CS0299

ANTHONIE VAN BORSSOM (1630/33 – - 1677)

A moonlit Coastal landscape with Fishermen drying Nets and Fishing Vessels setting Sail

Signed, lower right: ABORSSOM. fc On canvas, 11¼ x 12¾ ins. (28.5 x 29.8 cm)

PROVENANCE The Estate of the late Dowager Countess Howe and Thence by descent to the consignor at the following sale Bonham’s sale, 12 December 1991, lot 43 With Richard Green Gallery, London Private Collection, England, 1993-2016

Under a night sky, with a full moon partially veiled by clouds, the fishing fleet is abroad. The moon casts its silvery light across a calm expanse of sea against which are silhouetted the darkened forms fishing vessels under sail and human figures at work: in the foreground, a fisherman is busy with his nets, while another sits in a rowing boat loaded with creels. Just visible in the half-light are the shoals at the mouth of an estuary, a beacon, a windmill and a distant shoreline. These atmospheric effects are achieved with a minimal palette of grey- blues, brown, black and white.

Very little is known about the life of the painter and draughtsman Anthonie van Borssom, who was born and died in Amsterdam. The subjects of his landscapes indicate that he travelled to the regions of Utrecht, Gelderland and the lower , but he probably resided in Amsterdam all his life. The name of his teacher is not recorded, but the landscape drawings he made in the style of Rembrandt’s work of the late 1640s suggest that he may have studied with Rembrandti around that time, or with a member of his circle. His painted oeuvre, on the other hand, displays few Rembrantesque influences and is devoted primarily to landscapes. These treat a wide range of subjects and styles and take their inspiration from such artists as Philips Koninck, Aert van der Neer, Paulus Potter, Jan Wynants and Jacob van Ruisdael. In addition, van Borssom painted a few church interiors, still lifes, and history paintings.

This atmospheric painting clearly shows the influence of Aert van der Neer, a contemporary of van Borssom, who worked in Amsterdam and was famous for his moonlit river scenes. A close comparison can be made between the present painting and van Borssom’s Moonlit River Landscape in the Rijksmuseumii, which though slightly larger in size, is strongly reminiscent in subject and style, and likewise employs the motif of fishing nets strung out in the foreground. Since only a handful of van Borssom’s works is dated, it is almost impossible to put a reliable date on this painting.

BIOGRAPHY

Few details of Anthonie van Borssom’s life are documented. He was baptised on 2 January 1631, in Amsterdam, the son of Cornelis van Borssom, a mirror-maker originally from Emden. At the time of his marriage on 24 October 1670 to Anna Crimping, a girl also from Emden, Anthonie was living with his father on the Rozengracht, but a year later, when he made his will, he had moved to the Prinsengracht. He died in Amsterdam was buried in the Westerkerk on 19 March 1677.

P.M.

i For this reason, van Borssom is included in W. Sumowski’s, Gemälde de Rembrandt-Schüler, 5 vols,, Landau, 1983-1994, vol. I (1983), p. 426-456. ii Anthonie van Borssom, Moonlit River Landscape, signed, on panel, 38 x 49.6 cm, , Amsterdam, inv. No. SK-A-744.