Oil on canvas, relined
Netherlands, 17th century
Johan Le Ducq (1629-1676/77) – Dutch artist
Certificates by Ludwig Meyer, Archiv für Kunstgeschichte, Munich dated 19th of March 2003 and by Ellen Bernt, Munich, March 2000 accompany the artwork
Dimensions: 83.5 x 81 cm
Good condition
Provenance: Private collection, Germany
A vivid representation of daily life during the Thirty Years War

The present painting by the Dutch painter Johan Le Ducq shows a colorful war still life in the center of a guardroom scene with cavaliers and peasants resting in the domestic interior in the background. The subject matter and the overall dark brown palette of the present painting, punctuated with bright color, is characteristic for Dutch painting around the middle of the 17th Century. Genre painting involving low class society, especially peasants but also more elevated class exponents, became more and more popular throughout the 17th century in the Netherlands. These pictures usually depict scenes of everyday life set in domestic interiors or in the countryside. Scholars are still debating whether they bear a metaphorical meaning and hidden messages, or just feature a close depiction of contemporary events at the time of the Thirty Years War. In both cases they could have been associated with health, pleasure and liberty. Certificates by Ludwig Meyer, Archiv für Kunstgeschichte, Munich dated 19th of March 2003 and by Ellen Bernt, Munich, March 2000 prove the authenticity and accompany the artwork.



The canvas has been relined and is well presented. The impasto is still fresh in the lighter pigments with the fine details still in good order. Inspection under UV light reveals retouching and lines of strengthening to the background, figures and to the darker details of the still life. The wooden frame is in good condition with only small traces of wear. The framed work measures 95 x 93 cm and the size of the stretcher is 83.5 x 81 cm.



Johan Le Ducq (1629-1676/77)

Johan Le Ducq received his artistic training under the Dutch painter Paulus Pieterszoon Pooter (1625-1654), when the master was active in The Hague between 1649 and 1652. In 1656, Ducq became a co-founder of the guild ‘Confrérie Pictura‘, an artist’s association exclusively reserved for professional painters. Four years later Ducq was also appointed member of the local Guild of Saint Luke. At the beginning of the 1670s, Johan Le Ducq abortively ended his career as a painter and joined the army. Johan Le Ducq was mainly active as an animal and landscape painter and etcher. His works can be found, for instance, at the Mauritshuis in The Hague.

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