Aert van der Neer (um 1603 Gorinchem - 1677 Amsterdam), Winter landscape with skaters

oil on oak, 29 cm x 37 cm, craquelure, partly retouched, partly small paint chips, slight rubbing, partly superficial scratches, Provenance: The painting offered here can be compared stylistically with the landscape in the National Gallery, London, dated around 1665 (Inv. No. NG969). We thank Ms Ellis Dullaart, M.A., of the RKD, The Hague, for her kind assistance in cataloguing this work of art. Ms Ellis Dullaart refers to two old photographs of the painting which are in the files of the RKD. These show that two expert opinions by Wilhelm Martin and Max J. Friedländer were transcribed on the back of the painting. Both art historians considered the painting to be an autograph work by Van der Neer.

The painting presented, "Winter Landscape with Skaters", is to be viewed after an authentic painting by Aert van der Neer (c. 1603-1677), which is now in the National Gallery in London. Both the landscape and the architectural elements on both banks of the river are rendered almost identically, yet show different figures on the ice and in the foreground. During our research and measures to authenticate the painting, which dates from the 17th/18th century, expert opinions by Wilhelm Martin and Max J. Friedländer were obtained from the RKD (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie). Wilhelm Martin was then director of the Mauritshuis and the Rijksmuseum H.W. Mesdag (The Hague), administrator of the Leiden copper engraving cabinet and associate professor at Leiden University. In 1949 he donated his extensive documentation and books on 19th century painters to the RKD. In 1954, his material on 17th century painting was given to the RKD as well. Max Jacob Friedländer was a German-Dutch art historian who was director of the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett from 1908 to 1930 and director of the Gemäldegalerie from 1924 to 1933. According to the RKD's feedback, both gentlemen considered the painting to be an autograph work by Van der Neer. The scene depicted, as in most of the artist's works, does not seem to be a topographically existing landscape, just as in the comparably mentioned London work example. The motif of figures skating, strolling or sledging on ice was one of the main motifs in 17th century winter landscapes. It would be difficult to determine the date of origin of such a copy, but the note on the back of the panel suggests that it could date from the 17th or 18th century.