Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet

Delft ca. 1611/12 – Delft 1675

Interior with a View of the Organbalcony of the ‘Oude Kerk‘ in Delft

Signed ‘H. Van Vliet’, middle centre, on the base of the column
Oil on panel
H. 51 cm. W. 44 cm.

PROVENANCE
Private collection | France
Anonymous sale | Tajan | Paris | 6 April 2016 | Lot 61
With Kunsthandel P. de Boer | Amsterdam
Private collection | The Netherlands

REFERENCE LITERATURE
Janzten, H. (1910/1979). Das Niederlandische Architekturbild. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, p. 237 nr. 530a; p. 238 nr. 556
Liedtke, W.A. (1982). Architectural Paintings in Delft. Doornspijk, pp. 107-108, Appendix II: nr. 63, nr. 76 and nr. 83
Maillet, B.G. (2012). Intérieur d’eglises 1580- 1720. La Peinture Architectural dans les Ecole du Nord. Antwerp: Pandora, p. 429 nr. M-1511 and nr. M-1512; p. 433 nr. M-1533; p. 447 nr. M-1617; p. 453 nr. M-1655 (with ill. on p. 35)

CATALOGUE NOTE
A native of Delft, Hendrick van Vliet specialized in architectural painting, particularly of church interiors, following the innovative techniques of perspective pioneered by Pieter Saenredam. The Oude Kerk and the Nieuwe Kerk of Delft typically formed the subject of his perspective studies, depicting the architectural details with great precision. He frequently returned to a composition, resulting in serveal versions of the same viewpoint, yet with different details of staffage. The present picture shows a view of the presently demolished organbalcony of the Oude Kerk. The epitaph hanging on the pillar to the left is that of Clara van Spaerwoude (Delft ca. 1530 – Delft 1615). Clara, daughter of a goldsmith, became especially known for the marriage fund she established from her enormous inheritance. In line with her great wealth and good deeds, she received an impressive epitaph as a memorial. Today, this is the finest epitaph in the Oude Kerk.

Van Vliet explored the present composition in at least three other signed ans dated pictures, e.g. View of the tribune in front of the organ in the Oude Kerk in Delft, signed and dated ‘158 .’, H. 50,5 cm. W. 46,5 cm., col. Národní Galerie v Praze, Prague, (inv. nr. 0-7921; cat. 1961, nr. 80); a second version signed and ‘1661’, H. 43 cm. W. 35,5 cm., coll. Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der Bildende Künste, Vienna (inv. nr. 687; cat. 1992, nr. 127) and a third version signed and dated ‘H. van Vliet 166 .’, H. 42.8 cm. W. 38.5 cm., ex. coll. Kunsthandlung Julius Böhler, Munich (RKD nr. 118713). This suggests that the present picture also dates from the third quarter of the 17th century, ca. 1655-1665. Maillet furthermore lists a forth unsigned and undated version, H. 35 cm. W. 28,5 cm., anonymous sale Sotheby’s, London, 1972 and a fifth unsigned and undated version on canvas, H. 33 cm. W. 30,5 cm., anonymous sale Habsburg Feldman, Geneva, 1990.