River Landscape with Riders, Aelbert Cuyp, c. 1653 - 1657

…; sale, Jacob Odon (†), Amsterdam (P. van der Schley et al.), 6 September 1784, no. 51 (‘In dit capitaal Landschap ziet men ter rechterzyde op de voorgrond, drie rustende Koeijen en een staande, ter zyde derzelve een staande Veehoeder met een Hond, rustende op zyn Stok; op de voorgrond voor derzelve zyn twee Heeren te Paard aan een Rivier, waar uit een der Paarden staat te drinken, en ter linkerzyde eenige zwemmende Eenden, en ter zelve zyde over de Rivier een aangenaam Landgezigt van Kreupelbosschen en Valleyen, en in het Verschiet het hoog blaauw Gebergte; ter rechterzyde op de tweede grond staat tegens het hoog Gebergte een Herberg, en voor dezelve een Postkar met eenige Passagiers, ter zyde deeze Herberg een Boere Stulp, en in het Verschiet een Dorpgezigt. Op Doek, hoog 50, breed 87 duim [128.5 x 223.5 cm]’), fl. 380, to Coclair;{A. Chong, _Aelbert Cuyp and the Meaning of Landscape_, diss. New York University 1992, p. 424.}...; the dealer Noel Joseph Desenfans (1745-1807), London, c. 1795;{J. Smith, _A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters_, IX, London 1842, p. 660. Various authors have suggested that the painting was in the collection that Desenfans put together for the Polish king Stanislaw II (1732-1798), who was deposed in 1795; C.J. de Bruyn Kops, ‘Kanttekeningen bij het nieuw verworven landschap van Aelbert Cuyp: En enige bijzonderheden over de waardering en export van zijn werk in het verleden’, _Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum_ 13 (1965), pp. 161-76, esp. pp. 169-71; A. Chong, _Aelbert Cuyp and the Meaning of Landscape_, diss. New York University 1992, pp. 37-38.} from whom, 350 gns, probably to Joseph Martin († 1828), Ham Court, Upton-on-Severn, Worcestershire, c. 1796;{Smith states that the painting was bought around 1796, implying that this was done by Joseph’s son John Joseph, the later owner, but since he was about 6 years old at the time this seems unlikely; J. Smith, _A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters_, IX, London 1842, p. 660.} his son, John Joseph Martin (1790-1873), with Ham Court; recorded in his collection, 1842, 1850, 1854;{J. Smith, _A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters_, IX, London 1842, pp. 659-60; _Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, French, and English Masters: With Which the Proprietors Have Favoured the Institution_, exh. cat. London (British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom) 1850, p. 8, no. 20; G.F. Waagen, _Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated MSS., &c. &c.,_, III, London 1854, p. 224, no. 114.} his nephew, George Edward Martin (1829-1905), with Ham Court; recorded in his collection, 1870, 1880;{F.P. Seguier, _A Critical and Commercial Dictionary of the Works of Painters: Comprising Eight Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty Sale Notes of Pictures and Nine Hundred and Eighty Original Notes on the Subjects and Styles of Various Artists Who Have Painted in the Schools of Europe between the Years 1250 and 1850_, London 1870, p. 54; _Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters, and by Deceased Masters of the British School_, exh. cat. London (Royal Academy of Arts) 1880, no. 114; C. Hofstede de Groot, _Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts_, II, Esslingen/Paris 1908, p. 133, no. 458.}…; collection Baron Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918), London and Halton House, Buckinghamshire, early 20th century;{E.K. Waterhouse et al., _Catalogue of the Exhibition of 17th Century Art in Europe_, exh. cat. London (Royal Academy of Arts) 1938, no. 127. According to Chong De Rothschild purchased the painting after 1907; A. Chong, _Aelbert Cuyp and the Meaning of Landscape_, diss. New York University 1992, p. 53.} his nephew, Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1882-1942), with Halton House, 1918;{E.K. Waterhouse et al., _Catalogue of the Exhibition of 17th Century Art in Europe_, exh. cat. London (Royal Academy of Arts) 1938, no. 127.} transferred to his estate, Exbury, Hampshire, 1920s;{According to A. Chong, _Aelbert Cuyp and the Meaning of Landscape_, diss. New York University 1992, p. 424, listed in the Exbury inventory.} his son, Edmund Leopold de Rothschild (1916-2009), with the Exbury estate, 1942;{D. Thomas and R.T. James, _Dutch Pictures 1450-1750_, exh. cat. London (Royal Academy of Arts) 1952-53, p. 39, no. 170; _European Pictures from an English County_, exh. cat. London (Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd) 1957, no. 19.} from whom, £192,500, to the museum, through the mediation of the dealer Geoffrey Agnew, with the support of the Dutch Government, the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Fotocommissie, 1965

Bibliography and list of abbreviations for the provenance (pdf)

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.