Williams & Son, London
Mitsukoshi Department Store, Tokyo (acquired from the above)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in April 1990

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting on wooden panel is in very good condition. The panel is flat and the paint layer is stable. The painting is cleaned, varnished and retouched. There are a few retouches in the legs of the table, in the shadowed side of the table top, and in the ground beneath the figures. There are also a few spots of retouching in the darker colors of the seated figure on the left. Elsewhere in the picture, there are no retouches and the restorations that have been done are very nicely applied. The work should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Van Schendel brilliantly employed the ever-changing quality of light to reveal the world of night.  He is perhaps best remembered for intimate compositions of the Netherlands' night markets, where sources of illumination of various strengths (a candle flame, a flickering lantern, a cloud-covered moon) spotlight the scene, revealing market goers and city architecture emerging from the darkness.  Typically painting six to seven major compositions a year, van Schendel often depicted recognizable sites like The Hague's Groenmarkt or Rotterdam's sea fish market, yet the locale of the present work (painted in 1863 as noted by a label written in the artist's hand on the reverse) remains unknown, the ship masts in the distance suggesting a port-side town.  A bountiful display of fruits and vegetables is set in the center of the composition, the nubby texture of a melon, smooth apple skins, leathery, leafy greens and earthy carrots all displayed to entice early shoppers who make market going a nightly ritual.  While a male seller is visible in a stall in the distance, the scene is primarily populated by women (maids, cooks, and perhaps ladies of the house), typically the most frequent market visitors, the buyer at right wearing a costume typical of the Noord-Holland (North Holland) and Friesland provinces along the North Sea.  Joining these northerners is the figure carrying a basket atop her head, characteristic of the women of Scheveningen, a fishing village in The Hague, the capital of the province of Zuid-Holland (South Holland).  The single candle at the center of the scene throws a warm glow, with rays going up and out of the picture space, creating the same dramatic effect as a footlight on a theater's stage. The vendor and buyer's faces are highlighted, their concentrated expressions and gesturing hands suggesting the negotiations required in trading for the select, best-priced produce of the day.  The moon lends a claire-obscure element to the painting, highlighting the buildings, yet unable to penetrate the darkened windows of sleeping inhabitants.  In blending an accurate depiction of daily life with an evocative interplay of light and dark, van Schend🐻el crea🎃tes subtle yet theatrical elements of setting and mood. 

Like all of van Schendel's masterpieces, the present work should not be viewed quickly, as the intimate scene slowly reveals itself from the dark backgrounds, 🎃turning a bustling market into an evocative narrative of Dutch liဣfe.  Such elaborate compositions were particularly appreciated by collectors throughout Europe and, by the end of the nineteenth century, American connoisseurs.