Jakob Philipp Hackert
Prenzlau 1737 - 180 Florence
A View of the Fayence-Fabrique in Marieberg near Stockholm with Fishing Boats and Fishermen unloading their Catch
Medium:
Gouache on Vellum
Category:
Dimensions:
15.5(h) x 19.5(w) cms
Framed Dimensions:
32(h) x 36(w) cms
Signed:
Signed, Dated and extensively Inscribed: "P.H. Hackert. f. 1768."
Paired with:
Essay:
Jakob Philipp Hackert was the son of Philippe Hackert, the portraitist. He worked initially with his father and subsequently with his uncle in Berlin as well as Blaise Nicolas Le Sueur in the Berlin Akademie. These formative years in the Akademie were important for the development of his landscape painting as he spent a great deal of time studying and copying the work of the Dutch old masters as well as those of Claude Lorrain. In 1762 he was invited to Sweden by Adolf Friedrich von Olthof, the Swedish Councillor. He spent three happy years in Sweden before moving to Paris in 1765. Once established in France he gained a fine reputation for his perspective views.
Having travelled to Italy with his brother in 1768, he stayed there for most of his life, moving between Rome, Naples and Florence. He gained a great many commissions, notably from Catherine the Great of Russia and Ferdinand of Naples, to whom he was appointed court painter in 1786. Sadly in 1799 he had to flee Naples from invading French troops and spent his final years in Florence, acquiring a small estate in S. Piero di Careggi nearby, where he not only continued to paint landscapes but also was able to indulge his passion for engraving. At around this time he is known to have befriended Goethe, whose opinions and advice were to prove fairly influential in his use of colour. Perhaps his finest publication was the 'Traité pour l'instruction de la peinture de paysage', published in 1803.
Inscribed "Vue de Marieberg près de Stockholm"
We are very grateful to Dr Claudia Nordhoff for her assistance in identifying the earlier provenance for these gouaches. An extensive report on the gouaches is available on request.
Provenance:
Chevalier Jean-Louis-Antoine le Vaillant de Damery (1723 - 1803);
Private Collection, France
