(Antwerp 1580–1649 London)
A prison interior with the Liberation of Saint Peter,
oil on canvas, 97 x 130 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Samuel Powel (1738–1793), Philadelphia, PA;
and thence by descent to the present owner

Steenwijck was known as a painter of architectural themes such as Gothic church interiors and palace terraces. Working in London between 1617 and 1637, the artist came to the attention of Charles I, who appreciated van Steenwijck’s work for its intricate detail and careful finish. Related examples are in the Royal Collection at Hampton Court, the Royal Collection at Windsor, the Getty Museum, the Louvre, and the Norton Simon Museum.

The present painting is an autograph replica to scale of the larger Liberation of St. Peter in the library of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Brunswick (see J. Howarth, The Steenwyck Family as Masters of Perspective, Turnhout 2009, fig. II, p. 59). A larger, upright version of the present painting was sold at Koller, Zurich, on 21 September 2007, lot 3058.

The Liberation of Saint Peter was most likely purchased by Samuel Powel (1738–1793) during his six-year travels through Europe between 1759 and 1765, with extensive stays in Italy and England. Shortly after his return to his native Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1769 he bought the recently built house at 244 South 3rd Street, completely refurbished its interiors, and installed his substantial paintings collection. He served two consecutive terms as mayor of Philadelphia – the last mayor appointed under British charter and the first one following American Independence. His house at 244 South 3rd Street, now a museum, was acknowledged to have the most ornate interior in the thirteen states. Samuel Powel counted among friends and visitors George and Martha Washington, who lived next door in 1781 and again nearby during the city’s phase as capital of the new nation from 1790–1800, Benjamin Franklin, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Following Powel’s death in 1793, his widow passed his large estate to her nephew, whom she adopted – John Hare Powel (1786–1856). Following a distinguished international career in the military and agriculture, John died in 1856. In the inventory of his assets, dated 14 July 1856, the Liberation of Saint Peter was documented for the first time in Powel’s possession along with 44 other old master paintings, a treasure trove of 19th-century French bronzes, and miscellanea (see The Pennsylvania of Fine Arts 1807–1870, in: The American Philosophical Society, 1955, pp. 349/50). Many of the objects have remained in the possession of the family’s descendants. In 1971 a painting by Nicolaes Maes, Abraham and Hagar, was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

The highly talented Hendrick van Steenwijck II started as a pupil of his namesake father, who was a renowned painter of architectures, especially church interiors. The son specialised in dramatically lighted dungeon scenes, such as the Liberation of Saint Peter and the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. He collaborated several times with Frans Francken II, who added the staffage figures to Steenwijck’s colourful interiors.