Lot 149: Willem Bodeman (Amsterdam 1806-1880 Bussum)

Willem Bodeman (Amsterdam 1806-1880 Bussum)
An extensive landscape with cattle, figures and a ruin
signed and dated '1847 Bodeman.f.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
85 x 105 cm.

Haarlem, De Hallen, Groots en meeslepend, sublieme landschappen uit de Nederlandse romantiek, 13 June-30 August 2009, no. 8.

A. Erftemeijer, Groots en meeslepend, Sublieme landschappen uit de Nederlandse romantiek, Haarlem, 2009, p. 19, fig. 8.

Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 12 February 1998, lot 83.

Christie’s charges a premium to the buyer on the Hammer Price of each lot sold at the following rates: 29.75% of the Hammer Price of each lot up to and including €20,000, plus 23.8% of the Hammer Price between €20,001 and €800.000, plus 14.28% of any amount in excess of €800.000. Buyer’s premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.
Willem Bodeman was a student of the revered Dutch landscape painter Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803-1862). Together, they traveled through Belgium and Germany in the 1820s. The present lot is a remarkable example of Bodeman's characteristic mountainous landscape painting. The sun setting behind the trees sheds a gentle light on the mountain valley and the cattle and herdsmen resting in the grass are bathed in a comforting evening glow. From the finely represented tree branches to the subtle shadow and realistic perspective, this work shows why Bodeman was well received by the public of his time. The painting was executed in 1847, the year Bodeman traveled to England, where he exhibited two paintings at the Royal Academy and one at the British Institute.