On view
Duane Wilder Gallery
View of Dordrecht,
ca. 1660
A sailboat laden with cargo and a rowboat ferrying passengers—evidence of the importance of water in Dutch life and commerce—occupy the foreground of this view of Dordrecht. On the banks of the river are the city’s most important landmarks, including the Grote Kerk (Large Church) and the town hall to its right.
Dordrecht holds an important place in Dutch history. In 1572, it hosted a crucial organizational meeting of the Dutch Revolt from the Spanish Netherlands, although the Dutch Republic was not officially recognized by Spain until 1648. The prominence of the new republic’s flags in this scene suggests a close association between physical landscape and national identity.
More Context
Handbook Entry
Although Salomon van Ruysdael was active in the city of Haarlem, he painted many views of Dordrecht. The low vantage point, addressing the subject straight on, signals a new attitude toward landscape, a change from the conceptual bird’s-eye to an empirical, immersed view. In 1572 the first organizational meeting of the Revolt of the Netherlands was held in Dordrecht, and the Prince of Orange was chosen to lead the independent nation. Paintings of the city probably carried patriotic meaning, alluding to allegiance to the Dutch nation and specifically to the House of Orange. As if to make this clear, several Dutch flags appear prominently in the foreground, on ships.
Information
ca. 1660
Europe, Netherlands
Europe, Netherlands, Grote Kerk, Dordrecht
S[alomon]. B[enedikt]. Goldschmidt (Frankfurt 1818-1906 Vienna); his sale, Kunsthandel Friedrich Schwarz, Vienna, March 11, 1907, lot 40; Julius Böhler, Munich [1]; James Jewett Stillman, New York and Paris (1850-1918); likely by descent to his daughter, Isabel Stillman Rockefeller (d. 1935) and Percy Avery Rockefeller (d. 1934); likely by descent to their daughter, Winifred Rockefeller Emeny (d. 1951) and Brooks Emeny (d. 1980); bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.
[1] Letter from Wolfgang Stechow to Henry Sayles Francis (Cleveland Museum of Art), October 31, 1939.
- Catalogue of the twentieth anniversary exhibition of the Cleveland Museum of Art: the official art exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition: June twenty-sixth to October fourth 1936, (Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1936)., cat. no. 160
- Wolfgang Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael, eine Einführung in seine Kunst: mit kritischen Katalog der Gemälde, und einem bilderteil von 72 abbildungen auf 48 lichtdrucktafeln, (Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1938)., p. 103, no. 307
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Hedy B. Landman, European and American art from Princeton alumni collections, (Princeton, NJ: Art Museum, Princeton University, 1972).
, p. 10, no. 6 (illus.) - Wolfgang Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael, eine Einführung in seine Kunst: mit kritischem Katalog der Gemälde, und einem Bilderteil von 82 Abbildungen auf 56 Tafeln, (Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1975)., p. 114; cat. no. 307
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1980", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 40, no. 1 (1981): p. 14-31., p. 27p
- Allen Rosenbaum and Francis F. Jones, Selections from The Art Museum, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1986), p. 100 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 58
