Hendrik Frans van Lint Sold at Auction Prices

Painter

(b Antwerp, Belgium 1684; d Rome, Italy 1763) Belgian painter. Hendrik Frans van Lint was one of the most accomplished and sought-after vedutisti (scene-painters) working in Rome in the first half of the 18th century. He trained briefly under Pieter van Bredael in 1696-7, before traveling to Rome in 1700, where he spent the rest of his life. In Rome van Lint found a large community of northern artists living and working in the Tridente, and became a member of the Schildersbent; the fraternal association of northern artists in Rome. Van Lint held a deep admiration for Claude Lorrain, whose work he could easily have studied in numerous Roman collections. Van Lint's nickname, 'Monsù Studio', may refer to his meticulous technique, which he modeled on the great master. Like Claude, van Lint would make detailed drawings in pencil, pen and wash, often in situ, on one of his frequent expeditions to the countryside around Rome. He would then use these preparatory drawings to work up full-scale compositions on canvas; often adding ruins and classical buildings to create elaborate imaginary landscapes, in the style of Claude, with gently suffused light and tranquil air of antiquity. Van Lint's work was enthusiastically collected by prominent visitors to Rome and aristocrats on the Grand Tour. Van Lint was also an active member of Rome's artistic community, living in a house on the via Babuino. He was a member of the Congregazione Artistica dei Virtuosi al Pantheon from 1744, and was elected Rector in 1755. This was a corporation of artists who organized annual exhibitions of their own paintings on the metal railings in front of the Pantheon. (Credit: Christie’s, London, Important Old Master & British Pictures Including works from the Collection of Anton Philips, December 6, 2007, Lot 65)