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DUTCH SCHOOL, (17th CENTURY), An Album of 39 Watercolors of Fish and Other Sea Creatures

  • $ 125,000.00


Dutch School (17th Century) An Album of 39 Watercolors of Fish and Other Sea Creatures
Watercolor over traces of black chalk, within black chalk framing lines; almost all inscribed in brown ink, verso, with identification and measurements of the fish depicted; the 39 drawings attached to 20 album sheets, loosely contained in an early 19th-century folder, with a label inscribed in brown ink: 41 Stuks / Visschen in Sapverwen / door / Rochus van Veen / 17e Eeuw / Uit de Collectie / van / DenwelEd Heer Ploos van Amstel
Two drawings fixed to each album sheet (in all except one case), the album sheets 16 1/8 x 12 3/8 in.
Provenance: Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (according to the label on the album cover)

During the 17th century in Holland, natural history drawing flourished with remarkable skill and precision. Artists produced stunning watercolors that merged scientific accuracy with aesthetic beauty, achieved through careful observation and annotation of their subjects. Despite the abundance of these exquisite artworks, depictions of fish from this period are relatively few, with the majority of watercolors focusing on flowers and insects and land animals being less frequently represented.

This album of finely executed chalk and watercolor drawings depicts a wide variety of sea life, including turtles, fish, and crabs. It remains in superb condition, having been protected for centuries.

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