Jan van Ravenswaay (Hilversum 1789-1869 Hilversum)
A wooded Farmyard Scene with a Herdsman in the distance, Children and a Dog in the foreground
Signed And Dated Lower Right Corner In Pen And Grey Ink ‘J V Ravenswaay Fec 1822’
Black Chalk, Pen And Brown Ink And Brown And Grey Wash, Pen And Brown Ink Framing Lines
264 X 376 Mm. (10 3/8 X 14 3/4in.)
£4,900
Jan van Ravenswaay was born at Hilversum, and was to spend most of his life studying and painting in his native region, near Amsterdam. However he was sent at the age of fourteen to study at the drawing school of Jordanus Hoorn (1753-1833) at Amsersfoort. But after only a year he needed to return due to family circumstances. His father ran a cotton mill. From 1810 van Ravenswaay received lessons from the famous painter of landscapes and cattle piece painter, Pieter Gerardus van Os (1776-1839), who had moved to the nearby village of ’s-Graveland. Van Os obviously greatly influenced the subject matter that van Ravenswaay’s was to choose. He mainly painted and drew animals and landscapes. According to contemporary sources van Ravenswaay had a small stock farm of Drenthe sheep; a charming breed that he was very fond of as a model1.
Our drawing is one of the best drawings by Ravenswaay to have been on the market in recent years. This drawing shows Ravenswaay’s evident skill at landscape and animal drawing.
1.Nineteenth-century Dutch drawings 1, Drawings from the collection of the printroom Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, exhibition catalogue, 18th December 1994 – 26th March 1995, p. 158.
