Perspective Fantasy of a Palace, with Elegant Figures
attributed to Dirck van Delen (Heusden 1604/5 - Arnemuiden 1671)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1600 - 1699
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
692 x 902 mm (27 1/4 x 35 1/2 in)
Order this imageCollection
Dyrham, Gloucestershire
NT 453824
Caption
Though this painting bears the signature of Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527–?1606) on the base of the columns at the right, it is thought to have been painted by Dirck van Delen and Hieronymus Janssens. Van Delen probably painted the architectural setting, while Janssens may have added the figures. Though he did paint architectural pieces like this, Hans Vredeman de Vries made a great impression on artists through his prints, and it was probably from such a print that this picture was painted. While this painting is at home in Dyrham Park, among the other works of Dutch and Flemish art that form part of the historical collection there, it is not part of the Blathwayt collection. It was, instead, bequeathed to the National Trust in 1945 and later displayed at Dyrham because of the appropriateness of its style and subject matter.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, A Perspective Fantasy of a Palace, with Elegant Figures, attributed to Dirck van Delen (Heusden 1604/5 - Arnemuiden 1671) and Hieronymus Janssens (1624-1693), thought to be after Hans Vredeman de Vries (Leeuwarden 1527 - Antwerp 1606), 17th century, bears the signature and date inscribed on the base of the columns at the right: H. V. DR VRIES / 1569. A view through a colonnaded portico in the courtyard of a palace, with elegantly dressed figures in the foreground, as well as a serving boy, two dogs, a monkey perched on the base of a column, and a peacock strutting in the middle ground. The plunging perspective leads the eye through the marbled colonnade, to a grand edifice with an archway in the background and a garden beyond that. Other figures can be seen in the courtyard between the portico and the palace in the middle ground and to the right of the composition. The painting is thought to have been based on a print by the sixteenth-century artist Hans Vredeman de Vries.
Provenance
According to the sale catalogue entries, from the Peel coll.; anon sale, Robinson & Fisher 6 June 1907, lot 170; anon sale, Christie's 25 July 1913, lot 76; overmantel at 42 Queen Anne's Gate (National Trust); taken down from there when the National Trust moved into no. 36; sent to Mompesson House 1984, and finally sent to Dyrham (because of its collection of perspectives and trompe l'oeils) in 1990.
Credit line
Dyrham Park (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
On the base of the columns at the right: H. V. DR VRIES / 1569
Makers and roles
attributed to Dirck van Delen (Heusden 1604/5 - Arnemuiden 1671), artist attributed to Hieronymus Janssens (Antwerp 1624 - Antwerp 1693) , artist after Hans Vredeman de Vries (Leeuwarden 1527 - Antwerp 1606), artist