Lot Essay
Frits van den Berghe lived in Amsterdam during the first World War, where he stayed in Hotel Philadelphia at the Leidsekade. Langui states about the present lot : "The artist worked mainly indoors: from his window he saw the seasons come and go over Amsterdam's canals. (..) A masterpiece such as The Cold Garden brings together wonderfully well all that the artist had gained in knowledge, skill, and feeling. The almost monochrome colouring, the high horizon, the hazy atmosphere, and the mystery of the slumbering life it depicts give this landscape something oriental." (E. Langui, op.cit, 1968, p. 60)