Lot 1333 Dα

Born in Antwerp, Hendrik Frans van Lint trained under Pieter van Bredael before moving to Rome in 1700, where he spent the rest of his life, becoming a member of the Schildersbent, the association of northern artists living and working in the Eternal City.

The young van Lint may have assisted Gaspar Vanvitelli in his workshop, and certainly looked to the examples of Claude Lorrain, who greatly influenced him.

As possible in the case of the present pair of works, Van Lint executed detailed drawings, often in situ, later using the preparatory sketches to work up full-scale compositions. He frequently added ruins and classical buildings to create elaborate imaginary landscapes characterised by gently suffused light and a classicist feeling. Hendrik Frans van Lint was one of the most accomplished and sought-after vedutisti in Rome in the first half of the 18th century and his oeuvre was enthusiastically collected by Italian patrons and Grand Tourists.