View of Antwerp with Frozen Schelde, 1593

Dimensions: 42.4 x 63.2 x min. 0.7 cm
maximum depth: 0.9 cm

Physical Description: Oil on oak

Inventory Number: 668

Acquisition: Acquired in 1817 as a bequest from Johann Georg Grambs

Status: On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 9

Texts

About the Work

The River Scheldt in Antwerp is 400 metres wide. A river like that rarely freezes over - except during the mid-sixteenth century, when the so-called Little Ice Age was at its zenith. Lucas van Valckenborch has captured the atmosphere of a cold winter's day with great skill. Dark snow clouds alternate with blue sky, and the sun, lying low on the horizon, casts long shadows. The peasants have lit a fire on the embankment. Day labourers gathering wood and elegant city dwellers watch the bustle on the ice with amusement.

About the Acquisition

"Dr. Grambs also owns a collection of paintings, copperplate engravings and drawings by hand which exceeds all expectations. The definitive knowledge of the owner helps the visitor to gain rapid enlightenment and thorough understanding." That was how Goethe described the Frankfurt collection of the lawyer Johann Georg Grambs (1756-1817). It included Netherlandish Baroque artists and contemporary master painters from Frankfurt. Grambs was one of the administrators of the museum appointed by Städel. Like the donor, he, too, bequeathed his art collection to the institute.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: View of Antwerp with Frozen Schelde

Painter

Lucas van Valckenborch

Period Produced

16th century

School

Baroque

Object Type

painting (artwork)

Physical Description: Oil on oak

Material

oak wood

Technique

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Monogrammiert und datiert am dritten Baumstamm links: 1593. / L. / VV. (VV ligiert)

Property and Acquisition

Institution

Städel Museum

Administration

Old Masters 1300 - 1800

Collection

Städelsches Kunstinstitut

Creditline: Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Picture Copyright: Public Domain

Acquisition: Acquired in 1817 as a bequest from Johann Georg Grambs

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

Main Motif

Associated Persons and Institutions

Iconclass

Primary

23F41 winter landscape; landscape symbolizing winter (the four seasons of the year)
61E(ANTWERPEN) names of cities and villages (ANTWERPEN)
61D(SCHELDE) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (SCHELDE) (SCHELDE)
25H213 river

Secondary

25I12 prospect of city, town panorama, silhouette of city
43C24 winter sports
43C244 skates (winter sports)
43C241 sledge, sleigh (winter sports)
26D1 snow
26D4 ice ~ freezing weather
41B211 warming oneself at a fire (or hearth, stove, fire-pan, brazier)
47I85 woodgathering, woodgatherer
25H2171 dikes, levee
25G3(WILLOW) trees: willow
46C24 sailing-ship, sailing-boat

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History: ...

Johann Georg Grambs (Städel-Administrator

1756-1817), Frankfurt am Main

Vermächtnis an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1817.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known: