10/10/2025 General, Old Master Paintings, General Paintings
One of the great rewards of working at an auction house is that—occasionally, rarely—you may find yourself taking part in an art-historical discovery: the first recognition of a work of art by a major master that has long remained unknown even to scholars in the field. This year, Doyle has been privileged to play a role in the coming to light of two such works, both by important artists of the Dutch Golden Age.
The first of these two marvels came in June. A group of drawings from an estate was consigned to us, including a drawing attributed to Jacob van Ruisdael, the pre-eminent landscape artist in the Netherlands during the 17th century, and one of the greatest landscapists of all time. When we took the drawing out of its frame and saw it for the first time without the glass, the attribution to van Ruisdael looked like a serious possibility. The materials were simple and straightforward: black chalk with gray wash, media in which the artist often worked. The subject was also characteristic for him: a fortified house with a tower, along with a crumbling wall on a riverbank, set in a tangled landscape of bushes and trees. Beside the river were two anglers, and in the distance, figures in a boat. But there was so much more. The hand that had put chalk and brush to this sheet of paper had created a shimmering, silvery vision. The interplay of black lines, thin layers of gray ink, and areas of untouched white paper was brilliantly nuanced and evocative, creating a wealth of scintillating detail: reflections in the water, a flock of birds in the sky, a tiny wisp of a tree growing out of the top of the tower.
But we had to be careful: Jacob van Ruisdael’s work was highly valued during his lifetime, and he had many very able imitators. A review of the literature on the artist quickly revealed that the drawing was unpublished, at least as a work by him. Fortunately, we were able to turn for advice to the recognized authority on van Ruisdael’s drawings, Dr. Jeroen Giltaij, Chief Curator Emeritus of the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam. Dr. Giltaij graciously confirmed the attribution of the drawing to Jacob van Ruisdael, and as a result we will be offering it in our sale of Old Master Paintings & Drawings on October 15.
Our second discovery came in August, from the same estate collection that had brought us the van Ruisdael. This was a handsome drawing in brown ink and wash of herdsmen and their livestock on a country road, bearing the signature Berchem. It was clearly in the style of Nicolaes Berchem, another superb artist who lived and worked in 17th-century Holland. He, too, was a landscapist, but one with a specialty in pastoral views like this one. Moreover, we soon learned that our composition was a replica—in reverse—of an exquisite engraving by the Dutch printmaker Johannes de Visscher published in 1670. That the images were reversed from drawing to print was a good sign, since, in the printing processes of the time, the engraved copy of its preliminary sketch would come off the press as a mirror image of the original drawing. But again, we had to be cautious. Nicolaes Berchem, like Jacob van Ruisdael, was greatly esteemed in the 17th century, and he, too, had many able followers.
We were soon glad to learn that a well-regarded German art historian, Dr. Annemarie Stefes, is now preparing a complete catalogue of Berchem’s drawings, and is thus considered the best authority on them. Fortunately, we were able to engage her to give an opinion on the drawing, which, after due deliberation, she judged to be—as we had devoutly hoped—the original drawing for the engraving by Johannes de Visscher. This beautiful work, too, will be offered in our sale of Old Master Paintings & Drawings on October 15.
The discovery of these two masterpieces of the draftsman’s art has been a highlight of the year for our department. It has also been a great pleasure to observe, even at a distance, the thinking of two first-rate scholars.
Auction Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 10am
Exhibition October 11 – 13
Lot 10
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem
Dutch, 1620-1683
Landscape with Herdsmen, Farm Animals, and a Young Woman Riding a Mule
Lot 11
Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael
Dutch, 1628/29-1682
River Landscape with Figures beside a House with a Tower
Circa 1655-1660
