The Hofvijver at The Hague, with the Binnenhof to the Left and the Groote Kerk in the Distance - Rafael Valls

1713

Medium

Oil on Panel

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-150390

Born in Amsterdam in 1713, Jan ten Compe was one of the most important Dutch topographical painters of the 18th century. He was apprenticed to the landscape painter Dirck Dalens the Younger. Ten Compe was to specialise in painting topographical subjects, notably town and city views in the Low Countries including The Hague, Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Delft. His detailed and elegant views were inspired by those of the 17th-century townscape painters Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712) and Gerrit Berckheyde (1638-1698). In 1736 ten Compe was elected a Burgher of Amsterdam and later, when he took up residence in the Hague, he received many town council commissions, one of which was to paint the pavilion that was erected at The Hague to celebrate the signing of the peace of Aachen in 1748. Ten Compe was highly prized in his lifetime and enjoyed the friendship and patronage of many wealthy collectors, including Gerrit Braamcamp (1699-1771), whose collection of 380 Dutch paintings was one of the finest ever assembled. Indeed, he appears to have been employed by several prominent local collectors, van de Velde and Ryneveld, amongst others. - Jan Ten Compe painted views of the Hofvijver (The Court Pond), the surrounding square The Buitenhof, and The Stadhouderlijk Kwartier palace on several occasions. In our painting the palace is the building on the left with the rowboat tied up outside. Today the Mauritshuis is located just to the left of where the viewer is standing. The cathedral tower in the distance is the Grote or Sint-Jacobskerk.