painting (oil): ["Landscape with Peasants on a Road"]

"On the right in the foreground , an old trunk of a tree, and a road leading into a wood; distant landscape on the left; blue sky with some clouds" [Wallis, 1913] A decayed tree in the foreground on the right of the composition leans over a rutted track to the left. The track winds over an overhanging bank to the left and into a wood in the middle-distance. A peasant carrying a large pack on his back comes towards us along the track. Behind him, another figure advances into the wood. Beyond the wood, to the left, the landscape opens out towards some distant hills. Below the bank in the left foreground, there is a marshy area of water fringed with reeds. Virag 13/12/2004, Between 1984 and 1985, a research assistant, Dr. Brendan Cassidy, was employed by Nottingham Castle Museum to research and write a catalogue of the foreign oil paintings in their collection. The catalogue never materialised, but drafts and notes relating to Cassidy's research can be found in the Artist Files and in the Archive at the museum. All references to Cassidy relate to these documents. The dating of NCM 1904-107 is based on a similar work by Wijnants at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge which is dated 1670 and also by the fact that Wijnants is known to have begun painting dune landscapes from the late 1650s onwards. It is documented that this panel is signed at lower left either in monogram (Cassidy, c.1984; Wallis, 1913) or in full (Hofstede de Groot, 1927). I could not find an inscription here. However, it may be obscured by a cork inlay surround which appears to be overlapping the front of the panel by approx. 3 or 4mm. On the reverse (on removal of backboard): 1. Upper centre: Remains of label relating to Royal Academy Old Masters exhibition, 1882; only the word "Academy" is visible at the top of the label, the name of the artist is given as "J. Winants" and the title as "Woody Landscape with Peasants". The owner is given as Richard Godson Millns Esq., 39a Abbey Road, St. John's Wood. 2. Lower right: NCM accession number Virag 13/12/2004, Sold from the collection of Richard Baxter Esq., of London at Christie's 22 January 1881, lot 41 and bought by Richard Godson Millns for 21 guineas.