Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Oil on panel (parquetted). 50.5 x 42 cm.
Signed lower right: cuyp.
This fluidly painted work is a highlight in the oeuvre of the Dordrecht painter Benjamin Cuyp. The artist was trained by his half-brother Jacob Cuyp, but the spontaneous brushwork and chiaroscuro effects of his works reveal the influence of Rembrandt, especially from his early period in Leiden. This painting is executed with strong, impasto brushstrokes and rich chiaroscuro effects. It was probably painted in the 1630s, early in the artist's career, when he was at his most innovative and talented. It can be related to a painting by Cuyp with the same subject and similar treatment kept in the Musée Municipal in Soissons. Cuyp seems to have been inspired by two paintings by Rembrandt with the same subject, one from 1627 in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours, the other from 1634 in a private collection, which depict a full moon and a lantern comparable those shown in this work. Benjamin Cuyp was the uncle of the landscape painter Aelbert Cuyp.
This exceptional painting once formed part of the famous collection of the Bavarian-born Jewish banker Adolphe Schloss (1842-1910), who moved to France in 1871. After the Nazi occupation of France, the collection of more than 300 works was confiscated by the Vichy government in 1943. Lempertz was now able to broker an amicable agreement between the heirs of Schloss and the current owner. We are pleased to be able to sell this important work by Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp at auction on behalf of both parties. Further information on the provenance can be found in the online catalogue.
Provenance
Probably James Hazard (1748–1787). - His sale, Brussels, 14th April 1789, no. 40 (‘Benjamin Cuyp. La Fuite en Egypte. Haut 1 p. 6p., l. 1 p. 2 p.’), sold for f. 5.10. - Jules Porgès (1839–1921) collection, Paris, until 9.4.1910, when sold to art dealer Franz Kleinberger, by whom sold on 12.5.1910 to Adolphe Schloss (1842–1910). - By descent to Lucie Haas Schloss. - Schloss heirs, deposited at Château de Chambon, Laguenne (Corrèze) from 20.8.1939 to 16.4.1943. – Transferred to Banque de France, Limoges, 16.4.1943 to 9.8.1943 – Transferred to CGQJ headquarters, Paris, 11.8.1943 (Banque Dreyfus inventory AMAE MH 117, p. 10, no. 62, with black/white photograph). - Transferred to Jeu de Paume, 1.11.1943. - Transferred to the Führerbau, Munich, 24.11.1943 (inventory B323/1212, p. 15, no. 45, with black/white photograph). - Stolen from Führerbau, 29-30.4.1945. - Private collection, Germany. – Auctioned by Neumeister, Munich, 22nd September 1993, lot 431 - Private collection, The Netherlands, from 2015.
Literature
Ildikó Ember: Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp (1612-1652), in: Acta Historiae Artium 25, 1979, no. 21. - Werner Sumowski: Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, Landau/Pfalz 1983, vol. VI, p. 3526, repr. p. 3579.
Exhibitions
On loan to the Dordrecht Museum, August 2015 – April 2016.