1159

American School (First Quarter 19th Century), "The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard" (Matthew 20:1-16), oil on canvas, 38" x 46". Presented in a period giltwood frame. Provenance: Didier, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, to current owner. This early 19th-century rendering of a parable from Matthew 20:1-16, staged in the courtyard of a classical mansion--with cornfields, instead of customary vineyards in the background--possibly depicts the famed Van Rensselaer family, dispensing coins to the field laborers. There is a naive quality to the painting, with the distorted proportions of the manor house, cluttered composition and the various styles of clothing; while the landowners are in recognizable American 19th-century garb, the workers are in anachronistic dress, alluding to the paintings of the Northern Renaissance. The Van Rensselaer family was the feudal landholders of the entire Rensselaer County in upstate New York. In 1631, one of the principal investors in the West India Company, a Dutch diamond merchant Killiaen van Rensselaer, bought a large stretch of land around Fort Orange on the shores of the North River from the Native American tribe Mahicans, and proceeded to establish a "patroonship", or private farming community, which he named Rensselaerswijck. The Van Rensselaer patroonship was the only one that lasted into the nineteenth century. Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764-1839), whose family may be depicted here, inherited a vast landed estate in Rensselaer and Albany counties at age 5. A graduate of Harvard, he spent time in state government and as a member of the U.S. Congress (1822-29). His chief services to the state, however, were economic and educational. Van Rensselaer was a member of the Erie Canal commission and president of the state's board of agriculture. He was a lenient landlord for 3,000 tenants. When at age 21, he took possession of the family's prestigious and vast estate, he wished to profit from the land, but was reluctant to sell. Instead, he granted tenants perpetual leases at moderate rates, which allowed the would-be landholders financial opportunity to invest more in their operations; this inevitably led to increased productivity in the area. Van Rensselaer was the founder and supporter of a wide variety of social, educational, business, and government institutions, most notably and lasting, The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute which became a well-respected private research university. Perhaps the scene depicting a fair, socially conscious landlord who dispenses equal wages for a day's work was chosen purposefully by this family whose income and wealth stemmed from land ownership.


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October 18, 2015 10:00 AM CDT
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