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Hendrik Stokvisch (Loenen 1768-1823 Amsterdam)

A reclining man asleep

signed ‘HStokvisch’ (trimmed) ('recto') and with inscription ‘H. Stokvis 1362’ ('verso')
black and red chalk
15.5 x 21.1 cm

Provenance:
Probably Collection Munnikhuyzen; De Vries 'et al'., Amsterdam, 27 November 1820, Album H, lot 34 ‘Een liggende Jongen, door Stokvisch’).

During the late 18th and early 19th century, draughtsmanship flourished in Holland. To meet the need of artists to draw after models, a growing number of ‘tekengenootschappen’ (drawing societies) were founded. These societies allowed artists to draw after (often draped) life models in group sessions, which resulted in drawn figure studies which could later be used in the artist’s paintings. One of these societies was ‘Zonder Wet of Spreuk’ in Amsterdam which was founded in circa 1807 and existed until 1822, [1] which counted amongst its members Albertus Brondgeest (1786-1849), Jan Hulswit (1766-1822), Pieter Gerardus van Os (1776-1839) and Hendrik Stokvisch. The latter artist, who executed this particularly charming figure study, started out as a painter of wall hangings but later specialized in drawings and paintings of landscapes with cattle. The majority of his drawings show figure studies or studies of sheep or cattle. Stokvisch was a friend of Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk (1782-1810) with whom he made drawings during his walks through the countryside in the summer months. [2] At least some, if not many, of Stokvisch’s figure studies will have been made during drawing sessions at ‘Zonder Wet of Spreuk’.

A number of figure studies by members of ‘Zonder Wet of Spreuk’ carry inscriptions that explicitly state that the drawing was made during one of the societies’ drawing sessions. The majority of drawings made during one of these life drawing sessions, however, do not carry such an inscription but a number of them can be related to the society nonetheless. In his article on ‘Zonder Wet of Spreuk’, Robert-Jan te Rijdt has brought together a group of figure studies by different artists showing the same model. That the present drawing was executed during a drawing session at ‘Zonder Wet of Spreuk’ is confirmed by the fact that the same figure appears drawings and a painting by other members from ‘Zonder Wet of Spreuk’. Two drawings by Wouter van Troostwijk, one dated 1809, and which is now in the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo and the other in the British Museum. Furthermore, a painting by Pieter Gerardus van Os dated 1811 (Fig. 1.) incorporates the same figure. In the centre of the composition one can observe the same man, from a slightly different angle, evidencing that Stokvisch must have drawn him from a slightly different position. Besides this, a drawing by Abraham Johannes Ruytenschildt, dated 1809, showing a seated female peasant, corresponds with the seated female figure in the painting by Van Os. In his article Te Rijdt points out that the same model appears in drawings by Daiwaille and Van Os, and in a painting by the latter artist as well, but the present drawing seems to contradict this; the facial features seem to point to a model that is older than the one shown in the drawings and painting by Daiwaille and Van Os.

Other drawings by Stokvisch, comparable in their use of black and red chalk (sometimes combined as is the case here), can be found in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam4 and the Teylers Museum, Haarlem. [5]

[1] L.A. Schwartz, 'The Dutch Drawings in The Teyler Museum. Artists born between 1740 and 1800', Haarlem, Ghent and Doornspijk, 2004, p. 29.
[2] 'ibid'., p. 410.
[3] R.J. te Rijdt, ‘Figuurstudies van het Amsterdamse particuliere tekengenootschap ‘Zonder Wet of Spreuk’ (ca. 1808-1819)’, 'Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum', XXXVIII, 1990, p. 225, fig. 1.
[4] see for examples RP-T-1881-A-120, RP-T-1881-A-119 and RP-T-FM-142. 5 L.A. Schwartz, 'op. cit'., nos. 603-609, ill.

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