Travellers among Roman Ruins with Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well

attributed to Guilliam van Nieulandt (II), c. 1602 - c. 1605

Willem van Nieulandt (1584 - 1636). Landscape with Roman ruins, c. 1605. In this landscape with ancient ruins we see a number of figures. The group of camels on the left suggests that they are biblical characters. Those near the fountain may represent the Old Testament figure of Rebecca, with Abraham's servant. The ruins in the painting are authentic - they stood in the Forum Romanum in Rome - but here the painter has arbitrarily located them in the midst of an imaginary landscape. Painted on copper. Purchased in 1809 (as the work of Paulus Bril), as part of the Van Heteren Gevers collection (The Hague).

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-63
  • Dimensionssupport: height 42 cm x width 58 cm, outer size: depth 6.5 cm (support incl. frame)
  • Physical characteristicsoil on copper

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Travellers among Roman Ruins with Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-63

  • Description

    Landschap met ruïnes en de ontmoeting van Rebecca en Eliëzer. Heuvelachtig landschap met vele figuren en bezaaid met Romeinse ruïnes: de Vespasianustempel, de Saturnustempel, de Minervatempel in Nerva's forum.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    inscription, bottom right: ‘P briL’

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    • painter: attributed to Guilliam van Nieulandt (II)
    • painter: Paul Bril [rejected attribution]

  • Dating

    c. 1602 - c. 1605

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on copper

  • Dimensions

    • support: height 42 cm x width 58 cm
    • outer size: depth 6.5 cm (support incl. frame)

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1809

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; ? collection Hendrik van Heteren (1672-1749), The Hague;{E.W. Moes and E. van Biema, _De Nationale Konst-Gallery en Het Koninklijk Museum_, Amsterdam 1909, p. 192; T.L.J. Verroen, ‘“Een verstandig ryk Man”: de achttiende-eeuwse verzamelaar Adriaan Leonard Van Heteren’, in C. Scheffer (ed.) et al., _Achttiende-eeuwse kunst in de Nederlanden_, _Leids Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek_ 4 (1985), pp. 17-61, esp. p. 32.} his son, Adriaan Leonard van Heteren (1724-1800), The Hague, (‘Een rustende Caravane, by eenige antique gebouwen, vol gewoel, door Paulus Bril, h. 16 en een agste d., br. 22 en drie agste d. [45.9 x 63.7 cm] K.’);{‘Catalogus van Schilderyen, In’t Kabinet van den Heer Bewindhebber, Adriaen Leonard van Heteren in’s Hage’, in G. Hoet, _Catalogus of Naamlyst van Schilderyen, met derzelver Pryzen Zedert een langen reeks van Jaaren zoo in Holland als op andere Plaatzen in het openbaar verkogt. Benevens een Verzamelingvan Lysten van Verscheyden nog in wezen zynde Cabinetten_, 3 vols., The Hague 1752-70, II, p. 452.} his third cousin and godson, Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers (1794-1866), Rotterdam, (‘Paul Bril. Beau tableau représentant une caravanne en repos, cuivre h. 16 l. 22 [45.6 x 62.7 cm]’);{‘Catalogue Raisonné d’une Collection de Tableaux appartenant à Monsieur A.L. Gevers, Page de Leurs Majestés le Roi et la Reine de Hollande’, _s.l._ 1808, transcribed in E.W. Moes and E. van Biema, _De Nationale Konst-Gallery en Het Koninklijk Museum_, Amsterdam 1909, pp. 145-51, esp. p. 145, no. 13.} from whom, fl. 100,000, with 136 other paintings _en bloc_ (known as the ‘Kabinet van Heteren Gevers’), to the museum by decree of Lodewijk Napoleon, King of Holland, and through the mediation of his father Dirk Cornelis Gevers (1763-1839), 8 June 1809

Documentation

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