The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Dr. Jan de Meere.

Lot Note:

A master of nocturnal scenes, Dutch painter Petrus van Schendel’s depictions of moonlit landscapes and candle-lit night markets earned him such acclaim that in France he became known as “Monsieur Chandelle.” Born in 1806, van Schendel’s artistic talent was recognized at an early age, with his family sending him to the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he studied from 1822 to 1828. Between 1828 and 1830, he alternated living in his hometown of Breda and Amsterdam, where he would live until moving to The Hague in 1838. Van Schendel eventually returned to Belgium in 1845, settling in Brussels.

As early as 1838, the artist was painting darkened environments illuminated only by the moon and stars, as well as genre scenes, particularly of markets, lit mysteriously by glowing candlelight. These works are indebted to the 17th century tradition of Dutch candlelight paintings exemplified by the work of Godfried Schalcken (1643-1706), who was adept at depicting the glow of light and the effects of its shadows on varying surfaces. Van Schendel’s focus on nighttime scenes also responded to the 19th century Romantic movement, which was fascinated with the dark and mysterious forces of nature.

From 1838 to 1845, van Schendel lived on the Prinsengracht in The Hague, not from the Groenmarket, which became a source for many of his subjects. Even after he and his family moved to Brussels in 1845, the artist continued to paint the Groenmarket to meet demand. As seen in the current painting, van Schendel’s popularity can easily be explained by his ability to depict such effects as the shining scales of the fish and the sheen of fabrics, as well as how the soft candlelight flares to light the faces of the women. The artist’s studio in Brussels had two rooms, one brightly lit for his actual painting and a room he could darken and illuminate with artificial sources, where his models posed.

Van Schendel’s focus on his commercially successful chiaroscuro scenes may have been in part a result of his need for financial security. During his life, the artist was married three times and had fifteen children, thirteen with his first wife, Elisabeth, who died in 1850. Van Schendel was also critically acclaimed, and he exhibited frequently in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and The Hague between 1827 and 1867, and in 1845 won a gold medal at The Brussels Exhibition with Market by Moonlight. He won another medal at the landmark 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester with a painting entitled A Fish Market and he exhibited at the Royal Academy, London in 1855 and 1856. In addition to his genre scenes and landscapes, van Schendel painted traditional portraits and Biblical scenes. He was also a skilled mechanic and inventor, who patented a device for improving the blades on steamships. 

Framed: 32 1/2 x 26 1/2 in.

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