Historically owning Old Master drawings were a sign of one's wealth and status. The old expression - "want to see my etchings" derives from this obsession. True fine was limited to what we call the 1%. Prior to 20th century technology, people of means entertained in part to show off their collections. Possessing drawings from around the world was the quintessential bar to achieve. The drawings by well known artists were sought after, traded and admired. Many creations reminded its owner of places they visited, or famous people. Families passed down their talent to their offspring. This drawing is title "A Wooded River Landscape" attributed to Paul Brill (Bril). Finely drawn with a wheelhouse, a bridge over a river all surrounded by leafy trees. Good condition. The back of the drawing with several stamps from previous European collectors. Approximately 11" x 8 1/4".
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001 Lists Him As Follows: Brill or Bril, Flemish painters, brothers. Mattys Brill (mä´ts) (KEY) , 1550-83, went to Rome early in his career and executed frescoes for Gregory XIII in the Vatican. Paul Brill, 1554-1626, probably studied in Rome with his brother and succeeded him at the Vatican. His calm, well-observed landscapes exercised a great influence on Italian art. His works after 1600 show his mature style; the landscape elements are arranged like stage-set wings receding diagonally into depth, his brushwork is broader, and his atmospheric effects refined. His frescoes and oils are found in many Roman churches. Martyrdom of St. Clement (Vatican), against a seascape, is perhaps his best-known work. He often painted small landscapes on copper. From Another Encyclopedia: P.Brill Paul Brill, Flemish painter, was born in Anversa in 1554 and died in Rome in 1626. In 1574 he went to Rome where in the beginning was working with his brother Matthijs over the decoration of Torre dei Venti in Vatican; Casino Rospigliosi; Galleria Clementina, Scala Santa and Library in Vatican. His paintings and designs with the landscape are quite interesting (Milan, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana; Monaco, Alte Pin.). His later works reveal the influence of A.Elsheimer and A.Carracci: Tobia con l'angelo (Dresden, Pict.Gallery); Paesaggio pastorale (St.Petersburg, Hermitage). All these are the classic paysages immersed in atmosphere of serenity mostly due to the knowledge of light effects.
Collection Information:
One mark is the stamp from the collection of:
Dr. W. BECK (born 1895), surgeon, Berlin. Drawings and prints by old masters.
Dr. Walter Beck performs in Berlin since 1926 the profession of surgeon-gynecologist and surgeon. He began collecting in 1925 and, after some time, his preference went to former German and Dutch masters. He first bought prints, but in recent years he has devoted himself to the drawings. Ed. Trautscholdt, the house G. C. Boerner in Leipzig, has advised for purchases in the graph area, and Dr. Plietzsch for acquisitions of old paintings. They have all but disappeared during the Russian occupation. In 1955 he took off his beautiful etchings of Ostade and Bega (see Lagerliste 14 home Boerner, Düsseldorf). Dr. Beck is busy now with his son, a revision of the catalog of the work of Jan van Goyen Hofstede de Groot.
http://www.marquesdecollections.fr/detail.cfm/marque/9750
Another mark is the stamp from the collection of:
R. von Liphart (2nd half of the nineteenth century), "Rathshof" near Dorpat. Prints and Drawings.
Reinhold Freiherr von Liphart is the grand-son of Karl Eduard von Liphart (see L.1687) and inherited the collection of the latter as long as it was not sold in 1876.
He made from 1894 to 1899 by the house Boerner in Leipzig sales for which we refer to note on his grandfather. He sold out of court in 1920, what remained of the best collection of tables and marbles; he passed, in public sale in Copenhagen by the end of that year, other side tables. Large parts of the former collection Liphart today belong to Ernest von Bon Liphart, former curator of paintings of the Museum of St. Petersburg Hermitage. The brand is often accompanied by that old Liphart.
http://www.marquesdecollections.fr/detail.cfm/marque/8260
