Theodorus ('Dirk') Verrijk
Haarlem 1734 – The Hague 1786

Shipping in an Estuary by a Village with a City in the Distance
signed D. Verryk i inv. et fec in the lower left

black ink with brown wash on laid buff-colored paper

8 1/8 x 10 5/8 inches (206 x 270 mm.)

PROVENANCE: V. Vander Vinne (from an inscription on the old backing); Estate of Patricia Pattison Shuttles, Asheville, North Carolina

Beginning in the second quarter of the eighteenth century a new artistic genre emerged devoted to the topography of Holland. Dutch collectors developed a passion for depictions of their towns, villages, canals, castles, villas and farms. This led to the development of the “atlas”. Atlases consisted of thousands of topographical drawings and prints, which occasionally included portraits and prints of historical events, that were collected by individuals. These prints and drawings were characterized by their meticulous attention to detail. The vogue for atlases also led to a large rise of private patronage as comprehensive collections were commissioned throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. ¹

Dirk Verrijk was a draughtsman who specialized in river views, landscapes, street scenes and depictions of castles and villas. He worked not only in pen and watercolor but also pencil and gouache as well as oil color. Although he did Arcadian and moonlit scenes, interiors, flowers, the cycle of the twelve months and other imaginary scenes, they were not a large part of his output. Throughout his career Verrijk catered to the topography market executing hundreds of highly finished drawings. He is known to have worked in over one hundred towns and villages in Holland. His drawings were very popular and already sold at auction during his lifetime.² The artist’s drawings can be found in the museums of Haarlem, Leiden, Rotterdam and Utrecht as well as the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

The topography market of the Netherlands was unmatched by any other European country. Although Italian artists, for example, produced hundreds of scenic views during this period, their purchasers were mainly tourists.³ Our delightful drawing can be viewed as a synopsis of the powerful nationalistic forces that fueled this trend. Encapsulating the essence of Dutch rurality in one sheet, the work displays the simplicity, order and peacefulness which lay at the nation’s core.

¹ J.W. Niemeijer, “Some Aspects of Dutch Eighteenth-Century Art,” exhibition catalogue The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Dutch Masterpieces from the Eighteenth Century: Paintings and Drawings 1700-1800, October 7 – November 14, 1971, pp. 14-15.
² A.G. Schulte, Dirk Verrijk, 1734-1786: tekeningen en schetsen: de provincies Noord-en Zuid-Holland, Utrecht en Zeeland, Alphen aan den Rijn: Canaletto, 1993, pp. 25 & 30.
³ Niemeijer, op. cit., p. 14.

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