ADRIAEN PIETERSZ. VAN DE VENNE (Delft 1589-1662... Lot 3020

ADRIAEN PIETERSZ. VAN DE VENNE (Delft 1589-1662 The Hague) Winter landscape with elegant figures. Oil on wood. Signed lower left: AVenne. 21 cm D (round). Provenance: - Private collection Netherlands, before 1961. - Art trade P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1961. - Alfred Brod Gallery, London, 1961. - Private collection Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, New York. - Sotheby's auction, New York, The Weldon Collection Sale, 4/22/2015, lot 8. - Private collection. Exhibitions: - London 1961, Annual Autumn Exhibition of Paintings of Old Dutch and Flemish Masters, Alfred Brod Gallery, Oct. 5-Nov. 4, 1961, no. 60. - Providence 1964, Northern Baroque Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 15.4-7/6/1964, no. 24. - New York 1966, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, Finch College Museum of Art, 11/5-30/6/1966, no. 40. - Birmingham 1995, The Golden Age of Dutch Painting, Birmingham, AL, 4/22-18/6/1995, no. 22. - New Orleans 1997, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings form the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, New Orleans Museum of Art, no. 56. - Baltimore 1999, An Eye for Detail. 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, The Walters Art Gallery, June 20-9, 1999, no. 56. Literature: - Apollo, London, September 1961, illus. on title page. - The Connoisseur, October 1961, p. xxxiv, with ill. - Ausst.-Kat. Providence 1964, cat. no. 24. - Exhibit-cat. New Orleans 1997, pp. 142-144, cat.-no. 56, ill. p. 143. - Ausst.-Kat. Baltimore 1999, pp. 130-132, cat. no. 56, ill. p. 131. - Edwin Buijsen: De schilderijenproductie van Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne (1589-1662). Traditie - Innovatie - Commercie, dissertation, Nijmegen 2018, vol. I, p. 74, footnote 8. This charming and lively composition, with its vast landscape and lively figures participating in the various pleasures of the winter season, is one of the earliest works by the Delft artist Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne. It gloriously demonstrates his claim to paint "paintings for everyone's pleasure" (see Laurens Bol: Adriaen Pietersz. Van de Venne: Painter and Draughtsman, Doornspijk 1989, pp. 20-21, footnotes 15 and 25). The signed oil painting probably predates his first dated paintings, completed in 1614 and 1615, and is a fine and compelling example of the many winter landscapes produced in the early 17th century. According to Cornelis de Bie (1627-1715), the artist's biographer, Van de Venne may have learned the basic principles of miniature painting from the goldsmith Simon de Valck in Leiden. This technique lends itself well to the small-format roundel, and Van de Venne created a number of such works in his early creative period, including counterparts depicting summer and winter (private collection, Germany; see Bol 1989, ibid, pp. 16-17, cat. nos. 5A and 5B, with illus.). These works, also painted in an intimate setting, bear remarkable formal and visual similarities to the composition offered here: Expansive landscapes recede into the distance, finely painted figures add extraordinary vividness to the scene, and large repoussoir trees on the left anchor both winter scenes. In addition, the cloaked woman on the lower left, warming her hands by a fire and not appearing to be one of the larger figures added by a contemporary hand, appears in almost the same place and pose as the winter rondell in the private collection. An infrared image of the present work reveals some underdrawing. The figures on the ice and the building near the bridge have been indicated with loose and sketchy lines. In addition, there are a number of fine, straight lines throughout the scene that cannot be associated with specific architectural or figurative elements. They possibly serve to shape the composition. Similar underdrawings can be found in other works by the artist from the same period, such as Allegory of the Twelve Years' Peace (1616, Musée du Louvre, Paris, inv. no. 1924). The painting comes from the collection of American collector couple June ("Jimmy") and Henry H. Weldon, which focused on small cabinet pieces of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish schools and was built up over decades. Dr. Edwin Buijsen, who examined the present painting in the original in 2015, classifies this winter landscape with elegantly dressed figures as an early work before 1614 (see Literature). The figures in the background in particular are characteristic of Venne's early work. The larger persons in the foreground originated