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Sotheby’s Amsterdam to sell masterpiece by B.C. Koekkoek

Barend Cornelis Koekkoek

Barend Cornelis Koekkoek: “Landscape in Luxemburg”

Sotheby’s Amsterdam to sell masterpiece by B.C. Koekkoek ]]>

The absolute highlight of the 19th Century Paintings sale at Sotheby’s Amsterdam on Monday 14 April 2008 is a panoramic landscape in Luxemburg by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek. The oil on canvas that was recently discovered in a private collection is probably one of the missing paintings from the series that the artist painted at the request of King Willem II of the Netherlands in Luxemburg in the late 1840s. This honourable commission shows the importance of B.C. Koekkoek already in his own time. B.C. Koekkoek (1803-1862) was without doubt the most important Dutch romantic painter from the first half of the 19th century and the most famous member of the artistic family Koekkoek. He was born in Middelburg in 1803 and died in Kleef, near the German border, in 1862. His unparalleled mastery earned him the name of honour ‘Prince among Landscape painters’ in his own time. Already at an early stage he concentrated on the art of painting landscapes and created forest- and winter landscapes in the style of 17th century masters. In 1834 B.C. Koekkoek had moved to the German town Kleef where the surrounding Rhine landscape and the luscious forests fitted his ideal of a landscape. Koekkoek’s landscapes, varying from wide river valleys and woody views dominated by one or two giants oaks were very much in demand. The landscape in Luxemburg now on offer is a great example of his unequalled virtuosity. The estimate is €600.000-1.100.000.

The works offered in this sale are wonderful examples of the Dutch Romantic School and Impressionism. The summer landscapes, beach scenes, town views and ice scenes, consigned from European private collections, can be considered as masterpieces of 19th Century Dutch painting.

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Sotheby’s Amsterdam to sell masterpiece by B.C. Koekkoek