(Haarlem 1638–1698)
A view of Cologne with the churches of Saint Gereon and Saint Pantaleon,
signed bottom right: Gerrit Berckheyde.,
oil on canvas, 54 x 63 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, Paris;
sale Poulain Le Fur, 9 December 1999, lot 10;
with R. Valls, London

Exhibited:
Der Riss im Himmel. Clemens August und seine Epoche, Schloss Augustusburg, Brühl (2000);
Vom Adel der Malerei. Holland um 1700, Köln-Dordrecht-Kassel (2006/2007)

In a letter to the previous owner, Prof. Cynthia Lawrence, author of the catalogue raisonné on Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde, confirms the authenticity of the present painting. She relates it to two further topographical views of Cologne in which the churches depicted here recur – one in the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum in Hanover, the other in the Barnes Collection, Philadelphia. Moreover, she refers to further views of Cologne featuring St. Gereon that appeared on the art market in the past. Prof. Lawrence writes: “Lovely evocation of space – the lighted foreground, darkened middle ground, and then sunny perspective on St. Pantaleon, with figures. The two trees in the centre foreground (which also appear in the Barnes picture) are so typically those of Berckheyde – as is the treatment of the sky and the clouds….”