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Early  17^th  Century  Marine  Scenery

Bril, Paul (? Breda 1553/4 – Rome 1626). Rocky Coastal Landscape with View at a Harbor. In front left sailing-vessel on the water strongly moved by surge. On the right sheerly rising shore with stock of trees. In the center-field a mighty lighthouse, on the left of it the mouth to the harbor of the town lying underneath of rugged crags. In front of them, as at the other shores, too, numerous boats, but also ships and a galley. In the distance the inland course of the river under dramatic skyscape including breaking sun and a shower. Engraving by or at Jan Claesz Visscher (c. 1550 Amsterdam 1612). Below left in the water and white margin resp. inscribed: Paulus Bril inue / ICVißcher (ligated) excudit. Sheet size 20 x 26.8 cm.

Bernt IV, 127 (preparatory drawing in same size and direction, with ills.). – Equal-sized copy in reverse after the engraving by Raphael Sadeler I (Antwerp 1560 – Munich 1632/Venice 1628), Hollstein 217. – The monogram corresponding with the first one of Wurzbach II, 800; compare also Nagler, Monogramists, III, 2155 + V, 1063, also the one of Cornelis Visscher Nagler V, 1079 leaned upon to the one here. – Figurative watermark.

Trimmed inside the platemark, but still with a fine papermark – a tiny completion on the right – around the subject, below also 5 mm wide. The lower corners somewhat box pleated in respect of former corner mounting. In the upper margin acid-freely repaired tear reaching 2 cm into the image, but scarcely visible only. In the lower margin barely recognizable writing by old hand: Afbeelding van den toeloup des … tot … by (he)t Galileetsche Meyk.

Already in 1574 Paul Bril went to Rome where he met with Adam Elsheimer “whose influence was of decisive consequence for Bril’s art” (Thieme-Becker V, 16 f.) :

“ The sheets of the mature time after 1600 are no longer taken from nature, they are composed more freely and splendidly, the place is designed consciously, the horizon wider, and generally an outspokenly pictorial effect is reached. Heroic landscapes with lateral rocky or tree sceneries present a view of a wide river valley. The trees with exposed roots and boughs broken off have a strange shape … the plastic effect, atmosphere, and clouding (is) essential. These … sheets of the later time, pen drawings with or without wash, anticipate the classic style of Cl. Lorrain and N. Poussin … The largest series of genuine sheets is in the possession of the Louvre – so also the copy of the sheet here; compare also the similar one of same size in Amsterdam, Boon 91 with ills. – …

The  landscape  painting  of  the  17^th  century

was  under  the  influence  of  P.  Bril  for  a  long  time ”

(Bernt). So then also Luuk Pijl in Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon XIV (1996), 228:

“ Due to the enormous radiance on the painters of the 17^th cent. B. can be considered the most influential landscape painter of the first half of the 17^th cent. ”

In such a manner the

extraordinarily  pictorial  sheet  here  in  its  splendid  chiaroscuro

qualified as early print by the still recognizable fine type lines within the Visscher inscription.
Offer no. 28,856 / EUR  1280. / export price EUR  1216. (c. US$ 1706.) + shipping