Private Collection.

New Orleans, Museum of Art, In the Eye of the Beholder. Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, 1997, no. 40;
Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, An Eye for Detail. 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, June 20-September 5, 1999, no. 37.

N.T. Minty, In the Eye of the Beholder. Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, exhibition catalogue, New Orleans 1997, no. 40;
N.T. Minty and J. Spicer, An Eye for Detail. 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, exhibition catalogue, Baltimore 1999, p. 84, no. 37, reproduced p. 85.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in beautiful state. The panel is a single piece of un-reinforced oak. The only retouches of note seem to be in the lower sky above the mountain on the left. The remainder of the picture is in lovely state with no abrasions or paint losses anywhere else. The picture should be hung as is.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Poelenburgh was one of the most widely collected landscape painters of the 17th century and he counted several rulers amongst his patrons, including King Charles I of England, Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Prince Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau. His landscapes commanded enormous prices, probably because of their combination of Italianate, Arcadian settings with mythological subject matter appealed greatly to the educated aristocracy of Northern Europe. With this work, which can be tentatively dated to the 1640s, Poelenburgh evokes the extensive landscape of the Roman campagna, dotted with ruins, and offset by the group of figures in the right foreground, a repoussoir motif which characterises many of his mythological or religious landscapes. The figure of the sleeping Venus recalls other horizontal naked figures in his oeuvre, notably the figure of Iphigenia in his Cimon and Iphigenia, where she is depicted with only minor differences to the pose.¹

1 See P. ten Doesschate-Chu, Im Lichte Hollands. Hollandische Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts aus der Sammlungen des Fursten von Liechtenstein und aus Schweitzer Beitz, exhibition catalog🤡ue, Basel 1987, ꦗno. 72, reproduced.