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Lot Essay
The present drawing is a splendid example of van Uden's style of draughtsmanship, predominantly characterised by meticulous and sensitive lines in pen and brown ink, combined with atmospheric blue and grey washes. The detail and naturalism of the scene suggests that it was probably executed from life rather than the artist's imagination, although it has not been possible to identify the location. Drawing from life was certainly central to van Uden's practice as an artist: his biographer Arnold Houbraken (1660-1719) recounts that he often 'awakened at the crack of dawn and went out to the fields and the woods' (A. Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen, Amsterdam, 1718-21, I, p. 158). Even though the scene was probably drawn from memory, it was most likely inspired by the impressions the artist had acquired of the Flemish countryside. A similar broad view of a flat plain punctuated by a church spire, in the same technique and of much the same character, is in the Fondation Custodia, Paris (inv. 6016; C. van Hasselt, Flemish Drawings of the Seventeenth Century from the Collection of Frits Lugt, Institut néerlandais, Paris, exhib. cat., London, Victoria and Albert Museum, and other locations, 1972, no. 112, pl. 100).
Like this carefully elaborated landscape, the majority of van Uden's drawings appear to have been made for sale on the art market in their own right. Although most of them are thought to have been made around 1640-50, on the basis of a few sheets dated 1640, it is difficult to establish a firm chronology of the artist's work. Some twenty years later in the 1660s Philips Koninck (1619-1688), one of Rembrandt's most gifted associates, would execute highly praised panoramic landscapes of similarly flat plains. If both artists ultimately achieved spectacular effects of light and space, their styles and methods could not have been more different. While van Uden carefully delineated the trees and the buildings in brown ink, Koninck worked in brush alone, applying his wash broadly and with great freedom.
Like this carefully elaborated landscape, the majority of van Uden's drawings appear to have been made for sale on the art market in their own right. Although most of them are thought to have been made around 1640-50, on the basis of a few sheets dated 1640, it is difficult to establish a firm chronology of the artist's work. Some twenty years later in the 1660s Philips Koninck (1619-1688), one of Rembrandt's most gifted associates, would execute highly praised panoramic landscapes of similarly flat plains. If both artists ultimately achieved spectacular effects of light and space, their styles and methods could not have been more different. While van Uden carefully delineated the trees and the buildings in brown ink, Koninck worked in brush alone, applying his wash broadly and with great freedom.