Completed Continental European after 1800 34 Is the artist P. L. Keyman? Can this town be identified?

It's only a guess - could this be Leiden? Wikipedia has a picture which shows a building rather like this domed affair.

The building to which Betty refers is the Morschpoort (or Morspoort). There are more pictures on Wikimedia Commons, at:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Morschpoort,_Leiden

and an article on the Dutch-language Wikipedia at:

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morspoort

However that is a brick tower with horizontal banding, which the painting under discussion does not show, and has a taller cupola. Of course, it may have been rebuilt at some point.

This painting of the Morschpoort, by Antonie Waldorp (1803-1866), looks more like our painting:

https://www.teylersmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/kunst/aa-030-de-morspoort-te-leiden

If the painting is of the Morschpoort, then the nearest equivalent view from Google Streetview would be this:

https://goo.gl/maps/47qDd4XzCG6arNHPA

It's not helpful, but I include it to save others the effort of checking.

The relationship between, and forms of, bridge and dome do seem to correspond to the situation of the Morschpoort, although the lack of obvious banding in the masonry/brickwork may be an issue. The painting does seem to be signed lower left in a way not inconsistent with the name P.L. Keyman. As usual a higher res image of this would help.

Marion, there is an inscription on the canvas in the bottom right hand corner. Could you post a hi-res image of this area, which could be the name of the location depicted.

Kieran, I have asked the archivist at St Bart's to try to obtain a better photograph for us, as there's nothing to be gained from our own image of that corner.

The NICE description's negativity on this as 'Dutch' is unwarranted: even at the resolution of the small Art UK images the larger boats are Dutch canal/inland waters types. The one at lower right has a typical Dutch leeboard and the sail of the one at far left is supported on a short Dutch 'bezan' gaff. The white beams of a Dutch lift-bridge are also clear in middle ground right. It might be into Belgium but nowhere else. It may also be early/mid 20th century and 'good amateur' rather than 'c.1880' and professional, if only because of the style of signature and the anonymity of the artist: anyone painting this sort of thing then -at least in any quantity- would have been picked up in some sort of reference and there appear to be none. A 'Patricia Keyman' who appears online seems to be more current and 'modernist' if the few auction-site images associated are hers rather than just 'fillers'.

I never saw a real problem with this being a scene from the Low Countries, and I expect Pieter is correct on that score.

There's a similar building in Mechelen (Belgium), but I do not think it is the same as the one in our picture:

https://marocmama.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Dyle-River-Mechelen-Belgium-1024x1024.png

Marion, while waiting for St. Bart's to respond, please do send the best crop of that right hand corner that you can. It might reveal some useful clues.

This is a highly atypical picture for this collection, which consists almost entirely of portraits and a much smaller number of religious subjects. It appears to be the only landscape in the lot. That suggests it is rather unlikely to have been acquired by the institution or given to it, but rather painted and/or brought in by someone who once worked there, and then left behind.

Keyman, by the way, does exist as a surname in the Netherlands, though it also occurs elsewhere, such as the United States.

There is a possibility that the surname deciphered here is not Keyman but Reyman. A "Pre. Pl. Reyman" was the proprietor of the "Old Doelen" Inn in the Hague, as can be seen on a merchant's token, dating from before 1895, in the collection of the Rijksmuseum:

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/NG-VG-20-116-G

Another version of this token, with the name "Pr. Pl. Reyman" is for sale on the 5th December next here:

https://www.dnw.co.uk/auctions/catalogue/lot.php?auction_id=534&lot_uid=353958

This inn was known as the Hôtel de Oude and also as the Hôtel du vieux Doelen, and was located on Tournooiveld street in the Hague, a few miles south of Leiden. It was listed in various newspapers and travel directories between 1830 and 1890. An (attached) advertisement for the hotel appeared on the Journal de Haye in 1830, and the attached photograph from 1890 shows that it was still in operation at the end of the 19th century. A good description of the hotel, from 1841, can be read here:

https://bit.ly/2r58rS0

There is a painting at the Rijksmuseum Twenthe, at Enschede in the Netherlands, of the Marekirk / Mare Kirk, on the Delft Quay between the Hague and Leiden. It is by Paulus Constantijn la Fargue, dating from 1756, and (roughly translated) is entitled "The barge-canal between The Hague and Leiden at Leidschendam". Although possibly accounted for by artistic licence - especially with the lack of its now-prominent bell tower - the domed roof, its tall windows and its hexagonal sides compare favourably to those details as can be seen in this discussion's work:

https://bit.ly/2qvl0pJ

An engraving of the same scene can be seen here:

https://bit.ly/32Z2zae

Another rendering of the church, with drawbridges visible, can be found here:

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-F-F01127-BZ

And on the ArtUK website a different version of the church can be seen:

https://www.artuk.org/discover/artworks/view-of-the-korte-mare-in-leiden-looking-south-132404

While not necessarily the work of the innkeeper himself, the painting could be by one of his children or family. The better image of the inscription on the right-hand corner of the painting could possibly confirm the location. If is between the Hague and Leiden that the possibility of the painting being by a member of the Reyman family broadens out. Genealogical search from such a family might conclusively confirm the existence of a P. L. Reyman.

The surname Keyman seems sometimes to be used as Keijman

Similarly, the name of Reijman is also found for the same family as P. P. Reyman of the Hague:

https://bit.ly/37mP0EC

https://bit.ly/2O0Qv3H

I think you're mixing up two different churches, Kieran. The one in La Fargue's 1756 oil at the Rijksmuseum Twenthe and the C18th print (https://bit.ly/2qvl0pJ, https://bit.ly/32Z2zae) is not the Marekerk in the centre of Leiden, but the Dorpskerk at Leidschendam. Its formerly round dome was replaced by the higher octagonal one it now has in 1865. See: https://bit.ly/2Ov0ZaE & https://bit.ly/2KyXkaG. Though both are in some ways slightly better matches than the previously-suggested Morspoort in Leiden, the Marekerk has not changed significantly since the C18th, and I don't buy any of the three as our building - dome shape, fenestration, bulk, height...to my eye everything's too far out to be plausible.

Re the Hôtel du vieux Doelen, if it was on the Tournooiveld in The Hague then it was at least ten miles SW of the Marekerk in Leiden, and four or five west of the Dorpskerk at Leidschendam: https://bit.ly/2KD4GtN. I don't think pursuing the family of the proprietor is likely to be fruitful, though nothing wrong in having a go if someone has the time and knowledge.

I did do a few hours' work on this some days ago, searching for Keyman/Keijman, Reyman/Reijman and even Eyman/Eijman, but without any notable success in either art or genealogical sources. All three surnames are recorded in the Netherlands, but none is common. There was a Petrus Paulus Reijman who died at The Hague in 1845 - very possibly Kieran's hotel proprietor - and there are various men called Pieter/Petrus Keijman or Eijman. But I could see no-one with the intials PL (or PLK/PLR if Eijman); and though there is the odd artist called Keyman/Keijman or Reyman/Reijman, none has first names like these. I think (our) Pieter is right to suspect a good amateur hand, and a more serious genealogical search going well into the C20th may come up with something.

However the building and its setting should be crackable with a less Herculean effort - but I think we must look further than Leiden and Den Haag.

In Dutch 'y' was the official spelling of 'ij' in the early C19th, though they are technically different; it is a basic rule of Dutch genealogy to search for both when looking for either. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IJ_{LPARENTHESES} digraph)

Onwards, so.

Between 1847 and 1910, the name Keyman features in UK BMD registrations almost exclusively in Hackney and Bethnal Green, and from 1838 until 1907 the name Reyman appears most frequently in Lambeth. However, not one of registered person has a first name beginning with a P.

The two images attached here are a close-up of the bottom right corner of this painting from Art UK's own image store and a photograph from the collection showing the picture in its frame. The Trust Archivist examined the area of interest and could see no inscription.

I've had a view from a couple of Dutch friends. Remmelt Daalder has suggested it may be a somewhat 'capriccio' view of the 17th century Ronde Lutherse Kerk in Amsterdam (now in other use) from the Brouwersgracht, to the east, adding that the 'Brouwersgracht housed a lot of inland ships, many of them inhabited by retired bargemen'. Willem Morzer-Bruyns wonders if view might not be along the Singel northwards, rather than along the Brouwersgrach, with the spire on the left the Noorderkerk, and the large building about halfway between that and the Lutherse kerk, the Spaanse Huis. If either is the case the 'liberties' taken with the Ronde Kerk are considerable: its in fact a bigger brick building than the painting makes it, with two strong levels of fenestration rather than one:

https://beeldbank.amsterdam.nl/beeldbank/indeling/grid/start/120?q_searchfield=ronde+lutherse+kerk

The picture's frame (late 19th c) probably predates it but putting the artist's name on it the way it has been done suggests someone took some care in putting them together quite a long time ago (i.e well before the painting was restored in 1986) unless Barts knows otherwise. It may be that -if 'amateur' - the artist was someone connected with the hospital (though I haven't found a doctor called Keyman) but it doesn't look as though he/she is going to materialize by more conventional enquiry.

The church in this discussion's work would appear to be of a hexagonal design rather than being the obviously circular one of the Ronde Luthiers Kerk. Also, as Osmund has observed above, the fenestration is very particular, and does not match, as Pieter has also confirmed, that of the church in Amsterdam. In addition, the dome in this painting is divided into six segments whereas that of the Ronde Lutherse Kerk is divided into ten.

The hexagonal form is close to that on top of the tower of the Great Church in Deventer, NDL, but the rest doesn't fit, and the amount of ground elevation suggested by the picture is more indicative of the south of the country.

I contacted a Dutch friend Charles Dumas. He is the expert on P C La Fargue among other attributes. He suggests:

"Keijman is/was an amateur artist, influenced by works of the The Hague School masters. He was not interested in the very accurate depicting of a city view, but more in the atmosphere.

But although not 100% accurate, this is an Amsterdam city view. The water in front is called the Singel, the most inner canal in the centre, seen to the north. The round church at the right, is the 'Ronde Lutherse Kerk' (round Lutheran church)."

I think that trying to match the architectural designs too exactly may be a distraction and that the Dutch contributions may be the best solutions.

Thank you Michael: I can see the possible Hague school connection though find it a little odd that a Dutch Keijman would use an 'ey' spelling (unless that's a Dutch variant). It would be interesting if anything else about him from that side could be found (eg some notion of dates), since it doesn't look as if we are going to turn up much here.

The RKD archive has two entries for the name Hans Keijman and Hans Keyman as an artist but no further information. They also have photographic images of a Peter Jacobs Keijman 1849-1910 but no mention of him being an artist.
https://rkd.nl/nl/explore#query=Keijman

On the rear of the two images of P J Keijman written in ink is the name Keyman.
https://data.collectienederland.nl/search/?q=portret+keijman

Would one normally shorten Jacobus / Jacobs to an L, as is very obviously to be seen on the painting's clear lettering of P. L (K?)eyman.

It would also be interesting to know how the carte de visite from the northern Polish towns of Stolp (modern-day Slupsk) and Cöslin (modern-day Koszalin) fit in to the story. The fact the the second photograph of this Mr. Keyman was taken by a firm in Leiden might also be of relevance, if either image bears any connection to the painter of this discussion's work; and, finally, whether the central Netherland's town of Zutphen (from the information on the child's photograph) is of any specific help.

Thank you to René Zijerveld for the attached image. René, who is Dutch, found this discussion while searching online for information about the artist of a picture he bought in Sweden. His picture, which he describes as 'a nice Dutch scene', is signed 'Keyman' with unidentifiable initials in front.

Attached is a composite of the signatures for the purposes of comparison.

Thanks to René for showing his picture: it looks as though it could be the same hand and the surname orthography shown in Kieran's composiite also looks convincingly similar. My guess, but only that, given the mill image's its looser handling and the more 'literal' initials of the Dutch cityscape is that René's is probably of later date but both probably early to mid 20th century, say 1960s at latest.

I think Michael Hurman's contact Charles Dumas (24/11/2019) puts his finger on the best solution, for the time being at least ,which is to conclude that the Barts' Hospital picture is 'Dutch canal townscape (probably based on the Singel, Amsterdam)' and that P. L. Keyman (or Keijman) was - or is thought to have been - an early to mid 20th-century Dutch amateur painter of landscape and town views in a style influenced by the Hague school.

If any more work or information (better dates for example) appears, perhaps it could be sent to Art UK direct and they could post it up, connected to the Barts image or otherwise rather than leaving this discussion open indefinitely -though it is not my call to close it.

I recommend drawing this discussion to a close. We can conclude that this is an atmospheric view of Amsterdam, including recognisable features such as the Singel canal and the 'Ronde Lutherse Kerk' (round Lutheran church). The artist is probably P. L. Keyman (or Keijman), who worked in a style influenced by the Hague school (especially Jacob Maris). The date is early to mid-20th century.