Derk Jan Pruim (1806-1866) - Jagers Plaspauze (NO RESERVE)

Derk Jan Pruim (1806–1866)
Hunters – fart break
Oil painting on canvas, 31 × 41.5 cm
With frame approx. 53 × 63 cm
Dutch Romanticism – hand-signed and dated 1831
Craquelé visible in retouchings (UV); baroque frame with updated damages; the work does not fit optimally in the frame (advice: (re)framing).
No Reserve

Introduction

This compact, precise painting captures a typical 19th-century romantic moment: riders and hunting dogs taking a short rest, with horses impatiently stamping at the edge of a country road. The artist combines genre, landscape, and animal study into an elegant scene that feels both anecdotal and monumental— a work that presents greatness in a small format, partly due to the lively stance of the white-gray horse in the foreground.

The artist: Derk Jan Pruim

Derk Jan Pruim is known to have come from Dalfsen and grew up in the environment of a painter-glassmaker; alongside working for his father, he drew and painted. His talent led him to a position as a draftsman in Zwolle, where he also lived. The same source mentions that he painted, in a romantic style, among other works, a depiction of Kasteel Rechteren—an indication that Pruim felt at home in the romantic imagination of the Dutch landscape and its surroundings.
That it is indeed plausible for a rider and hunting scene to be within his body of work is further supported by the auction circuit where similar subjects circulate under his name.

Presentation, composition, and narrative

The composition is clear and effectively structured around a compact group of riders and horses, subtly accentuated to the right by the tree cluster and the shiny white of the front horse. On the left, the landscape opens up to a low horizon with a broad sky—a classic romantic solution that provides space and breath, and as if to bring the figures forward.

The dogs in the foreground form the narrative anchor: they mark the pause, suggest the hunting context, and enhance everyday realism. The riders—with hunting rifles and traditional headgear—are not merely portrait figures but carriers of a snapshot of the era: a bourgeois-aristocratic leisure culture where hunting, riding, and landscape enjoyment come together.

Technique and painting style

Pruim works in oil paint with a delicate, refined brushwork that is especially visible in the horses: the modeling of muscles, the subtle transitions in the coat, and the gloss accents around the chest and flanks reveal an experienced eye for animal anatomy. The sky is painted in an uplifting manner with soft cloud formations and thin glazing-like transitions, creating a gentle atmosphere that is typical of romantic landscape concepts.

The signature and dating (1831) are integrated into the paint layer and confirm an early, fresh phase: the work still possesses that direct clarity often associated with relatively early romanticism, before the palette generally becomes heavier and browner in the second half of the century.

Color palette and light

The palette balances between warm earth tones (sand, horse brown, saddles) and cooler accents (sky blue, green in the tree foliage). The striking white-gray horse acts as a light carrier: it draws the eye and gives the whole an aristocratic flair. The color contrasts are not loud but refined—particularly the interplay of white, gray, and warm browns is carefully dosed.

Style and placement within art history

Within Dutch Romanticism, this work aligns with the reevaluation of the native landscape and the 'experienced' outdoor life: not the topographically exact state is central, but the suggestive, atmospheric moment. The combination of landscape and animal study places the painting within a tradition where the horse—symbol of status, freedom, and movement—takes a leading role.

Comparable national style peers (selection): Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Andreas Schelfhout, Wijnand Nuijen, Charles Rochussen, Johannes Franciscus Hoppenbrouwers.
International: Théodore Géricault, Eugène Delacroix.

Condition, touch-ups, and list.

There is craquelure consistent with age and technique. Under UV light, retouchings are visible, especially in the higher, lighter areas (such as the sky), indicating previous maintenance and localized restoration. The Baroque frame shows some repaired damages. A practical point: the painting does not fit optimally in this frame; from a presentation perspective, re-framing or a better-fitting profile is recommended—especially for a work whose elegance benefits from a clean, correct fit.

Presentation and collectability

With its convincing animal depiction, time-appropriate romantic atmosphere, and attractive scale, this is an ideal work for a refined wall—ranging from library to study—where the story is immediately readable and at the same time offers enough painterly quality to remain captivating. It is a lot with No Reserve: an invitation to bid with a keen eye and own conviction on a characterful painting from 1831.

The work 'Jagers Plaspauze' is a gilded bronze gold wooden frame with plaster ornaments (some minor damages as shown in the photos).

Total dimensions: 53x63cm
Canvas dimensions: 31x41.5cm

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