Horsepond on a River

Support The single, horizontally grained oak plank is approx. 1 cm thick. The reverse is bevelled on all sides, although only slightly at the top and bottom. Dendrochronology has shown that the youngest heartwood ring was formed in 1635. The panel could have been ready for use by 1646, but a date in or after 1652 is more likely.
Preparatory layers The single, thin, grey ground extends up to the edges of the support and barely fills the grain of the wood.
Underdrawing No underdrawing could be detected with the naked eye or infrared photography.
Paint layers The paint extends up to the edges of the support. The main figures were left in reserve and their contours have locally been adjusted over the background. The darker areas of the foreground consist of a semi-transparent brown paint, while for the lighter areas a more opaque, yellowish-brown paint was used. Infrared photography revealed a change in the position of the legs of the brown horse in the right middle ground. The rather thin paint layer is smooth and was applied with dabbed brushstrokes. Some slight impasto is visible in highlighted areas.
Anna Krekeler, 2022

Fair. There are large areas with numerous small and large discoloured retouchings. The varnish has yellowed.

...; collection Jeanne-Baptiste d’Albert de Luynes (1670-1737), Comtesse de Verrue, Paris;¹¹According to an inscription on an engraving after the painting by Jean Moyreau, 1733; V.L. Atwater, A Catalogue and Analysis of Eighteenth-Century French Prints after Netherlandish Baroque Paintings, IV, Ann Arbor 1989, p. 1542, no. 1989. her sale, Paris (auction house not known), 27 (29) April 1737 sqq., no. 19, with another painting (‘Deux tres beaux Vauvermans moyens dont l’abrevoir’), fr. 3,775;²²Handwritten catalogue, copy RKD. According to C. Blanc, Le Trésor de la curiosité, tiré des catalogues de vente de tableaux, dessins, estampes, livres, marbres, bronzes, ivoires, terres cuites, vitraux, médailles, armes, porcelaines, meubles, émaux, laques et autres objets d'art, avec diverses notes et notices historiques et biographiques, I, Paris 1857, p. 12, no. 20, the catalogue text reads ‘Deux tableaux moyens, dont l’un l’Abreuvoir, et l’autre autre sujet [...]’....; ? collection Etienne-François (1719-1785), Duc de Choiseul, Paris;³³According to the catalogue for the sale, Benjamin West, Esq. (1738-1820, London), London (Christie’s), 23 (24) June 1820 sqq., no. 80. However, it was not possible to identify the painting with any of the works by Wouwerman described in the sales of the Duc de Choiseul....; sale, Servad, Amsterdam (C. Ploos van Amstel et al.), 25 June 1778, no. 123 (‘op Paneel, hoog 18, breet 24½ duim. [46.3 x 63 cm] Van een hoogen Heuvel, met een Gebouw en Geboomten voorzien, ziet men verscheiden Paarden naar beneden komen, gelyd van Knegts om hen in de Rivier tot hunne verversing te leiden; digt aan den Oever ziet men een wit Paard, dat reeds gereed staat om de voorste pooten in ’t Water te zetten, waar op een Man zit, welke omziet naar twee Paarden agter hem, waar van een springende, als schrikkende voor ’t water, door een Knegt word by de Toom vastgehouden. [...] Dit stuk is mede in Prent gebragt, door J. Moyreau, onder de tytel van L’Abrevoir, No. 6’), fl. 2,500, to the dealer Pierre Fouquet;⁴⁴Copy RMA....; purchased for £450 by the painter Benjamin West, Esq. (1738-1820), London;⁵⁵Annotation in a copy of the catalogue for the sale, Benjamin West, Esq., London (Christie’s), 23 (24) June 1820 sqq., no. 80; GPI, Br-1980; copy Bodleian Library, Oxford. his sale, London (Christie’s), 23 (24) June 1820 sqq., no. 80 (‘The Watering Place, with the Red Cap. A scene on the bank of a river, animated by a variety of figures, the principal of which are grooms watering their horses, which interrupt a group of bathers. A cabaret is on the rising ground to the right; on the left a ferry boat is approaching the shore; and various objects are seen along the bank of the river, which is carried off into the distance [...]: from the Choiseul collection on pannel, about 18 inches by 25 [45.7 x 63.5 cm]’), bought in at 550 gns⁶⁶Copy RKD. or £577 10s;⁷⁷GPI, Br-1980. sale, Benjamin West, Esq. (1738-1820, London), London, sold on the premises, 10 June 1822 sqq., no. 29 (‘The Watering Place, with the Red Cap [...] from the Choiseul collection - panel 18’ x 25 [45.7 x 63.5 cm]’);⁸⁸GPI, Br-12196a....; collection Joseph Barchard, Esq. P.R.A.;⁹⁹According to the catalogue for the sale, Christianus Johannes Nieuwenhuys (1799-1883), London (Christie’s), 10 (11) May 1833 sqq., no. 119. his sale, London (Christie’s), 6 May 1826, no. 21 (‘The Abreuvoir, a scene on the Bank of a River, animated by a variety of figures, the principal of which are Grooms watering their Horses, which interrupt a group of bathers. A Cabaret is on the rising ground to the right; on the left a ferry boat is approaching the shore, and various objects are seen along the bank of the river, which is carried off into a beautiful distance [...]. It was formerly in the cabinet of the Comtesse de Verrue, and has been engraved by Moyreau- on pannel, about 18 in. by 25 [45.7 x 63.5 cm]’), 650 gns, to Chev. Ferréol Bonnemaison (1766-1826), Paris;¹⁰¹⁰Copy RKD. his sale, Paris (M. Henry), 2 April 1827 sqq., no. 86 (‘L’Abreuvoir - Bois; hauteur un pied sept pouces, largeur un pied onze pouces [48.6 x 58.4 cm]. Ce tableau [...] représente un site de Hollande, vu du bord d’une large rivière. A droite est un monticule couronné de quelques arbres légers, et d’une grande porte ou barrière de bois servant sans doute à fermer un péage. Au bas de cette éminence, à main gauche, coulent doucement les eaux de la rivière; au-delà les regards parcourent une vaste étendue de pays. La teinte bleuâtre de l’air, la lumière qui éclaire les nuages, indiquent une matinée; et le peintre a supposé l’heure où les palfreniers des environs viennent abreuver ou baigner leurs chevaux. Dix à douze de ces animaux superbes et plus de vingt personnages, tant hommes que femmes et enfans, distribués sur les devants du point de vue, y produisent des scènes pleines de vie et de mouvement. Sur le haut de la butte des paysannes gardent du linge qu’elles ont étendu pour le sécher; un villageois en descend avec deux chevaux, dont l’un menace de ses ruades un chien qui abboie contre lui. Plus bas un troisième cheval se cabre et refuse d’obéir à la main qui le conduit. Mais c’est surtout dans le milieu de l’avant-scène que ce sont rassemblés les détails les plus marquans du tableau, ceux où brille dans tout son éclat l’inimitable talent de l’auteur. Là vous voyez des laveuses et des baigneurs, figures exécutées avec autant d’esprit que de goût. Là semblent se mouvoir avec agilité cinq ou six chevaux, aussi différens de poil que de position; les uns, montés par des palfreniers, sont dans le bord de l’eau; les autres en sortent ou sont prèts [note in the Errata: ‘lisez près’] d’y entrer. Entre autres barques qui flottent au loin sur la rivière, on remarque un bac qui s’avance avec des passagers. [...] Cet intéressant ouvrage a été gravé plusieurs fois, et a fait partie du célèbre cabinet de la comtesse de Verrue [...]’), fr. 20,000;¹¹¹¹Copy RKD....; sale, Christianus Johannes Nieuwenhuys (1799-1883), London (Christie’s), 10 (11) May 1833 sqq., no. 119 (‘L’Abreuvoir. Panel; height 18 inches, width 24½ [45.7 x 62.2 cm]. This picture [...] represents a view upon the borders of a large river. On the left is a rising ground, upon which are seen a cluster of trees and a picturesque house, with a gate serving as a barrier. At the foot of this elevation glides the stream; beyond it the eye is led over a vast extent of country. The blue tint, and the light which brightens the clouds, foretel the rising morn; hostlers bringing their horses to water, and other figures are variously grouped, producing an effect altogether grand and striking. Upon the top of the hill two women are watching the linen which they have laid down to bleach. A man comes forward with two horses, − the one he leads kicks out at a dog that is barking at him [...]. This brilliant picture has been engraved by J. Moyreau, and formed part of the famous cabinet of the Countess De Verrue, the first and the most extraordinary perhaps that was ever formed in France by a private individual. It afterwards became one of the chief ornaments of the valuable collection of Joseph Barchard, Esq.’), bought in at £955 10s;¹²¹²GPI, Br-13826....; purchased for fl. 8,000 or £666 by Adriaan van der Hoop (1778-1854), Amsterdam;¹³¹³Copy RKD. Lijst van schilderijen, beelden en teekeningen van Adriaan van der Hoop te Amsterdam, NHA, ARS, no. 388 (copy in Rijksmuseum Research Library), p. 8, no. 83: ‘Eene voorstelling, bekend onder den naam van L’Abreuvoir afkomstig uit de Gallery van Choiseul, door my gekocht van den Kunstkoper Nieuwenhuis, door Ph: Wouwerman... 8000’. by whom bequeathed to the City of Amsterdam, with 223 other paintings, 1854;¹⁴¹⁴Taxatie van schilderijen, teekeningen en beeldhouwwerken gedaan door Pieter E.H. Praetorius en Gerrit de Vries Jz., executeuren van het testament van A. van der Hoop [...] 29 april 1854, NHA, ARS, no. 388 (copy in Rijksmuseum Research Library), p. 3, no. 83: fl. 15,500. on loan from the City of Amsterdam to the museum since 30 June 1885¹⁵¹⁵The sales of M. de Montribloud and De Calonne of 9 February 1784 sqq. and 21 April 1788 sqq. respectively are mentioned in the reconstruction of the provenance in A. Pollmer, ‘Catalogus van de schilderijen in de verzameling van Adriaan van der Hoop’, in E. Bergvelt et al., De Hollandse meesters van een Amsterdamse bankier: De verzameling van Adriaan van der Hoop (1778-1854), exh. cat. Amsterdam (Amsterdams Historisch Museum; Rijksmuseum) 2004-05, pp. 135-95, esp. pp. 186-87, no. 214. That, however, is about a painting with a different iconography and dimensions, on which see also J. Edwards, Alexandre-Joseph Paillet: Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, Paris 1996, p. 245, no. 55. That incorrect provenance was first given in J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, I, London 1829, p. 251.

ObjectNumber: SK-C-271

Credit line: On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest)

Throughout the nineteenth century this was one of Philips Wouwerman’s most popular works. It was then called The Horsepond with the Red Cap because of the headgear worn by the rider of the brown horse just to the left of centre.¹⁸¹⁸The description of the work in the catalogue for the sale, Aubert, Paris (A. Paillet and H. Delaroche), 2 March 1786 sqq, no. 18 (‘Un Tableau connu sous le titre de l’Abreuvoir & du Palfrenier au bonnet rouge’), shows that it was a reversed copy of the Rijksmuseum panel, possibly painted after a print by Jean Moyreau. The painting was part of several famous collections, and was turned into a print as early as 1733 by the French engraver Jean Moyreau.¹⁹¹⁹V.L. Atwater, A Catalogue and Analysis of Eighteenth-Century French Prints after Netherlandish Baroque Paintings, IV, Ann Arbor 1989, p. 1542, no. 1989. Its admirers praised the exuberant staffage of horsemen, washerwomen and bathers, and the use of colour.²⁰²⁰See, for example, C.J. Nieuwenhuys, A Review of the Lives and Works of Some of the Most Eminent Painters: With Remarks on the Opinions and Statements of Former Writers, London 1834, pp. 274-75, and E.-J.-T. Thoré (pseud. W. Bürger), Musées de la Hollande, II, Paris 1860, pp. 96-97. ‘One of his rare silvery pictures’, was a comment in a copy of the 1820 catalogue for the Benjamin West sale.²¹²¹See Provenance.

Here Wouwerman has depicted several kinds of horse. The grey in the centre is of Spanish/Andalusian origin, while the one rearing to its right is a jennet, a fiery Spanish/Berber type.²²²²The information on the horses was kindly provided by Jef Hagen; written communication RMA, 29 October and 24 November 2008. The latter is probably the same as the one in the right foreground of The Bucking Grey.²³²³SK-A-483. Compare, also, the slightly related animal in the centre of Horsepond near a Boundary Stone (SK-A-485. The animal kicking out with its hind legs near the ruin on the hill belongs to the same high-spirited breed. The landscape is composed, as it so often is in the artist’s paintings. According to Löffler, the rather dilapidated building on the right bank can be identified as the remains of Rijnsburg Abbey seen from the south.²⁴²⁴Oral communication, 2008; Löffler cited a drawing by Jan de Bisschop in the Rijksmuseum, RP-T-1897-A-3344, showing the ruins from the same angle. On Rijnsburg Abbey in the visual arts see J. Bolten et al., ‘De ruïne van Rijnsburg in prent en tekening 1600-1812’, Delineavit et sculpsit, no. 13 (1994), pp. 1-122, and E.P. Löffler, ‘De ruïne van de abdij te Rijnsburg in fantasiegezichten’, Jaarboekje Genootschap Oud Rijnsburg 2000, pp. 42-51. They also feature in Wouwerman’s Stag Hunt in the Rijksmuseum.²⁵²⁵See the entry on SK-A-4805.

See Key to abbreviations, Rijksmuseum painting catalogues and Acknowledgements

J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, I, London 1829, pp. 250-51, no. 172; ibid., IX, 1842, p. 159, no. 62; C. Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, II, Esslingen/Paris 1908, pp. 272-73, no. 70; B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman (1619-1668): The Horse Painter of the Golden Age, I, Doornspijk 2006, pp. 71, 187, no. A44

1887, p. 194, no. 1655; 1903, p. 304, no. 2717; 1934, p. 324, no. 2717; 1976, p. 614, no. C 271

Gerdien Wuestman, 2022, 'Philips Wouwerman, Horsepond on a River, c. 1662 - 1663', in J. Bikker (ed.), Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.6602