Lot 329: Hendrik van Minderhout Rotterdam 1632 - 1696 Antwerp , A Levantine harbour with a galley and a man-of-war coming in to anchor, together with many figures on shore oil on canvas

signed and dated lower left: Hvan Minderhout .681 oil on canvas

162.5 by 242.5 cm.

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 12 May 1976, lot 22.

Hendrik van Minderhout painted a number of monumental exotic harbour scenes on large canvases such as this one. In these compositions he followed the tradition of Jan Baptist Weenix and Johannes Lingelbach, especially in their imaginary views of Mediterranean and Levantine seaports. For his capricci Minderhout often chose a low viewpoint and his compositions are dominated by exotic and lavishly dressed figures on a quay in the foreground with large Dutch vessels on open water set against a gold coloured sky. His paintings often feature the same mixture of staffage consisting of workmen loading goods from small ships, oriental tradesmen and elegantly clad ladies on the quayside.

Originally a native of Rotterdam, Minderhout spent almost his entire active career in Flanders. In 1652 he settled in Bruges where he became a member of the guild in 1663. Upon entering the guild he submitted a marine painting that was displayed as companion piece to Rubens' work that hung in the Salle d'Académie. In 1672 he moved to Antwerp, probably to find a better marketplace for his monumental paintings. His oriental seaports must have appealed to patrons who made their fortune in the overseas trade, whether they had actual experience with those exotic places or not. There is no record that Van Minderhout ever spent time at the Mediterranean or Levantine coast. He therefore must have taken his subjects from prints and from the work of artists such as Nicolaes Berchem and Jan Both.

A very similarly composed harbour scene was sold, London, Sotheby's, 19 April 1989, lot 47, for £350.000.