Lot 28: DIRCK VAN DER LISSE

DIRCK VAN DER LISSE THE HAGUE 1607 - 1669 AN ALLEGORICAL FAMILY PORTRAIT IN A LANDSCAPE signed in monogram lower right: DL oil on canvas 49 5/8 by 67 5/8 in.; 126.1 by 171.7 cm.

Dirck van der Lisse began his career as an apprentice to Cornelis van Poelenburgh who had returned to Utrecht in 1627, after nearly a decade in Italy. Poelenburgh was the first Dutch painter whose training and development took place in Italy where, as Luigi Salerno, has observed "he succeeded in reconciling the realistic tradition with the classical ideal, thus becoming the initiator of a highly individual style and the founder of a school" (see L. Salerno, Pittori di paesaggio del Seicento a Roma, 1977/8, vol. I, p. 224). Typical of his compositions are gracefully posed nymphs and satyrs among ruins, all set in an Italianate landscape, quickly caught in the imagination of van der Lisse. While the present landscape exemplifies this tradition, here, van der Lisse has replaced the imaginary nymphs with a real family portrait, nestled into the left hand side of the canvas. While of differing figure type, van der Lisse has executed the family group with the same degree of sophistication and polish so prevalent throughout his oeurve. The overall composition is unified by a golden, hazy light reminiscent of Jan Both who had returned to Holland from Italy by 1646 and whose work may also have been an influence on van der Lisse.