Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 4, 1912.djvu/582

 5 68 ADRIAEN VAN DE VELDE SECT. the left distance is a narrow strip of land, with a windmill, cottages, and a church, obviously that of Haarlem. On some grass in the left middle distance is pitched a refreshment tent with a sign hung out. There are numerous figures, especially crowding round the tent towards which a man pushes a sledge with a cask. In the left foreground two women sit in a rude sleigh, pulled by a girl and pushed by a man and a woman towards the centre. In front of the girl stands a shivering boy. Beyond her is a man with a basket on his shoulder. In the right foreground a group of four men play golf or hockey j the man to the left is addressing the ball. Beyond them are skaters with a dog. The sky fills nearly three- fourths of the picture j there are some dark clouds in the centre. " Always deservedly esteemed as a bijou of the rarest excellence " (Sm.). [Compare 375-] Signed in full on the left at foot, and dated 1668 ; panel, n| inches by 14 inches. Engraved by Aliamet in the Mariette collection. Sales. Mariette, Paris, February I, 1775, No. 31 (4000 francs) see Ch. Blanc, i. 266. Prince de Conti, Paris, April 8, 1777 (4000 francs, Remy, bought in) see Ch. Blanc, i. 382. Comte Pourtales, Paris, 1826 ; bought with the Comte's Dutch and Flemish pictures by Sm. and Thomas Emmerson (and valued at 3'5). In the collection of Sir Robert Peel, Bart., 1834 (Sm.) ; bought as a whole for the National Gallery in 1871. In the National Gallery, London, 1906 catalogue, No. 869. 371. A FROZEN CANAL. Sm. 46. On a frozen canal are numerous figures of skaters and men with sledges. In the left foreground, in front of a hut, is a dove-cot shaped like a church on a tall pole. Farther back a horseman crosses a wooden bridge. In the distance is a village with a church. A good picture, almost all in the same tone. Signed in full on the boards of the hut, and dated 1668 ; canvas, 9 inches by n inches. Sale. Comte de Vaudreuil, Paris, November 24, 1784, No. 67 (i 100 francs, Paillet) see Ch. Blanc, ii. 101. In the collection of Louis XVI., King of France. In the Louvre, Paris, 1903 catalogue, No. 2598 ; it was there in 1816, and valued by the experts (at 3000 francs). 372. A WINTER SCENE. Good coloured figures. The figures are finer than those of Van der Neer, and the landscape is certainly not inferior to his work. In the collection of Baron E. de Rothschild, Paris. 373. A SNOWY WINTER SCENE. On the ice in front are two figures behind a sledge. One fastens a skate. The other cuts wood. On the right is a group of snow-covered cottages. In the left distance is a village with a massive church tower. Signed in full on the right at foot ; inches by 14 inches. In the collection of John G. Johnson, Philadelphia.