Hans BOL (Malines, 1534 - Amsterdam, 1593) Elegant company in a garden Gouache and gold on vellum Signed 'HANS BOL / 1587' lower left (Lifts and restorations, especially in the sky) Elegant company in a garden, gouache, signed and dated, by H. Bol 6.30 x 8.85 in. 16 x 22.5 cm Provenance: Collection Henderik Catharinus Valkema Blouw, Amsterdam, until 1954 ; Anonymous sale; Amsterdam, Muller & co, 2-4 March 1954, no. 45 ; Alfred Brod, London, 1956; Edward Speelman Ltd, London, 1957; Anonymous sale; London, Sotheby's, 8 July 2004, no. 4 ; Galerie De Jonckheere, Paris; Acquired from the latter by the parents of the current owners in 2005; Private collection, France Exhibitions: Old Master Drawings, London, Brod Gallery, 17 October - 24 November 1956, no. 3 Park und Garten in der Malerei vom 16. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart, Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, 1957, no. 3, tadel 2 (described as gouache on paper) Bibliography: Ariane van Suchtelen, in cat. exp. Dawn of the Golden Age: Northern Netherlandish art 1580-1620, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1993 - 1994, p. 520, cat. 196, note 3 Elmer Kolfin, The young gentry at play: Northern Netherlandish scenes of merry companies, 1610-1645, Leiden, 2005, p. 23-24, p. 36, ill. 19 Our superb gouache is one of a remarkable series of miniatures ('verlichterykens') that Hans Bol regularly produced from life ('nae t'leven'). These works are derived from the art of the miniature. The meticulous brushwork, the painted border around the scene and the use of gold are all elements borrowed from this technique. A group of elegantly dressed young people frolic in an enclosed garden set in front of an impressive château. Sometimes referred to as the garden of love, this scene illustrates an aspect of the countryside, a theatre of leisure and pleasure for the wealthy youth of the city. This merry company strolls, chats, dances, picnics and plays ball. A man sitting on a young woman's lap raises his glass so that a page can serve him. But in front of him, a jester appears: his presence warns against human failings, and in particular against succumbing to a life of pleasure while neglecting more serious matters. This joyful gathering, which can be reached by boat, contrasts with the scene on the left, which shows peasants fighting. Perhaps this scene illustrates the divide between the wealthy youth who indulge in a life of pleasure and revelry in a closed environment and the more ordinary community of people who devote themselves to a life of hard work punctuated by petty conflicts. This iconography of the garden of love can be seen in several of Hans Bol's works. It is closely linked to representations of spring (see, for example, Landscape with an Allegory of Spring, gouache on vellum, 13 x 20 cm, Dresden, Gemäldegalerie, no. 825). This allegory shows, on the one hand, work in the fields and, on the other, a gathering of elegantly dressed young people in a garden near a castle, such as the one in our gouache. The castle motif appears on several occasions in Hans Bol's art. For example, the gouache in the Statens Museum in Copenhagen (no. KMS1960) depicts a tournament near a castle. Hans Bol was one of the first Dutch artists to produce topographical views of towns with such precision. In our gouache, we seem to be able to recognise the city of Dordrecht1 in the background, while in another gouache by Bol, he depicts his adopted city, Amsterdam, with great acuity (Hans Bol, View of Amsterdam, 1589, gouache, 11.7 x 33.1 cm, private collection, Belgium)2 .Our work should be compared with other gouaches by Hans Bol on similar themes, such as the one in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin (23.5 x 32.5 cm, inv. M.508) depicting a park in a landscape. Two pen-and-ink drawings can be linked to our gouache. A sheet currently on show at the Galerie Benjamin Peronnet is a direct preparation for our gouache3. This sheet, signed and dated 1587, demonstrates Hans Bol's creative process, as he precisely worked out his miniatures on paper. The composition is the same, only the figures are different. Another drawing sold in Rouen in 2023 depicts a composition similar to that on our gouache4. Dated 1580, it shows a similar setting, which indicates that the composition was already in gestation four years before the gouache was produced. The castle in the centre of the composition is reminiscent of the one in our gouache. Such 'empty' drawings are known from many miniatures. The fact that there are two versions here may indicate that Bol also offered the signed version for sale as a stand-alone drawing, while he kept the unsigned version as a souvenir in his documentation. Hans Bol must have lived a relatively prosperous life, thanks in particular to his miniatures, which were expensive works intended for a rather wealthy clientele. He enjoyed a considerable reputation, as evidenced during his lifetime by the copies made of his watercolours, and on his death by the reception of his work by his followers, such as David Vinckboons and Esaias van de Velde. 1. The general appearance of the silhouette of the city in the distance with a wide stream (de Maas?) could correspond to a view of Dordrecht from the south as depicted in the drawing Abraham sends back Hagar and Ishmael, 1592 (see catalogue Tales of The City. Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel, 2022, cat. 12), but the representation of the buildings is too schematic for us to be certain that it is actually Dordrecht. The distance between the church building, known as the Onze Lieve-Vrouwekerk, and what appears to be the Vuylpoort is also too great. Other researchers have suggested that this is a representation of Antwerp. 2. We refer here to the exhibition catalogue cited above: Dawn of the Golden Age: Northern Netherlandish art 1580-1620, Amsterdam, 2013, p. 260. 3. Hans Bol, Landscape with Monastery, pen and black ink, grey wash, 16.5 x 23.5 cm, Galerie Benjamin Peronnet, Paris. 4. Hans Bol, Jeux de balles devant un château, pen and brown ink, brown wash, 19.2 x 26.5 cm, (anonymous sale; Rouen, Normandy Auction, 2 July 2023, no. 279). We would like to thank Stefaan Hautekeete for his invaluable help in drafting these instructions. Hans BOL (Mechelen, 1534 - Amsterdam, 1593) 16 x 22.5 cm Our superb gouache is part of the remarkable production of miniatures ('verlichterykens') that Hans Bol regularly executed from nature ('nae t'leven'). These works all derive from the art of miniature. The meticulous brushwork, the painted border around the scene and the use of gold are all elements borrowed from this technique. A group of elegantly dressed young people cavort in a walled garden in front of an impressive castle. Sometimes called a jardin d'amour (a "love garden"), this scene illustrates an aspect of the countryside, a theatre of leisure and pleasure for the wealthy youth of the city. This merry company strolls, chats, dances, picnics or plays ball. A man sitting on the lap of a young woman raises his glass so that a page can fill it. But before him, a jester appears: by his presence, he is a warning against human failings and in particular the succumbing to a life of pleasure while neglecting more serious matters. This joyous gathering, where one can arrive by boat, contrasts with the scene on the left, which shows peasants fighting. Perhaps this scene illustrates the divide between the wealthy youth who indulge in a life of pleasure and rejoicing in a closed environment and the community of more ordinary people who devote themselves to a life of toil punctuated by minor conflicts. This iconography of the garden of love can be seen in several of Hans Bol's works. It is closely linked to representations of spring (see, for example, Landscape with an Allegory of Spring, gouache on vellum, 13 x 20 cm, Dresden, Gemäldegalerie, no. 825, fig. 1). This allegory shows on the one hand, work in the fields and on the other hand near a castle, like the one shown in our gouache, a gathering of elegantly dressed young people in a garden. The castle motif appears repeatedly in Hans Bol's art. Let us mention the gouache in the Statens Museum in Copenhagen (no. KMS1960) depicting a tournament near a castle (fig. 2). Hans Bol was one of the first Dutch artists to produce topographical views of cities with such precision. In our gouache, we seem to be able to recognise the city of Dordrecht in the background (1), while in another gouache by Bol, he depicts his adopted city, Amsterdam, with great acuity (Hans Bol, View of Amsterdam, 1589, gouache, 11.7 x 33.1 cm, private collection, Belgium).(2) Our work should be compared with other gouaches by Hans Bol on similar themes, such as the one in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin (23.5 x 32.5 cm, inv. M.508) depicting a park in a landscape (fig. 3). Two pen drawings can be linked to our gouache. A sheet currently on view at the Galerie Benjamin Peronnet is a direct preparatory work for ours (3). This drawing, signed and dated 1587, highlights Hans Bol's creative process as he elaborated his miniatures on paper with precision (fig. 4). The composition is the same, only the figures are not included. Another drawing, sold in Rouen in 2023, represents a construction that is close to ours (4). Dated 1580, we can see a similar staging, which shows that the composition was already in gestation four years before its execution. The castle shown in the centre of the composition is also reminiscent of the one shown in our gouache (fig. 5).These sort of 'empty' drawings are known for many miniatures. The fact that there are two versions here may indicate that Bol also offered the signed version for sale as a stand-alone drawing, while he kept the unsigned version as a souvenir for his own documentation. Hans Bol seems to have had a relatively prosperous end to his life, largely in thanks to his miniatures, which were expensive works intended for a relatively wealthy clientele. He enjoyed considerable fame, as evidenced by the copies of his watercolours done during his lifetime, and by the reception of his work by followers such as David Vinckboons and Esaias van de Velde after his death. 1. The overall appearance of the silhouette of the city in the distance with a wide stream (de Maas?) could correspond to a view of Dordrecht from the south as depicted in the drawing Abraham Sends Away Hagar and Ishmael, 1592 (see catalogue Tales of The City. Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel, 2022, cat. 12), but the representation of the buildings is too schematic for us to be absolutely certain that it is Dordrecht. We also note that the distance between the church building, known as the Onze Lieve-Vrouwekerk, and what appears to be the Vuylpoort is too great. Other researchers have suggested that it might depict Antwerp. 2. We are referring here to the exhibition catalogue mentioned above: Dawn of the Golden Age: Northern Netherlandish art 1580-1620, Amsterdam, 2013, p. 260. 3. Hans Bol, Paysage au monastère, pen and black ink, grey wash, 16.5 x 23.5 cm, Galerie Benjamin Peronnet, Paris. 4. Hans Bol, Jeux de balles devant un château, pen and brown ink, brown wash, 19.2 x 26.5 cm, (Anonymous sale; Rouen, Normandy Auction, 2 July 2023, Lot 279). We are grateful to Stefaan Hautekeete for his help in writing this catalogue entry.