A Picture by Frans de Jongh (d. 1705)

Notes

By: Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder

14-5-2010

Translated from the Dutch by Yvette Rosenberg.

A. Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen, 3 vols., Amsterdam 1718-1721, vol. 2, p. 58.
A. van der Willigen Pz., Les artistes de Harlem, Haarlem & The Hague 1870, p. 189: "J'ai trouvé dans mes notes sur la Gilde de St. Luc qu'il naquit à Harlem et qu'il était fils d'une soeur et le disciple de A. van Ostade. Il est mentionné comme excellent peintre d'histoire. Il fut enterré le 15 Janvier 1705 à la Nouvelle Église."
A. von Wurzbach, Niederländisches Künstler-Lexikon, Vienna & Leipzig 1906-1911, vol. 1, p. 761.
See Royal Museum of Fine Ans. Catalogue of Old Foreign Paintings, Copenhagen 1951, nos. 348 and 349.
U. Thieme and F. Becker (eds.), Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, vol. 19, Leipzig 1926, p. 129. This sheet is at Leiden, Prentenkabinet der Rijksuniversiteit (inv. no. PK 832); H. van Hall, Portretten van Nederlandse beeidende kunstenaars, Amsterdam 1963, p. 159, no. 1060.
H. Miedema, De archiefbescheiden van het St. Lucasgilde te Haarlem 1497-1798, Alphen aan den Rijn 1980, vol. 2, pp. 932 and 1034. The list of names on p. 932 was compiled by Vincent Laurensz. van der Vinne, who died in 1702. His son Laurens noted that artists whose names were followed by the letter "d" had died before his father. As De Jongh's name is among them, we should be able to conclude that he died in or before 1702. In fact, however, this would conflict with the information given by Van der Willigen (see note 2). - Mrs Irene van Thiel-Stroman, who researches the Haarlem archives for data on painters, kindly tells us that she has sofar come across no new information on de Jongh.
Sale Cornelis Dusart, Haarlem (Van der Vinne), 21 August 1708, nos. 152 ("Den Engel Michaël, van Fr. de Jong") and 214 ("daar den Engel aan Agar voor haar soon water wyst door Frans de Jong").
Sale Frans Decker, Haarlem (Enschede, Bosch), 29 August 1752, nos. 6 ("Claudius Civilis [...] "), 9 ("Der drie koningen Offerhande, door F. de Jongh") and 67 ("Thobias met den Engel, door F. de Jongh").
Sale Jan van der Vinne, Haarlem (Jelgersma, Van der Vinne), 13 May 1754, no. 165 ("Pallas aan 't hol van de Nyt, door Frans de Jong"). De Jongh is mentioned only once in later notes at the RKD: sale Dr Koennecke et al., Cologne (Kölner Kunst und Auktions-Haus), 3 December 1919, no. 532, with ill., Frans de Jong, Die Engelsvision des Tobias, signed "Jong". Ms M. de Kinkelder and Ms C. Wansink have kindly pointed out that this painting is indisputably by Jacob de Wet the Younger, under whose name it is now filed at the RKD.
Sale New York (Christie's), 12 October 1989, no. 120, with ill., ascribed to Bertholet Flémalle, "a scene from Roman history," oil on canvas, 73.5 x 115 cm. A. Blankert informs me that the piece is at present (1991) at the Jacques Leegenhoek Gallery in Paris.
In De graaven van Holland (1745), Pieter Langendijk notes that by 1743 Jelgersma had been living in Decker's home "for many years," see A. W. Weisman, "De portretten der Graven van Holland te Haarlem," Oud Holland 35 (1917), pp. 61-70, esp. p. 63. On the unnumbered page with fig. 6, B. Sliggers, Wat in Staats staat en stond. Kunst en kunstnijverheid in het Hofje van Staats te Haarlem, Haarlem 1987, reports that Jelgersma continued to live in the house on Bakenessersgracht with Decker's widow after her husband's death in 1751.
The series of prints is discussed in detail in H. van de Waal, Drie eeuwen vaderlandsche geschied-uitbeelding 1500-1800: een iconologische studie, vol. 1, The Hague 1952, p. 210ff. The prints have captions in Dutch and Latin, and are accompanied by relevant passages from Tacitus's Histories.
The Illustrated Bartsch, vol. 35 (edited by S. Buffa), New York 1984, p. 283, Alexander Hunting Lions.
R.W. Wallace, The Etchings of Salvator Rosa, Princeton 1979, p. 161, no. 30. The series of 62 etchings dates from 1656 and 1657.
Ibid., p. 144, no. 14.
See the catalogue referred to in note 4; the source is G. Hoet, Catalogus of naamlijst van schilderijen met derzelver prijzen, vol. 1, The Hague 1752, p. 2, nos. 30 and 31, which identifies the artist as "Ferdinandus de jong."
L. Salerno, Salvator Rosa, Florence 1963, p. 136, no. 89, with ill.; canvas, 77 x 65 cm.
H. Langdon, "Salvator Rosa: Paintings," in exhib. cat. Salvator Rosa, London (Hayward Gallery) 1973, no. 43; Wallace, op. cit. (note 14), p. 105.
The different versions are listed by Salerno, op. cit. (note 17), p. 136, no. 89.
Rosa's painting in Copenhagen, which shows Cadmus just as armed men are springing up where he had sowed the dragon's teeth, is in any event evidence of the artist's interest in the tale of Cadmus; see ibid., p. 126, no. 51, with ill.
I have not seen illustrations of the other versions.
Exhib. cat. Gods, Saints & Heroes: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt, Washington (National Gallery of Art), Detroit (The Detroit Institute of Arts) & Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum) 1980-81, no. 63, with ill., text by A. Blankert.
Chaucer Fine Arts Gallery, London, cat. Paintings and Sculpture, 1988, no. 7; Hoogsteder Fine Arts Gallery, The Hague, cat. 28 Old Master Paintings at Surinamestraat 28, 1989, no. 4.