Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 4, 1912.djvu/450

 436 MEINDERT HOBBEMA SECT. against the sky, with willows beside the stream. In the shadow of the trees, which are reflected in the water, three men in a small boat are drawing a net ; they are dressed in reddish brown, with touches of blue. To the right of the trees is another tree at the edge of the picture. In the opening between them the big square tower and high-pitched nave- roof of a church, and a wind-mill to the right of it, stand out in vaporous sunlight against brilliant white clouds. On the extreme left, across the stream at its widest, a wind-mill rises above low trees ; to the right of it, partly hidden by the big clump in the centre, is a lofty gabled building. Rather dark clouds float above this second wind-mill. Blue sky at top. Numerous birds flying. The old catalogue wrongly questioned the authenticity of the picture, suggesting that it might be by Jan van Kessel. It is closely related to 253 (Amsterdam). Signed in full ; panel, i8| inches by 26 inches. Sales. Benjamin West, London, June 23, 1820 (.309 : 155., Esdaile). W. Esdaile, London, March 15, 1838 (173 : 55., Norton). In the collection of Archibald M'Lellan, Glasgow ; bought by the city in May 1856. In the Glasgow Art Gallery, 1908 catalogue, No. 469. 257. A FLAT LANDSCAPE WITH A RIVER. The river flows from the right foreground to the left distance. On the right bank is a row of trees, which are reflected in the water. To the left are a woman and a child on a road leading between the river and the wood. On the extreme right is a cottage, almost hidden by the lofty oaks on the bank. A man in red with a stick on his shoulder walks under the oaks. High up to the left are dense white clouds. The foliage is a very light green. The figures are by Hobbema himself, and accord very well with their surroundings. The picture is of importance for the study of the painter's development. [Compare 32, 150.] Signed in full, and dated 1659 ; panel, 2o| inches by 26 J inches. In the De la Hante collection, Paris. According to a note in the Van der Schrieck sale-catalogue, it was identical with the picture in the sale : D. van der Schrieck of Louvain, Brussels, April 8, 1 86 1, No. 31 (3050 francs, De Feyne). But as the De la Hante picture was at Grenoble long before 1861, this identifi- cation is impossible. The mistake may probably be explained by the assump- tion that the Van der Schrieck picture agreed in subject and size with the Grenoble picture, and was a copy of it. Bought in 1838 for the Grenoble Museum (for 5000 francs). In the Grenoble Museum, 1891 catalogue, No. 382. 258. A RIVER LANDSCAPE. In the foreground, on a broad river flowing between green banks, are two boats with fishermen who have cast their nets. Farther away is a large sailing-boat. On the left bank are cottages amid trees. In the right distance is a church. This differs from Hobbema's usual style, and is therefore only catalogued as the work of an unknown Dutch painter. But repeated inspection has con- vinced the author that the picture is a genuine Hobbema. Evidence of this is afforded by the trees and the water, and by the characteristic steely blue and grey of the wood of the boats and the cottages.