A selling show put together last month in the Johnny Van Haeften gallery offered some stunning revelations in the world of Old Master paintings. The marvelous Anthonie de Lorme could not be more different from mainstream Dutch church interiors. (Anthonie de Lorme, "The interior of the Laurenskerk, Rotterdam, with the Tomb of Admiral de Witte Corneliszoon de With.") (photo Johnny Van Haeften Ltd)

In "The Creation of the Birds and Fishes," signed by Isaac van Oosten, a swarm of birds flies high above a sea seething with marine life, real and mythical. Unreal bluish peaks rising far away under a very real sky filled with clouds round off this fantasy. Whoever said that Flemish 17th-century artists were mired in trite realism? (Isaac van Oosten, "Creation of the Birds and Fishes.")  (photo Johnny Van Haeften Ltd)

Actually, some Flemish painters could be infinitely poetic in unreal evocations of very real life. Pieter Gysels (1621-90), is supposed to have been influenced by Jan Brueghel the Elder. So much so that a ravishing view of bleaching fields seen against the backdrop of a small town was formerly considered to be by Brueghel the Elder. (Pieter Gysels, "A townscape with figures working in bleaching fields in the foreground." ) (photo Johnny Van Haeften Ltd)

If anything beats it for lyricism, this is a previously unknown picture signed in 1666 by Ottmar Elliger the Elder. The leaves and fruits in the exhibition still life have a sculptural relief. They glow as if sunrays running through the undergrowth were bouncing off the forest floor. (Ottmar Elliger the Elder, "A still life of grapes and vines, plums, cherries and a Red Admiral butterfly.")  (photo Johnny Van Haeften Ltd)

A picture by Johannes Lingelbach displayed in public only once, in 1919, shows how profoundly original some German landscapists were. Van Haeften's landscape bears witness to Lingelbach's contacts with other northern Europeans active in Rome, perhaps Claude Lorrain. (Johannes Lingelbach,"An extensive river landscape with peasants resting by a shack and horses pulling a boat.") (photo Johnny Van Haeften Ltd)

Even Flemish still life painting reserves surprises. Clara Peeters ranks supreme among a handful of profoundly enigmatic painters. After seeing that still life, some may feel that we know even less about Peeters than we hitherto believed. (Clara Peeters, "A still life with a silver-gilt tazza, a basket of fruit, two crayfish on a plate and a squirrel.") (photo Johnny Van Haeften Ltd)

Lire l'article "A London gallery show highlights overlooked Old Masters" de Souren MELIKIAN http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/11/arts/melik12.php