(Haarlem 1608–1669 Den Haag)
Plön Castle, Schleswig-Holstein, from the Southwest,
oil on panel, 40.5 x 62.4 cm, framed

Provenance:
Galerie Internationale, The Hague, before 1957 (as by Frans Post);
sale, Christie’s, Amsterdam, 13 May 2014, lot 81 (as by Pieter Post, unidentified view);
Private European collection

Literature:
A. Guimarães, Na Holanda, com Frans Post, in: Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro 235, April–June 1957, p. 286, no. 216 (as by Frans Post, in the collection of Galerie Internationale, The Hague);
E. Larsen, Frans Post, Amsterdam, 1962, no. 3a (as possibly Frans Post, under “tableaux douteux” in the collection of Galerie Internationale, The Hague);
J. de Sousa-Leão, Frans Post, 1612–1680, Amsterdam 1973, p. 42, (as either Frans Post or ‘could equally well be by Pieter Post’);
P. Corrêa do Lago/B. Corrêa do Lago, Frans Post (1612–1680): Catalogue Raisonné, Milan 2007, p. 367, no. R 33 (as not by Frans Post)

The present painting is registered in the RKD database under number 246342 as by Pieter Post.

We are grateful to Silke Hunzinger for having identified the building as Plön Castle. Hunzinger intends to publish the present painting in a forthcoming article.
For the first time in its documented history, it has now been possible to identify the setting of this strikingly atmospheric and in a way unusual panorama. This is significant in various ways. Historically, the painting constitutes the first known depiction of Plön Castle, predating other works showing this important architectural monument by almost a century. The present painting was executed about thirty years after Plöns’ construction in 1636. It is, therefore, not only the first ‘Portrait’ of this Palace, but also the very first painted identifiable view of a landscape in Schleswig-Holstein in existence. This fact alone marks the present painting an important re-discovery. It is also significant in affording a closer look at the proliferation of Dutch landscape painting and its artists in the seventeeth century. Art historically it presents one of the rare occasions in which scientific analysis and historical background lead to the establishment of a convincing date of execution.

The scene: Plön castle and the earliest landscape painting in Schleswig-Holstein

On a bank, on the small Plön lake, a traveller in a broad-rimmed hat sits on the verge of a sandy road, a wicker basket by his side and an angling rod leaning over his shoulder. On the ridge of the hill raising from the surrounding lakes, on the left side of the middleground, the imposing silhouette of Plön Castle dominates the scenery, and further in the distance a churchtower, the City Church of Plön, punctuates the skyline. Just on the banks of the lake, on the left, a steep ridge, the ‘Bieberhöhe’ can be seen. The bright sky, which takes up a considerable portion of the composition, is filled with magnificent formations of cumulus clouds.

The point of view is from the south west of the castle. The painting is topographically precise, so that it appears plausible that it was executed from drawings made in situ, on the opposite side of the smaller lake Plön. An engraving by Christian Friedrich Fritzsch from 1749 shows the castle from a slightly different angle, seen from a point of view positioned more to the right of that of the present painting, but the simple west facade of the castle and the church lower are clearly recognizable. The elaborate stable buildings seen in the engraving date from the 18th century (see fig. 1). Today Plön Castle has a slate roof which was painted white in the late nineteenth century, and it also had some pseudo-Renaissance towers added to the eastern and western facades. When the present painting was executed, however, it had a simple and majestic appearance with earthy red brown limewash and a brick roofline, as depicted in the present painting (see S. Hunzinger, Schloss Plön, Plön 1997, p. 109). Plön Castle is the only surviving Ducal residence in Schleswig-Holstein which was built on a hill, and today it still dominates the extensive surrounding marsh and lake landscape.

The scholar Silke Hunzinger, author of the most in-depth historical analysis of Plön Castle, concludes: ‘There can be no doubt that the present painting is a view of the city of Plön in Holstein, painted in the mid-seventeenth-century. High above land and city we see the residence of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. [...] This re-discovered painting is the earliest known depiction of the castle. Moreover, it is the earliest landscape painting hitherto known that depicts an identifiable motif in Holstein. […] The present painting therefore is of utmost interest to help understand the history of landscape painting in Schleswig- Holstein. […] The artist records the scene from the foot of the Koppelberg on the oposite side of the small lake Plön. He depicts everything with topographical precision. We see the west facade of the castle, flanked by the narrow church tower of the then city church. On the right side of the painting, the great lake Plön is just visible, which illustrates the unique position of the castle on a ridge surrounded by nummerous smaller and larger expanses of water…’
Hitherto, not a single seventeenth-century depiction of the castle, completed in 1636, was known. An anonymous woodcut from 1729 was until now considered the earliest recording of the castle’s original appearance. The earliest known paintings showing Plön castle were until now the overdoors executed in 1743 by Domenicus Gottfried Waerdigh, for Duke Frederick Charles (1729–1761). One of them shows a similar point of view, but in a much more archaic and provincial manner (see fig. 2).

Plön, with its simple facade and its grand scale, opening towards the great Plön lake, was one of the main architectural projects of the Thirty Years War period and must have been widely discussed at the European courts of the time.

The artist and historical context
At the beginning of the twentieth century, ever since art historians re-discovered Frans Post and his brother Pieter Post as two of the most significant Dutch artists of the mid-seventeenth century, two questions have been discussed intensely. Firstly which of the paintings historically attributed to Frans Post are in fact works by his architect brother Pieter, and secondly, and more importantly in this case, how would Frans Posts’ paintings of European landscapes look. Such scenes by an artist who is almost exclusively known for his exotic panoramas are documented in historical sources, but are difficult to identify.

The present painting was first attributed to Frans Post by one of the greatest connaisseurs of Dutch art, Abraham Bredius (see J. de Sousa-Leão, Frans Post, 1612–1680, Amsterdam, 1973, p. 42). When Argeu Guimares compiled his first catalogue raisonnée, he included the present painting as a fine example of Post’s works, ‘melhor Frans’ (see literature). Apparently Bredius had recognised the northern identity of the castle, because Guimares, who had been sent a photograph of the painting by the RKD, published it as a Castle in Denmark. Joaquim de Sousa-Leão mentions that the present painting, aquired in 1943 by the Galerie Internationale in The Hague, was apparently accompanied by another painting of the same castle, in reverse, aquired by the Gallery in circa 1956. Confusing as this might seem, he hinted that only the painting aquired in 1943 was unsigned, and that both were ascribed to Frans Post by Abraham Bredius, ‘but they could equally well be by Pieter Post’. Any other recording of this second painting remains to be found, and it is most plausible to presume that Sousa was mistakingly referring to the same painting, possible being shown in reversed photographs. However, if the other painting was indeed signed, as Sousa hints at, it would be worth tracing.

When the present painting was last on the market, it was rightfully given to a member of the Post family, Pieter Post, and is as such also recorded in the files of the RKD. It forms an important addition to the small painted oeuvre of Pieter Post. So far, thirteen paintings have been attributed to Post, only a few of which are signed and dated. Best known as one of the most celebrated architects of the Dutch Golden Age, Post initially made a career as a painter and he produced a modest number of landscapes in a markedly individual style. Pieter Post’s landscapes are recognised as an original contribution to the development of the Dutch realistic landscape. Painted in a muted palette and giving free reign to capturing the light and atmosphere, this panorama displays all the hallmarks of Post’s unique and unusual style. His unconventional compositional layouts, rendition of atmospheric effects and the inclusion of tiny staffage figures that are dwarfed by their surroundings, are very close to the work of Post’s younger brother, Frans. Quite possibly, the present painting is therefore the work of Pieter Post. Even though scientific analysis of the well-preserved, single oak panel support carried out by Peter Klein has proven a date of execution to be circa. 1660, the present painting could well be a late work by Pieter Post.

It is possible, however, to follow Abrahman Bredius’ ideas and use circumstantial evidence to argue for the authorship of the younger brother, Frans Post. Frans Post went to Brazil as part of the expedition organised by John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, which embarked on 25th October 1636 and arrived in Recife in 1637. He was introduced to Nassau by his architect-painter brother Pieter, who was then working for Nassau, possibly on designs for the princes residence in The Hague, the present day Mauritshuis. During the years that Post spent in the New World (he returned to Holland in 1644) he painted various views and made numerous sketches of the land and the surrounding area. Of the paintings that he made in situ, only six have survived, almost all of which are in the Musée du Louvre. These canvases are totally innovative within Dutch landscape painting and are characterised by the simplicity and ingenuity with which the painter depicted these new and unknown views. Stylistically, they are similar to the present painting.

Scholars have long tried to establish a certain attribution for a painting by Frans Post of other than a Brazilian motif. Some scholars suggest that upon his return Frans Post focussed solely on the repetition of scenes recorded in drawings made in Brazil. Two main arguments are to be considered against such thematic monotony. First of all, Frans Post must have been a good artist already when he was selected by Nassau to accompany him, and secondly, and more importantly, European topics by Frans Post are indeed documented in the historical sources. Interestingly, the most recent catalogue raisonné ignores the existence of such works, and rejects the attribution of the present painting to Frans Post on the grounds that it apparently shows a ‘castle in Denmark’ and ‘hence, a groundless attribution’ (op. cit., Corrêa do Lago/B. Corrêa do Lago, 2007, p. 367, no. R 33). The account books of the Stadthouders court mentions that in 1650, Frans Post received the payment of three hundred Guilders for a painting comissioned by William II of Orange-Nassau, ‘representing various towns of his highness in Burgundy’ (op. cit. Sousa-Leão, 1973, p. 18). Two descriptions of the demolished Palace of Honselaarsdijck, residence of the Orange-Nassau family, compiled in the eighteenth century, mention among other works a number of paintings by Frans Post. Apart from West Indian Landscapes, a View of the Seine, a View of Fountainbleau, a View of Windsor Castle (‘na het leven geschildert door Frans Post’) and Philipp den Tweedens Escorial, all by Frans Post, are mentioned (op. cit. Sousa-Leão, 1973, p. 18). Sousa concludes that Post had possibly accompanied John Maurice of Nassau on a diplomatic mission to London in 1661, where he could have painted Windsor Castle ‘Na het leven’. Apparently, Post still worked for Nassau in around 1660, and was employed predominantly to depict European Palaces, the interest for which must have been comparable to the fashion for ‘Emperors Galleries’ in the late Renaissance European courts.

It is important to note that Nassau had a close connection with the Ducal family of Holstein-Plön: his mother was Margareth of Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (1583–1638), and Duke Joachim Ernst, who resided in Plön, was his direct cousin. John Maurice, as a member of a lesser branch of the Nassau Family, was immensly proud of his royal connections, and his relation to the various branches of the Schleswig-Holstein family was especially important. Frederick III of Denmark created him a knight of the order of the Elephant, an honour that was of utmost importance to John Maurice.

The dating of the present panel to circa 1660 falls into a period of activity in which Post was apparently in the service of John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen again, as is proven by the likely execution of the lost Windsor Castle painting in 1661. This is also the period in which Nassau travelled extensively for Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg, in whose service as governour of Cleve he had been for some time. He visited the ‘Great Elector’ on several occasions during the years 1659 and 1660. In 1659 he had organised the wedding of John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, with Henriette Catherine of Nassau. Apparently Frans Post was involved in the decorations of the entry of the couple into Groningen (see Georg Galland: Der Grosse Kurfürst und Moritz von Nassau der Brasilianer, Frankfurt 1893, p. 56).

Nassau then travelled to the military camp of Frederick William, which was held in various places in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, sometimes very close to Plön, whilst the elector was fighting against the Swedish in the second Northern war. A visit to Plön by Frans or Pieter Post, two artists close to Nassau, in the company of John Maurice during these months in 1659- 1660, appears plausible, and the dating proposed by Peter Klein would match the historical background.
Frans Post apparently was employed by John Maurice not only to record the Brazilian adventure, but also to portray European castles. The only undisputed European scene by Frans Post, fascinatingly, is the drawing he made for the print by Jan van Brosterhuyzen to be published in a 1647 tome recording the Brazilian Journey (see C. Barlaeus, Rerum per octennium in Brasilia et alibi nuper gestarum sub praefectura J. Mauritii, Nassoviae, c. comitis... historia, Joannes Blaeu, Amsterdam 1647, plate no. 55, p. 328/329). It also shows a castle, Dillenburg, which was John Maurice of Nassau’s birthplace (see fig. 3). Other scenes of this series of drawings employ a compositional scheme very close to that of the present painting. A startingly modern, low point of view, a great expanse of water and the main buildings depicted in their surrounding landscape, often off-centre and punctuating the low skyline (see fig. 4).

Further research and possible cleaning could lead to a re-assessment of Bredius’ verdict on the present painting. Sousa, having described Post’s drawing of the Dillenburg, remarked on Post’s European works: ‘The quality of this single example makes us all the more sorry that other architectural compositions by Post - whose interest in the subject we know from so many works - such as views of Fontainbleau, Windsor Castle, the Escorial, and Places in Burgundy he painted for the Stadhouders, to mention only the ones we know for certain, have been lost’ (op. cit. Sousa-Leão 1973, p. 43).

Technical analysis:
A dendochronological examination and identification of the used timber carried out by Peter Klein on the well preserved single oak plank (report dated July, 6, 2014), show that the Oaktree was cut down between 1651-57. He defined the earliest date for fabrication would be 1653. Since panels of the 16th and 17th centuries were usually used after drying for two to eight years after the tree was cut, he deduces that the panel could have been used around 1660.