Dordrecht – Samuel Hutchinson, c. 1800

VIEW OF DORDRECHT FROM THE RIVER MAAS, C. 1800

Lively harbour scene of Dordrecht, a drawing in gouache by Samuel Hutchinson, c. 1800. Signed on a piece of driftwood depicted in the lower left corner. Size: 37.5 × 50 cm.

This atmospheric gouache depicts Dordrecht at the end of the eighteenth century, when the city, despite a period of economic decline, still played an important role in Dutch inland shipping and trade.

In the foreground, a large merchant vessel sails across the choppy waters under full sail, with the Dutch tricolour flying from its stern. Smaller sailing vessels and rowing boats move around the ship. To the right, a horse and cart are being ferried across the river. In the background stretches the waterfront of Dordrecht, with the monumental Grote Kerk (Great Church) forming a distinctive landmark. Houses and warehouses stand closely together along the riverbank, while several windmills further away punctuate the city’s skyline.

Samuel Hutchinson pays particular attention to the activity on the water. The carefully rendered vessels, dark waves and subtle effects of light in the cloud-filled sky lend the composition both vitality and a picturesque atmosphere. The soft blue-grey and pink tones of the sky provide a beautiful contrast with the dark hulls of the ships and their sails.

For centuries, Dordrecht owed its prosperity to its strategic location at the confluence of major rivers. Thanks to the staple right granted to the city in 1299, Dordrecht developed into one of Holland’s most important trading centres during the Middle Ages. The trade in wine, timber and grain, in particular, brought considerable wealth. During the eighteenth century, Dordrecht gradually lost ground to competing ports, including Rotterdam. Nevertheless, river commerce and shipping remained essential to the city’s economy.

Provenance:

• Purchased by J.B. van Heek at the Roos auction, 3 April 1906, lot 988.
• Stichting Edwina van Heek, Enschede, established in 1946 from the estate of Edwina van Heek-Burr Ewing (1872–1945), widow of Jan Bernard van Heek. Inventory/catalogue no. 89.
• Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede (possibly on loan or exhibited there; the precise nature of its association with the work has not yet been established).

Price: Euro 2.950,- (incl. frame)