Saint Martin Dividing His Cloak

Provenance

Baron de Willebroek [d. 1783], Brussels; (his sale, Brussels, 25 June 1781, no. 15).[1] Possibly De Castelmore, Paris; (his sale, Paillet/Boileau, Paris, 20 December 1791 and following days, no. 47, as by Van Dyck); purchased by Paillet for François-Pascal Haudry [1718-1800], Orléans; (his private contract sale, August 1800, no. 101, as by Van Dyck).[2] Cardinal Joseph Fesch [1763-1839], Rome; his estate; sold 1844 to William Buchanan [1777-1846], London; sold 1845 to Robert Stayner Holford [1808-1892], Dorchester House, London;[3] by inheritance to his son, Sir George Lindsay Holford, K.C.V.O. [1860-1926], Dorchester House, London; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 17-18 May 1928, no. 65); (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); sold 1928 to Andrew W. Mellon [1855-1937], Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; by inheritance to his daughter, Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], Long Island, New York; bequest 1970 to NGA. [1] _Catalogue de Tableaux, Vendus à Bruxelles, depuis l'année 1773..._, Brussels, n.d. [1803?]: 91, no. 15; John Smith, _A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters_, 9 vols., London, 1829-1842: 3:13. [2] These two sales were kindly brought to the Gallery's attention by Burton Fredericksen, after the publication of the systematic catalogue of Flemish paintings in the collection (see 11 February 2006 letter to Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., in NGA curatorial files). [3] The executors of Fesch's estate published a catalogue of the collection in 1841 (_Catalogue des tableaux composant la galerie de feu son eminence le Cardinal Fesch_, Rome, 1841) in which the painting, number 351, is described as being in the style of Rubens. The catalogue listed over 3,000 works, and the collection was being offered "en bloc." According to the Knoedler prospectus (in NGA curatorial files), the painting was sold at auction to Buchanan in 1844, who sold it to Holford the next year.

Saint Martin Dividing His Cloak

Boeckhorst, Jan

c. 1640/1645

Accession Number

1970.17.107

Medium

oil on panel

Dimensions

overall: 34.5 x 24.2 cm (13 9/16 x 9 1/2 in.) | framed: 49.9 x 40 x 6.7 cm (19 5/8 x 15 3/4 x 2 5/8 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection