Rijksmuseum

Object data

pen and brown ink, over graphite; framing line in brown ink

height 93 mm × width 153 mm

Inscriptions

dated by the artist, in brown ink: upper left, de :7 / 3: (date expressed as a fraction, month over day) 1672
inscribed (by the artist or by another hand), in brown ink: upper centre, bodegraeve
inscribed on verso, in graphite: lower left, possibly in a nineteenth-century hand, B. Clotz, lower right, possibly in a nineteenth-century hand, D2 (?)
stamped on verso: lower centre, with the mark of the museum (L. 2228)

Technical notes

watermark: none

Provenance

…; ? collection Diederik Baron van Leyden, Heer van Vlaardingen (1744-1810), Leiden and Amsterdam; ? his sale, Amsterdam (P. van der Schley et al.), 13 May 1811 sqq., Album L, no. 15 (‘Twee dito Gezigten te Bodegrave en tot Heusden. Met de pen en O.I. inkt, door V. Klotz’), together with no. 16, fl. 7 for both (possibly with inv. no. RP-T-1907-24), to ‘Jan de Vrees’;¹ …; from Julius Lodewijk Willem Seyffardt (1827-1912), together with inv. no. RP-T-1907-24, fl. 8, for both, to the museum (L. 2228), 1907

Object number: RP-T-1907-25

The artist

Barend Klotz (? - ?)

Only one record, related to his position as a midshipman (adelborst) in the Dutch army, exists.² The Klotz family may have come from the province of Limburg, where the surname was recorded in the seventeenth century.³ Barend was likely related to fellow draughtsman Valentijn Klotz (c. 1646-1721), who was probably a brother or cousin. Barend was part of the military company of Capt. Harderwijk (?-?), the leader of the naval department of the Dutch army, founded in Maastricht in 1668.⁴ In Maastricht, he likely met fellow draughtsman Josua de Grave (1643-1712). After being stationed in Bergen op Zoom (1671-early 1672), Barend and Valentijn Klotz and Josua de Grave accompanied the army during their campaigns in the southern Netherlands in 1672, 1674, 1675 and 1676.

Barend Klotz signed and dated his works only occasionally (e.g. inv. no. RP-T-00-736). Consequently, scholars seem to have been hesitant about attributing drawings to the artist. Furthermore, his style is very close to that of Valentijn Klotz and Josua de Grave. Based on the few inscriptions found on his sheets, Mosseveld and Van Ham were able to describe Barend Klotz’s handwriting and attribute a number of drawings of sites in Bergen op Zoom to the artist.⁵ Overall, his handwriting is neater than that of Valentijn, but not as consistent as that of Josua de Grave. His ‘w’, as well as his ‘p’ and ‘z’, are quite distinguishable; also noteworthy is his sparse use of capital letters.⁶ Barend used a very distinct old-fashioned ‘e’, adding an additional loop through the ‘o’. Further, he included the words ‘geteekent de’ [accompanied with a date and place] on several of his drawings. Based on this information, various drawings in the Rijksmuseum’s collection could be (tentatively) reattributed to the artist.

Carolyn Mensing, 2020

References
R. van Eijnden and A. van der Willigen, ‘Klotz, Valentijn’, in U. Thieme and F. Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, 37 vols., Leipzig 1907-50, XX (1927), pp. 549-50; R.J.G.M. van Hasselt, ‘Drie tekenaars van topografische prenten in Brabant en elders. Valentijn Klotz, Josua de Grave en Constantijn Huygens Jr.’, Jaarboek Oudheidkundige Kring ‘De Ghulden Roos’ 25 (1965), pp. 145-55; M.H. Breitbarth-van der Stok, ‘Josua de Grave, Valentinus Klotz en Bernardus Klotz’, Bulletin Koninklijke Nederlandse Oudheidkundige Bond 68 (1969), pp. 99-101; J.H. van Mosselveld and W.A. van Ham, Tekeningen van Bergen op Zoom. Topografische afbeeldingen van Bergen op Zoom en omgeving uit de zestiende tot en met de achttiende eeuw, exh. cat. Bergen op Zoom (Markiezenhof) 1973-74, pp. 15-18; G. Gordon, ‘Klotz, Valentijn’, in J. Turner (ed.), The Dictionary of Art, 34 vols., London/New York 1996, XVIII, pp. 140-41; P. Groenendijk, Beknopt biografisch lexicon van Zuid- en Noord-Nederlandse schilders, graveurs, glasschilders, tapijtwevers et cetera van ca. 1350 tot ca. 1720, Leiden 2008, p. 466

Entry

In the summer of 1672, the Dutch army of the Dutch States-General under the command of Stadholder Prince Willem III of Orange Nassau (1650-1702) was stationed near Bodegraven in the province of Zuid-Holland to fight off the advancing French army. Unfortunately, the defence failed a few months later, in December 1672, when the French were able to cross the frozen water along the ‘Oud Hollandse Waterlinie’ between Bodegraven and Nieuwerbrug. As can be seen in a print after a design by Romeyn de Hooghe (1645-1708) (e.g. inv. no. RP-P-OB-77.180), they left the city in ruins.

Barend Klotz, Valentijn Klotz (c. 1646-1721) and Josua de Grave (1643-1712) accompanied the troops in 1672 and drew several views of Bodegraven and the encampment during the summer months. The present sheet and inv. no. RP-T-1907-25 were made shortly after each other and are clearly by the same hand. The Rijksmuseum’s collection also includes two other views of Bodegraven that might be by one of the three artists (inv. nos. RP-T-1900-A-4443 and RP-T-00-171).

The draughtsmanship of the present sheet and inv. no. RP-T-1907-25 is closest to that of Barend or Valentijn Klotz, but the handwriting is not immediately recognizable. The name of the location, ‘bodegrave’, is written in a somewhat comparable style as that of the name ‘Geertruidenberg’ that appears on a signed drawing by Barend Klotz (inv. no. RP-T-00-736), but appears to have been added by someone else. A similarly written date, placed between two colons, can also be found on some sheets attributed to Barend (e.g. inv. no. RP-T-1899-A-4281). Therefore, both views of Bodegraven are here tentatively attributed to him.

Carolyn Mensing, 2020

Literature

R.J.G.M. van Hasselt, ‘Drie tekenaars van topografische prenten in Brabant en elders. Valentijn Klotz, Josua de Grave en Constantijn Huygens Jr.’, Jaarboek Oudheidkundige Kring ‘De Ghulden Roos’ 2 (1965), pp. 145-92, no. 302 (?) (as Valentijn Klotz)

Citation

C. Mensing, 2020, 'possibly Barend Klotz, View of the Riverbank at Bodegraven, Zuid-Holland, Bodegraven, 1672-07-03', in J. Turner (ed.), Dutch Drawings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.54240

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