Pieter Pietersz. De Neyn (leiden 1597 - 1639) Estuary With Fishermen At The Foot Of A Castle

**Signed and dated lower right PN 1637

Oil on oak panel (two joined panels)
Presented in a simple molded and ebonized wooden frame
Overall dimensions: 107 x 62 cm. Panel alone: ​​50 x 94 cm

This scene, showing fishermen returning from fishing in front of a fortified castle, reflects a very marked taste for this type of seascape, combining picturesqueness and architecture.
The smooth surface of an oak panel allowed de Neyn to achieve a variety of pictorial effects and to enliven a color palette limited to browns, ochres, and whites, against rippling water and cotton-wool clouds. Although the artist studied medieval monuments in preparing such scenes, the castle shown here appears imaginary, assembled from both observation and fantasy. It nevertheless reminds us of the Valkhof in Nijmegen (see the landscape painted by Jan van Goyen in the Louvre).
Our painting was executed in 1637, the painter was at his peak, and this work, due to its pictorial quality and composition, is one of the finest in his oeuvre.

Biography
Pieter de Neyn, or Deneyn (December 1597 – March 16, 1639) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. According to Houbraken (painter and art historian), De Neyn's father apprenticed him to a mason at a young age, but he was determined to study further, particularly in mathematics and architecture (his parents could not afford his education). He became good enough at masonry to begin teaching others.
Throughout his encounters, he became friends with painters, particularly the landscape painter Esaias van de Velde, who took him into his studio and taught him his art from 1611 to 1617.
He was very talented, and quickly became one of his best students alongside Jan van Goyen. He particularly enjoyed landscapes, seascapes, and battle scenes.
After completing his training as a painter, he returned to Leiden where he married.
He also took sculpture classes, and here too, his talent was evident. In 1632, he was one of the sculptors of his city.

Literature :
Hans-Ulrich Beck: Artist of Jan van Goyen. Maler und Zeichner, Augsburg 1991, S. 346-251, Nr. 966 (mit Abb. S. 346);
- Ellis Dullaart: A new addition to the oeuvre of Pieter de Neyn, in: Liber Amicorum Marijke de Kinkelder. Collegiale bijdragen over landschappen, marines in architectuur, hrsg. v. Charles Dumas (u.a.), Den Haag 2013, S. 101.

Superb state of conservation. Sold with a certificate