Jan van KESSEL and Johannes LINGELBACH Antwerp, 1626 - 1679 and Frankfurt am Main, 1622 - Amsterdam, 1674 The Heiligewegpoort (Holy Way Gate) in Amsterdam in Winter Oil on canvas Signed 'JvKessel' lower left The Heiligewegpoort in Amsterdam, oil on canvas, signed, by J. Kessel and J. Lingelbach 96 x 130 cm (37.80 x 51.18 in.) Provenance: Possibly Hendrik de Leth sale, Amsterdam, by Joachim Ottens de Jonge, Cornelis van Ophoven, Abraham Jolles, Arnoud de Lange, Jan Matthias Cok and Laurens Roeper Bosch, 30 September 1766, no. 3 ("Leydsche Poort", J. van Kessel and J. Lingelbach, canvas, 99 x 127 cm) ; Possibly Engelberts and Tersteeg sale, Amsterdam, by Philippus van der Schleij, Jan Ij Ver, Cornelis Sebille Roos, Jeronimo de Vries, 13 June 1808, no. 88 (canvas, 96 x 127 cm); Possibly Jacob Roelofs sale, Amsterdam, by Jeronimo de Vries, Albertus Brondgeest, Engelbert Michael Engelberts and Cornelis François Roos, 8 March 1824, no. 78 (figures by Lingelbach, canvas, 100 x 130); Possibly Otto Willem Johan Berg sale, Amsterdam, by Jeronimo de Vries, Albertus Brondgeest,Engelbert Michael Engelbert and Cornelis François Roos, 7 July 1825, no. 63 ("Regulierspoorts", figures by Lingelbach; canvas, 100 x 140 cm); Anonymous sale; London, Christie, Manson & Woods, 10 June 1932, no. 74 ("Utrecht Gate", figures by Lingelbach); Sale of the Earl of Caledon and others, London, Christie, Manson & Woods, 9 June 1939, n° 133 ("The Gate of Utrecht", figures by Lingelbach); Sale of the collection of W.J.R. Dreesmann, Amsterdam, Frederik Muller, 22-25 March 1960, no. 5; Probably acquired at this sale by the grandfather of the current owners; Private collection, Brussels Exhibitions : Die holländische Landschaftzeichnung 1600-1740, Berlin, Staatlische Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, April-June 1974, mentioned p. 47, no. 102 Bibliography: Verzameling Amsterdam W.J.R. Dreesmann, 's Gravenhage, 1942, vol. I, p. 9 A.E.D'Ailly, Zeven eeuwen Amsterdam, Deel 3, De stad en haar schoonheid, Amsterdam, 194? mentioned p. 207 Alice I. Davies, 'Jan van Kessel (1641-1680)', Doornspijk, 1992, p.109-110, no. 3, fig. 3 Comment: The landscape painter Jan van Kessel, sometimes known as the Amsterdam Kessel, should not be confused with his Flemish namesakes, who specialised in still life and animal paintings. A close friend of Meindert Hobbema, the quality and sensitivity of his landscapes indicate that he was a pupil of Jacob van Ruisdael, although the archives have not yet been able to prove this. In 1661, he began his independent career in Amsterdam and started to sign his works. Our winter landscape depicts the Heiligewegspoort (Holy Way Gate) in Amsterdam, built by Jacob van Campen (1595-1657) in 1636 and demolished a few years later, around 1664. It is called the Holy Gate because it stood on a pilgrimage route. According to Alice I. Davies, this composition may have been executed by the painter in the late 1660s as a tribute to this monument, which had been sacrificed as a result of town planning work undertaken in response to the rapid growth of the city of Amsterdam in the second half of the 17th century. This gateway and its drawbridge, located at what is now Konigsplein, is a motif commonly depicted by Dutch topographers and landscape painters1. The work of Jan van Kessel bears witness to this success, as he produced three other versions of this composition celebrating the gate. One of these variants is now in the Rijksmuseum (fig. 1)2. Our version, however, is distinguished by the presence of numerous figures dashing across the frozen canal, making the composition particularly dynamic. Jan van Kessel, who specialised in depicting urban landscapes, would have teamed up with Johannes Lingelbach (1622-1674) to create the many figures in the scene. The two artists also collaborated on another version of this composition3. A drawing by Jan van Kessel preserved in Berlin depicting the Heiligewegspoort but from a different point of view shows another aspect of this painter's activity that complements his work as a painter4. He also made another sketch, now lost, which must have served as preparation for his cycle on the sacred door5. A diligent draughtsman, Jan van Kessel recorded in sketchbooks studies of landscapes, trees, boats, buildings and animals that caught his eye (see in particular the sketchbook kept at the Fondation Custodia, Paris). The provenance of our work is also particularly important, as the painting belonged to the Dutch art lover Willem J. R. Dreesmann (1885-1954), who was famous for having built up an important collection of paintings, drawings, prints and books on the history of Amsterdam in the first half of the 20th century. 1 The same applies to the painter Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraaten (1622-1666). 2 Oil on panel, 77 x 122 cm, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, SK-A-2506 3 See Alice I. Davies, 'Jan van Kessel (1641-1680)', Doornspijk, 1992, p. 112, cat. no. 5. 4 Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, inv. 2853, 'ibid.', pp. 223-224, no. d4 5 'Ibid.', p. 110