Petrus van Schendel: Nocturnal market

Petrus van Schendel, Poultry market, c. 1852, oil on panel, 65.4 x 49 cm
estimate € 100,000 – 150,000
19th Century Paintings auction, 9 November 2021

Nocturnal Painting

This romantic market scene, painted by the Dutch-Belgian artist, Petrus van Schendel in around 1852, is typical of the artist’s work and ranks amongst his finest compositions. Van Schendel was strongly influenced by the seventeenth century Utrecht Caravaggisti such as  Dirck van Baburen, Gerrit van Honthorst and Hendrick ter Brugghen who painted history and genre scenes in a realist style. Van Schendel specialized in nocturnal painting using moonlit, candles and lanterns to illuminate subjects such as this market scene. This painting relates to similar picture by the artist, A view of the Fish Market in Rotterdam from 1851.  In both paintings, the narrative is populated the most typical market visitors, who were predominantly women. In the scene, the artist describes the interaction between three figures: a woman visiting the market stall talking to a vendor, possibly negotiating or haggling over the price of her wares while a third figure attentively follows the discussion. The influence of the Caravaggisti is plain to see in the lighting of the scene. The single lantern at the center provides the majority of the illumination and is reinforced by moonlight.

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