Collection of five beautiful and detailed watercolours of Dutch country estates, all signed and dated in ink by Petrus Josephus Lutgers (1808-1874). The estates, which are all located near Utrecht and Leiden, have been beautifully depicted amidst nature, and surrounded by strolling figures to create a livelier scene. Three of the views are dated "1863" and two "1864". All views are titled in ink (possibly by the artist) on the verso of the cardboard mounts, including "Slotzigt" (2x), "Zuilestein", "Hoog Beek en Royen" and "Het Huis ter Wegen". One of them ("Slotzigt", dated "1864") has been inserted in a 19th-century ornamental paper frame.
Lutgers was a well-known painter, draughtsman and lithographer living in Amsterdam and - after his marriage with Maria Susanna Moen in 1830 - in Loenen aan de Vecht, where he died in 1874. His fame rests on his views of country houses in various regions of the Netherlands, which were lithographed and published. Among those works are series of views of estates along the Vecht river (Gezigten aan de rivier de Vecht, 1832-1836), in the surroundings of Haarlem (Gezigten in de omstreken van Haarlem, 1837-1844), The Hague and Leiden (Gezigten in de omstreken van s Gravenhage en Leyden, 1855) and Utrecht (Gezigten in de omstreken van Utrecht, 1869).
Three of the present views are very similar, but much smaller than the published lithographs: the Zuylestein Castle near Leersum and the country house "Hoog Beek en Royen" at Zeist (respectively nos. 65 and 27 in Gezigten in de omstreken van Utrecht) and the country house "Huis ter Wegen" at Sassenheim (no. 8 in Gezigten in de omstreken van s Gavenhage en Leyden). The view of the country house "Slotzicht" at Vreeland (in our collection in two very close variants, respectively dated "1863" and "1864") slightly differs from the version published in Gezigten aan de rivier de Vecht.
The present collection suggests that Lutgers made copies of his original drawings in a much smaller format, but it is unclear for what purpose. Possibly to sell them separately or to use them as working copies for his lithographs. Regardless, the exquisite small watercolours, with subtle natural colours and washes, are beautiful examples of Lutgers' artistic skills.
All five watercolours are mounted on thin cardboard (ca. 6.5 x 10 cm), otherwise in good condition. Cf. Scheen, p. 325; Thieme & Becker 23, p. 480; Waller, p. 209.