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Courtyard with a Farrier shoeing a Horse
Philips Wouwermanc.1656
Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom
"Although he never visited Italy, Wouwerman was strongly influenced by the Dutch Italianate landscape painters, who drew inspiration from their experiences of peasant life in the Italian countryside. This rural scene depicts two hunters waiting for a farrier to shoe one of their horses, whilst in the background a woman gestures towards the flock of sheep disturbing the peace of a warm day.
Wouwerman's popularity rose in England in the early 19th century, when his works became highly sought-after by art dealers and collectors."
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Details
- Title: Courtyard with a Farrier shoeing a Horse
- Creator Lifespan: 1619 - 1668
- Date: c.1656
- Physical Dimensions: w556 x h463 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil
- null: F. Duparc suggests a date of 1656 or slightly later (letter on file, 1997).Engraving by J. Moyreau, oeuvres de P. Wouwerman, Paris, 1737-62, no. 26.A note in the file says 'might be worth following up Desenfans Sale 8.vi.1788 (166) as ex. coll. Count Bruhl. - also in July 1786 sale'Dating comes from letter (18.8.1997) from Frederik Duparc, Mauritshuis.
- Work Nationality: Dutch
- Support: Canvas
- Provenance: Paris, D'Argenville, 1766, 801 francs acc. to Smith; Brussels, J. B. Horion, sale, 11 Sep. 1788, lot 71. Bt Walkiers for 820 fl. (or 1820 fl. acc. to Smith); London, Noel Desenfans, 1802-1807: London, Skinner and Dyke, Desenfans sale, 18 Mar. 1802, lot 189 ('A Farrier's Shop with Horses, Cattle & Figures'. Descriptive Catalogue, no. 118: 'The other picture, it's companion ... represents one of those old buildings raised ... with pieces of brick and highway stone ... it is long, with two doors, and serves for two different families; near the first, is a farrier employed with his workmen, shoeing a beautiful white horse, upon the back of which the master, who has just alighted, has left a red cloak and valise; his dog is at his side, seeking to caress him, and behind a little page in livery, waiting with his hat in his hand. The farrier's wife is on the threshold of the door, over which is a grated window; a child is by her side, and in her arms, another still at the breast; a gentleman, whose white dog is lying near him, is waiting ... while another woman is climbing over a low wall which is between the two houses, with a basket of linen to dry. Near the other door, which is also open, and nearly in the centre of the picture, is a barrel on one side, and on the other, a man sleeping, extended on the ground; his wife is seated near him, and holding a child upon her knees. On the left, a road which leads into the country, from whence a shepherd is returning with a numerous flock of sheep, followed by a girl carrying a lamb, and a young man, mounted upon an ass loaded with straw. The ground is enriched with a piece of water, trunks of trees scattered here and there, and with the finest verdure'); London, Sir Francis Bourgeois, 1807-1811; Bourgeois Bequest, 1811.
- Inscriptions: PHLSW
- Further Information: Wouwerman was greatly influenced by Pieter van Laer, who returned to Haarlem from Italy in 1638. The story that Wouwerman acquired sketches and notebooks of Van Laer's after the latter's death, whether true or not, reflects certainly the impact of Van Laer's famous figure style and subject matter on the younger artist. As Wouwerman developed, a more courtly and decorative style emerged, and he was always famous for his horses. His reputation remained exceptionally high throughout the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth: when Dulwich's founders, Desenfans and Bourgeois, were putting together their collection, he was at a peak of collectability.
- Artist: Wouwerman, Philips
- Acquisition Method: Bourgeois, Sir Peter Francis (Bequest, 1811)
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