Gutachten:
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Provenienz:
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Ausstellungen:
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Ausstellung:
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Literatur:
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Provenance:
- Collection of Lucas Merens (1698–1776), Mayor of Hoorn and Director of the Dutch East India Company.
- Sale Ploos van Amstel and Jan Yver, Amsterdam, 15.4.1778, Lot 175a.
- Collection of Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726–1798), Amsterdam.
- Collection of J. T. Batt, New Hall, Salisbury, 1834.
- By descent or sale at New Hall to Major-General Buckley, 1853.
- Probably by descent to Alfred Buckley (1829–1900), 1883.
- Sale Christie's, London, 4.5.1901, Lot 24.
- With P. & D. Colnaghi, London.
- Sale Christie's, London, 18.3.1955, Lot 149.
- With Hans Cramer, The Hague, until 1964.
- Collection of A. Sutter, Mannheim, from 1965 until after 1978.
- Private collection, Germany, acquired shortly after 1978 and definitely in the collection until 1994.
- Sale Sotheby's, London, 7.12.2005, Lot 13.
- European private collection.

Exhibited:
- London 1853, British Institution, Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch French and English Masters, with which the proprietors have favoured the institution, June 1853, no. 75 (loan from Major-General Buckley).
- London 1883, Royal Academy, Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by deceased masters of the British School; including a special selection from the works of John Linnell and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1.1.–10.3.1883, no. 239 (loan from A. Buckley).
- Utrecht 1965, Nederlands 17 eeuwse Italianiserende Landschapschilders, Centraalmuseum, 10.3–30.5.1965, no. 85.
- Madrid 1994, The Golden Age of Dutch Landscape Painting, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, 11.11.–12.2.1994, no. 9.
- London 2002, Inspired by Italy. Dutch landscape painting 1600–1700, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 22.5.–26.8.2002, no. 31.
- Haarlem/Schwerin/Zurich 2006/2007, Nicolaes Berchem. In the Light of Italy, Frans Hals Museum, 16.12.2006–15.4.2007 / Schwerin, Staatliches Museum, 27.4.–19.8.2007 / Kunsthaus Zurich, 1.9.–2.12.2007, no. 31.
- Haarlem 2008/2009, De Gouden eeuw begint in Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum, 11.10.2008–1.2.2009.

Literature:
- John Smith: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters, London 1834, vol. V, p. 81, no. 252.
- Algernon Graves: A Century of Loan Exhibitions 1813–1912, London 1913, vol. I, pp. 60 and 62.
- Cornelis Hofstede de Groot: Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke, Esslingen/Paris 1926, vol. IX, p. 179, no. 449.
- Notable Works of Art now on the Market, in: The Burlington Magazine, June 1957, vol. XCIX, no. 651, ill, plate IX.
- Eckhard Schaar: Studien zu Nicolaes Berchem, Dissertation, Cologne 1958, p. 69.
- Albert Blankert: Nederlandse 17e Eeuwse Italianiserende Landschapschilders, Soest 1978, pp. 162–63, no. 83, ill. plate 85.
- Peter Sutton, in: exh.cat. The Golden Age of Dutch Landscape Painting, Madrid 1994, p. 80, no. 83 (ill.).
- Laurie Harwood, in: exh.cat. Inspired by Italy. Dutch landscape painting 1600–1700, London 2002, p. 140, no. 31, ill, p. 141.
- Pieter Biesboer und Luuk Pijl, in: Pieter Biesboer (ed.), Nicolaes Berchem. In the Light of Italy, exh.cat. Haarlem / Schwerin / Zurich, Haarlem 2006, pp. 24, 140–41, no. 31, ill. p. 65.
- Pieter Biesboer: De Gouden eeuw begint in Haarlem, exh.cat. Haarlem 2008, pp. 70–71 and 177, fig. 45.
- Pieter Biesboer: Frans Hals und Haarlems Meister der Goldenen Zeit, exh. cat, Munich 2008, pp. 70–71, ill. p. 70, fig. 45.

The fact that Nicolaes Berchem, the master of Italian landscapes populated with rustic figures, probably never actually travelled to Italy, seems almost unbelievable in view of the truly Mediterranean atmosphere of his vast compositions. The Italianate style of the landscapes Berchem painted from the 1640s onwards was probably strongly influenced by the artists Jan Both (c. 1615–1652) and Jan Asselijn (1610–1652). In particular, Berchem adopted from both these painters their use of the golden light which follows the midday heat of the south, but greatly surpassed them in his relaxed and sweeping depiction of the figures and the cattle. A nice comparison can be made with the work by Jan Asselijn, which is entitled ‘Muleteers Beside an Italian Ruin’ and is exhibited in the Rijksmuseum (inv. no. SK-C-89).

Berchem developed his atmospheric use of light to a level of perfection that was characteristic of his work, and in the present painting created a dramatic tension between the light and shade. The artist’s maturity, which is reflected in the composition and atmosphere, is also established by Pieter Biesboer's dating of the work to the period between 1655 and 1660. Although he devoted himself to various genres during his creative years, his landscapes in the Italian style brought him the greatest fame, enabling him to finance a luxurious lifestyle in Amsterdam through his painting. Like many Dutch painters who were enthusiastic about Italy, Nicolaes Berchem integrated ancient Roman ruins into his works, which, as in our picture, underline the romanticisation and idealisation of Italian history. The hidden Dutch features in the landscape design merge with the Roman buildings and result in a monumental reimagining, which is, however, contrasted by the simplicity of the rural theme, giving rise to an appealing rustic quality.