Lot 2075 Dα

A cabinet size painting by the master of Dutch landscapes. In the foreground we see a wooded scene with a stream running through it. Beyond the mass of trees, the horizon reveals a clearing in the woodland below a beautiful sky. To the left, in the shadow of the trees, a lone hunter travels through the forest accompanied by a dog. An overall feeling of mystery hangs over the scene.

Considering the work's remarkable provenance, documentation, and the expertise by the Ruisdael specialist Jakob Rosenberg, it is hard to believe that just a short time ago, the piece was denoted from its status as an authentic Ruisdael. Due to a heavy accumulation of dirt over time, it was not until recent conservation work that the autograph quality of this picture and the artist's monogram could be revealed once more, returning its rightful attribution as a work by Jacob van Ruisdael.

Once the property of the Prince Karl Max of Lichnowsky (1860-1928), it is likely to have been part of his Silesian estate in Kuchelna, from whence it was sold to the Berlin art dealer Paul Cassirer. A member of Prussian and Bohemian aristocracy, Karl Max Fürst von Lichnowsky began working as a diplomat for the German Foreign Office in 1885, serving as attaché in London, Bucharest and as German Ambassador to Austria-Hungary. In 1912, Prince Karl was appointed in haste to the London embassy in a desperate attempt to repair the damaged and widening tensions between the two countries. His success in earning British sympathies led to heavy suspicion and exclusion from certain circles in his later life. Despite the ensuing conflict of World War I, his mission and diplomatic efforts to preserve peace have been widely recognised.
Afterwards the painting was part of the Etienne Nicolas collection, Paris. Another important painting by Ruisdael from the same collection is now in the Mansion House Collection, London.

The painting was examined by Frits Duparc in July 2017 and he has (verbally) confirmed the work as an authentic Jacob van Ruisdael.