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Recently,the news broke that a painting by a Dutch master was discovered in a barn and,after restoration,was sold for $6 million ($7.37 million including fees) in less than two minutes at a Sotheby’s auction.
The painting was created about 359 years ago by the Dutch artist Frans Post.
[Image: Portrait of Frans Post, HUD. Frans Hals]
This artist is interesting because, unlike his 17th-century compatriots, he worked in Brazil, which was then a colony of the Netherlands.
Post became one of the first european artists to paint landscapes of the new World.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
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The expensive painting itself has a long history. It was in several private collections in Paris in the 18th century, and in the 19th century it was bought by a merchant, Charles Simon. The purchase is believed to have been made on behalf of one of napoleon’s uncles, Cardinal Joseph Fesch. This cardinal had a collection of over 17,000 works of art, some of which were looted during the wars of his famous nephew – a paradox of fate. The painting by Post,however,survived and ended up in a private collection in Connecticut. Apparently, by some coincidence, it was overlooked in a barn, where it waited for its moment for a hundred years.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
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Who was the artist? Frans Janszoon Post (November 17, 1612 – February 17, 1680) was an artist from the Golden Age of the Netherlands. As already mentioned, he was the first European artist to paint landscapes of North and South America during and after the period of Dutch Brazil. At 24, Post traveled to South America at the invitation of Governor johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen. The purpose of the invitation was likely to illustrate an idealized view of the Netherlands’ colonial policy in this part of the world, and Post achieved this with great mastery.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
Wonderful landscapes were created, which still amaze today with their romantic stories. Many of Post’s paintings have the tone of faded photos, while others, with brighter colors, resemble postcards. In both cases, they impress with their mood and the artist’s skill in portraying details with accuracy.
As early as the 18th century, Post’s paintings found their way into the collections of fine art connoisseurs in Europe.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
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Post was born in haarlem, the son of an attorney and artist. His father,Jan Janszoon,was a glass master trained at the Leiden School. Both Frans and his brother Pieter painted from a young age. The older brother, Pieter Post, became an architect and is recognized as one of the most prominent representatives of classicism in Dutch architecture. Through his father and brother, Frans post had the honor of knowing many prominent artists of his time from a young age. It is known that Frans Hals himself painted his portrait.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
In Haarlem itself, skilled landscape painters like the Jacob brothers and Salomon van Ruysdael, Adriaen and Isaac van Ostade, Pieter de Molijn, and others were working at that time.
One of Frans Post’s biographers believes that he studied with Molijn, as molijn’s name is mentioned as a teacher in the biographies of many othre Dutch artists of that time.[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
When Frans Post began to work independently, his brother was already a figure of authority in the Dutch royal court. the invitation to leave for Brazil came just in time – there was already talk of a plague epidemic in Haarlem.
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Post lived in Brazil for seven years, receiving 800 guilders per painting. Upon deciding to return to the Netherlands, he reportedly traveled through Africa first. Returning to his native Haarlem in 1646, he joined the local Guild of Artists, “St. Luke.” In 1650, he married Janetye Bogert, the daughter of Professor Salomon beniert of the Harlem Latin School. They had two sons and one daughter. The sons predeceased their father, and the daughter outlived him by very little.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
Post continued to paint “Brazilian paintings” after his return to Haarlem. According to his biographers, he stopped this “series” only ten years before his death, about which little is known. At that time, he was no longer actively working and gradually faded into obscurity. Reportedly, he became addicted to drinking towards the end of his life.
He died in Haarlem and was buried in the St. Bavo Church there on February 17, 1680.
[Image: HUD.Frans Post]
Frans Post left behind over 140 paintings, some of which are dated. From these, we can deduce that he returned to Brazil several times even after settling in haarlem, as his last letter from Brazil is dated 1669. His Brazilian period began in 1637.Some of his works from the period 1637-1640 were donated by Governor Nassau to Louis XIV in 1679, a year before the artist’s death.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
According to art critics, Frans Post’s paintings from Brazil differ from his other works not only in subject matter but also in technique and color scheme. Muted colors are typical of most of them.
Specific vegetation, birds, dark-skinned people, and a gray sky predominate, giving them a somewhat gloomy mood.
[Image: HUD. Frans Post]
[Image: HUD. Frans post]
According to experts, this style is typical of Dutch tonal landscapes from the 1620s to the 1640s. Thus, one critic remarked that Post’s works from that period are like an “old bottle of new wine.” He painted Brazilian landscapes in a Dutch style.
As he returned to Haarlem and continued to paint Brazil from memory, his paintings began to become brighter and more saturated. These works are in striking contrast to his earlier landscapes.
