Maris, Matthijs (1839-1917), attributed to. View of the Oude Rijn, Leiden

Oil on panel, mounted on particle board. Ca. 1868. Monogrammed bottom right ‘M.M.’ 63 x 51 cm.

Sl. soiled and browned, sm. defects to surface, some loss of paint around the edges. The present work was possibly commissioned in 1868 by the Leiden printer Eduard IJdo who started his firm in 1888, and in 1890 he moved to the Hooglandsche Kerkgracht, on the corner with the Oude Rijn. The work hung in the IJdo offices until 1965 when it became part of the collection of the present owners. Since Eduard (1856-1927) was twelve in 1868 - and if Maris did paint the view of his offices as commissioned by Eduard - then the work would have been executed around 1890. By that time, Maris lived as a recluse in London and painted in a very different style, but he did return to the Netherlands several times. It is more likely though the painting was commissioned by Eduard’s father Hendrik Bernard IJdo (1822-96) who was also a book printer and typesetter in Leiden. This naturalistic city view better aligns with Maris’ work from the 1860s and 70s. (Compare for example the composition and signature to Maris’ oil on canvas Souvenir d’Amsterdam from 1871 in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum).