Antwerp from across the Scheldt
Hendrik van Minderhout (Rotterdam 1632 – Antwerp 1696)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1678 (signed)
Materials
oil on canvas
Measurements
1676 x 2388 mm (66 x 94 in)
Order this imageCollection
Dyrham, Gloucestershire
NT 453742
Caption
Behind the bustling crowds in the foreground of this picture is the Antwerp skyline, as seen from the other side of the River Scheldt. The tower of Antwerp Cathedral cuts through the centre of the composition, vying for our attention with the vertical accents provided by the masts of boats to either side. Hendrick van Minderhout was born in Rotterdam, but worked in Bruges before settling in Antwerp in 1672. This painting is signed on the quay at the lower right, and was probably painted in Antwerp in the late 1670s. It was one of the paintings purchased in 1693 by William I Blathwayt (?1649–1717) from the Flemish painter Jan Siberechts (1627–1703).
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Antwerp from across the Scheldt, by Hendrik van Minderhout (Rotterdam 1632 – Antwerp 1696), signed H. van Minderhout, circa 1678. A view of the skyline of Antwerp from across the River Scheldt, with the tower of the Cathedral rising in the centre. In the foreground are ferryboats unloading and a group of passengers waiting on the quayside.
Provenance
Purchased by William I Blathwayt (?1649-1717) through Jan Siberechts in 1693; thence by descent at Dyrham Park; Indigenous collection purchased by the Ministry of Works in 1956 and given to Dyrham Park in 1961
Credit line
Dyrham Park, The Blathwayt Collection (acquired by the Ministry of Works via the National Land Fund in 1956, and transferred to the National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Lower right, on the edge of the quay: H. van Minderhout
Makers and roles
Hendrik van Minderhout (Rotterdam 1632 – Antwerp 1696) , artist
References
A Catalogue Of the Valuable Collection of Pictures of William Blathwayte, Esq. Which will be sold by Auction at Derham, in the County of Gloucester, on Monday the 18th of November Inst. and the three following Days [...] Thomas Joye, Auctioneer [1765], third day, 20 November 1765, lot 31 Inventory and valuation of all the household furniture, linen, china, glass, books, pictures [...] the property of William Blathwayt Esqr. at his late residence Dyrham Park [...] March 1839. [March 1839]., in the Saloon [Great Hall] Dyrham Park 1844 List of Valuable Pictures, Prints, &c at Dyrham House, Gloucestershire the Property of Geo: Wm. Blathwayt Esq. with nominal prices affixed to some for the purposes of Insurance only. [1844], in the Saloon [Great Hall], no.20 Inventory [of] Household Furniture, China, Glass, Oil Paintings, Engravings, Books, Silver Plate [...] In the Mansion House at Dyrham Park Gloucestershire bequeathed as Heirlooms by the late Colonel George William Blathwayt who died May the 14th 1871, in the Saloon [Great Hall] Dyrham Park 1937 An Inventory and Valuation of the contents of Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire, the property of the late R. W. Blathwayt, Esq., made for the purpose of Probate duty by, Puttick & Simpson [...] January 1st 1937, on the Cedar Staircase Duits 1964 Clifford Duits, 'Hendrick van Minderhout', Duits Quarterly, no.5, autumn 1964, pp.10-16, p.14, no.4