Frits Thaulow (b. Oslo 1847, d. Volendam 1906)
People strolling along a Venetian canal near the Arsenal. In the foreground a man reading. The building to the left is the old rope maker's factory “Corderie della Tana” built in the 1300s to the Republic of Venice and it is part of the Arsenal. The passage to the right is “Fondamenta della Tana”. To this day the Thaulow motif is unchanged. Signed Frits Thaulow. Oil on canvas. 46×55 cm. French rococo frame.
According to Frank Claustrat, in the exhibition catalogue “Frits Thaulow. Paysagiste par nature”, p.173, the painting has been exhibited in August 1899 at Galerie Georges Petit, 8 rue de Seze, Paris, at a joint exhibition "Exposition de tableaux par P.-A . Besnard, J.-C. Cazin, C. Monet, A. Sisley, F. Thaulow; et de poteries par E. Chaplet sous le numéro 100 Quartiers des pauvres, à Venise”.
This painting has been in Danish possession since 1917 when it was part of a collection of paintings by Thaulow which was put up for auction by Thaulow's art dealer Isidore Montaignac. The auction never took place because the paintings were bought by specially interested purchasers before the auction took place! The painting was titled “Canal longeant la Dogana à Venice” as it says on the label on the back, but the location is wrong.
Thaulow visited Venice several times among others in 1897 and in 1899. Both times in connection with the Biennale, which opened for the first time in 1895. In 1899 Thaulow was selected a member of the main jury. He sent paintings annually to the Biennale, but never with motifs from Venice.
According to the Norwegian art historian and expert in Thaulow, Vidar Poulsson, most of Thaulow's Venetian pictures were painted in 1899.
Description corrected 22th of May with information about exhibition in Paris.
Condition report on request. Contact fine-art@bruun-rasmussen.dk
Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.
Paintings & drawings, 30 May 2017