).
Private collection, Rotterdam.
Collection W. de Boer, Alkmaar, 1994, where acquired by the present owner.
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Exhibited: Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling van werken van Levende Meesters, 1875, cat.no. 264.
Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twenthe Amsterdam, Kunsthandel Gebroeders Douwes, Cornelis Springer, 3 March-2 April 1984, no. 60.
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Literature: H.C. de Bruijn jr., 'Cornelis Springer', in: Op den Uitkijk, September 1957, p. 600.
Pieter A. Scheen, Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars 1750-1950, The Hague 1970, Vol. II, ill.no. 204, as: De Sint-Laurenskerk te Alkmaar.
Willem Laanstra, H.C. de Bruijn, J.H.A. Ringeling, Cornelis Springer (1817-1891), Utrecht 1984, pp. 168-169, no. 71-1, as: Het stadhuis en de Grote Kerk te Alkmaar, ill., and illustrated on the cover.
Willem Laanstra, Cornelis Springer (1817-1891); Geschilderde Steden, Zaandam 1994, p. 68, ill.
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Notes: PROPERTY FROM A DECEASED ESTATE
Alkmaar Town Hall in the Langestraat is pictured here in bright sunlight in all its glory. In the distance is the Grote Sint Laurenskerk or the Grote Kerk. Next to the Town Hall is the Moriaanshoofd, a building which was at the time the residence of the well respected mayor of Alkmaar Archibald Maclaine Pont (1823-1899). The sunlit facade of the Town Hall with its dominant tower and the buildings on its left side. A subtle shadow covers the houses on the right and the group of figures in the foreground. It is generally assumed to be the artist himself who is at the centre of the dominant group of figures on the right, seated on a stool and surrounded by fascinated onlookers.
This painting, made by Cornelis Springer at the height of his career in 1871, emphasises the painter's admiration for architecture. The composition is dominated by architecture but is attractively animated by a variety of figures and animals.
In Springer's biography the present lot is described as the pinacle of his oeuvre: 'Een absoluut hoogtepunt in zijn oeuvre is ontstaan tijdens mijn bezoek aan Alkmaar in 1870 (...) Springer is er in dit schilderij niet alleen in geslaagd een prachtige ritmische verdeling te creëren, maar hij heeft bovendien een treffende samenhang gevonden tussen architectuur, artisticiteit, detail en compositie. Voor zover bekend is dit schilderij het enige waarop Springer zichzelf heeft afgebeeld.' (W. Laanstra, Cornelis Springer (1817-1891); Geschilderde steden, Zaandam 1994, p. 14).
Springer visited Alkmaar in 1870 and was captivated by the late Gothic Town Hall and the Grote Kerk. The Town Hall is first mentioned in documents dated 1455, but between 1509 and 1520 it was built in its main form. It has been suggested the brick building was designed by various members of the Kelderman family, which was a well known family of brick suppliers and architects. The family Kelderman were also involved with the building of the Grote Kerk in Alkmaar in the same period. Between 1859 and 1876 the Town Hall was radically restored and given its neo-Gothic look which it retains to this day. At this time the characteristic spire was renewed with an elegant and opencast-iron tower designed by W.F. du Croix (see: J.C.M. Cox a.o., Onse heerlijcke Stadt-huys binnen Alckmaer; De geschiedenis van het stadhuis van Alkmaar, Alkmaar 2004).
Cornelis Springer grew up in a family of architects and building contractors in Amsterdam. His brother Hendrik taught him the art of architectural drawing and the principles of perspective at an early age, which was to shape his favorite subject matter: townscapes. He studied at the Amsterdam Academy of Fine Arts under Jacobus van der Stok (1795-1874) and Herman Frederik Carel Ten Kate (1822-1891). Inspired by the earlier Dutch 17th and 18th Century town view painters such as Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712), Gerrit Berckheyde (1638-1698) and Isaac Ouwater (1750-1793), Springer choose to follow lessons from the town view painter Kaspar Karsen (1810-1896). Although his predecessors focused on painting townscapes with topographical precision, Springer's early works are characterised by fantasy town views.
Springer was 18 years old when he started receiving lessons from Kaspar Karsen, and would remain with him until 1837. His fantasy town views which followed the contemporary trend of idealizing the past and recreating a national heritage. Recognition for his work soon came, being awarded a silver medal in 1843 and a gold medal in 1847. From the early 1850's onwards, Springer abandoned the fantasy element in his work and concentrated on existing topographical locations, following an increasing interest in topographical accuracy from collectors at the time.
Springer travelled extensively in Holland, Germany and Belgium, producing detailed architectural sketches which formed the basis for his compositions. In the 1870's the artist regularly visited the untouched Dutch towns on the shores of what used to be the Zuiderzee,
such as Enkhuizen and Hoorn, to find inspiration. These quiet places had lost none of their architectural glory in spite of economic
decline since the heyday of the 17th Century. In 1870 Springer visited Alkmaar, where he found his inspiration for the present painting. It is a wonderful display of all the qualities for which he is admired; the masterful play of strongly contrasting light and shadow, the detailed depiction of the historical gables, the abundance of architectural details and the lively, imaginative staffage, with the colourful group of figures around the artist in the foreground, the horseman on his fiery horse and the men carrying a trunk outside the mayors house.
From the 1850's onwards Springer had reached such fame that he only worked on commission for private collectors and dealers. A waiting list of two years in this period bears testimony to the great popularity of his work. A patron would choose a composition on the basis of sketches, after which Springer would paint the subject in oil. Springer was a diligent worker who carefully recorded his studio activities. His notebooks reveal exactly how many days he worked on a particular painting and even in which part of the day he worked on it. For example, the present lot was sold on the 30th of December 1870 but the work was not completed until 6 January 1871.
The fantastic detailing of all the various compositional elements and monumental size of the present painting combine to make it one of the most impressive works within his oeuvre.
Christie's charge a premium to the buyer on the final bid price of each lot sold at the following rates: 23.8% of the final bid price of each lot sold up to and including €150,000 and 14.28% of any amount in excess of €150,000. Buyers' premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.
