ISAAC VAN OSTADE (1621 Haarlem 1649) Ice fun in... Lot 3054

ISAAC VAN OSTADE (1621 Haarlem 1649) Ice fun in front of a village square. Oil on wood. Signed lower left on the boat: Isack. van. Ostade. 40 × 60,5 cm. Provenance: - Otto Mündler, Paris (label on verso). - Collection M. de Caraman, Paris. - Newhouse Galleries, New York, No. 18115 (label on verso). - Collection Ernestine R. Avery and R. Stanton Avery, acquired at the above. - Auction Christie's, New York, The Estate of Mrs Ernestine R. Avery and the Estate of R. Stanton Avery, 22.5.1998, lot 165. - Richard Green Gallery, London (label on verso). - Sotheby's auction, London, 6.7.2017, lot 131. - European Collection. The painting is archived at the RKD, The Hague, as an original work by Isaac van Ostade. This vivid winter landscape, which thrives especially on the stark contrast of the rustic wooden hut on the left and the darkening cloud on the right, unfolds an unlikely diversity of artistic skill in its reduced palette. First and foremost, the carefully constructed sky stands out from the viewer's deep vantage point, broken in a strong diagonal in the horizon and rhythmizing the triad of hut, tree, and steeple by means of refined aerial perspective. Although the representation is marked by a certain monumentality of nature and architecture, the subtle skill of the painter, who died young at 28, can be admired in the details of branches, costumes and materials. The semi-transparent figures on the left side of the ice surface or the musculature of the horse, which is accentuated in a few brushstrokes, convey a certain lightness. This long-lost painting once belonged to the art historian Otto Mündler, who was considered a great connoisseur of his subject and equally appreciated the elegance and balance of this landscape. This object marked with * (asterisk) is fully subject to VAT, i.e. for these objects VAT will be charged on the hammer price plus buyer's premium. Buyers who present a legally stamped export declaration will be refunded the VAT.