Lot 37: Ription Johann Jacob Hartmann (Kuttenberg c. 1680

Ription Johann Jacob Hartmann (Kuttenberg c. 1680 - after 1728 Prague) Wooded river landscape with resting travellers, oil on copper, 44 x 59.5 cm, framed, (GS) Provenance: Georges Beets Collection, Brussels; Pierre Mercier Collection, Brussels; Belgian private collection. Literature: S. Speth-Holterhoff, La Collection de M. Georges Beetz, in: Revue Apollo, March 1943. p. 16. These two landscape pendants probably have an allegorical meaning and used to be old Belgian family property. They are characteristic works by the highly talented Bohemian landscapist Johann Jacob Hartmann. He is described in Thieme-Becker as follows: "His landscapes and architectural views, arranged in three planes and populated by numerous tiny and colourful figures, show a variety of solutions of colouristic problems and number among the most superior achievements in Bohemia of that period. His works were much sought after and were mostly shipped abroad. Hartmann's landscapes, most of which feature small formats and a delicate, meticulous style, were inspired by the Flemish artists active at the court of Rudolf II, such as Jan Brueghel the Elder and Roland Savery." His paintings, including the present pendants, mostly are of breathtaking quality and number among the best works produced in Bohemia in the 18th century. R. Baumstark writes about Hartmann: "In terms of painterly quality, the bustling figures in these masterpieces of early 18th-century Bohemian landscape painting are equal to those of Jan Brueghel the Elder. In spite of various inspirations, these landscapes are not piecemeal. Hartmann rather suceeds in combining different pictorial traditions and creating an atmospherically charming vision that goes beyond a descRiption of nature and human activity." (Deutsche Malerei aus den Sammlungen des Regierenden Fürsten von Liechtenstein, 1979). Pendant to previous lot.