# Johan Barthold Jongkind artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/johan-barthold-jongkind/
Profile generated: 2026-05-02T15:00:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1819-06-03
- Death date: 1891-02-09
- Nationality: Dutch, French
- Movements: Forerunner of Impressionism
- Common media: oil painting, watercolor, etching, lithography, drawing

## About Johan Barthold Jongkind

Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819–1891) was a Dutch-born painter, printmaker, and watercolorist who also held French nationality. Born in Lattrop, the Netherlands, he became known for marine landscapes and coastal views rendered in a loose, atmospheric manner that anticipated Impressionism. Institutions including the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), the Museum of Modern Art, and the Library of Congress document his career and influence. Art historians widely regard Jongkind as a significant forerunner of the Impressionist movement. He spent much of his working life in France, where his handling of light and informal brushwork influenced younger artists. Beyond oil painting, he produced etchings, lithographs, and watercolors. He lived with his companion Joséphine Fesser Borrhée and died in 1891 at Saint-Égrève in the Dauphiné region of France. His work is held in major museum collections worldwide.

## Common works and media

Common work types include oil paintings of marine and coastal subjects, harbor scenes, canal views, and river landscapes. Watercolors, etchings, lithographs, and drawings appear regularly in auction contexts. Prints and works on paper constitute a significant portion of his auction market. Subjects range from Dutch waterways and North Sea coasts to French harbors and Alpine foothill landscapes from his late Dauphiné period.

## Market and appraisal context

Jongkind's auction footprint spans nearly three decades of recorded sales (1997–2026), with 496 catalogued lots across at least 332 priced results. Aggregate pricing shows wide dispersion: a floor near $50 for small works on paper and prints, a median around $4,400, an upper-quartile near $19,000, and a recorded ceiling of $721,600 — consistent with a well-established 19th-century painter whose major oils trade at blue-chip houses while prints and minor works circulate broadly. The top auction houses by frequency — Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Artcurial, Tajan, and Piasa — confirm sustained institutional demand in both London/Paris and regional European markets. Dutch houses (Venduehuis der Notarissen, Veilinghuis Van Spengen) reflect his native market. Recent 12-month activity (18 lots) is down from the prior 12-month period (44 lots), which may reflect normal cyclical variation or a modest softening in supply. Marine subjects, harbor scenes, and coastal views are his most recognizable and marketable subjects, followed by river landscapes and later Dauphiné-period works.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Jongkind's auction footprint spans nearly three decades of recorded sales (1997–2026), with 496 catalogued lots across at least 332 priced results. Aggregate pricing shows wide dispersion: a floor near $50 for small works on paper and prints, a median around $4,400, an upper-quartile near $19,000, and a recorded ceiling of $721,600 — consistent with a well-established 19th-century painter whose major oils trade at blue-chip houses while prints and minor works circulate broadly. The top auction houses by frequency — Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Artcurial, Tajan, and Piasa — confirm sustained institutional demand in both London/Paris and regional European markets. Dutch houses (Venduehuis der Notarissen, Veilinghuis Van Spengen) reflect his native market. Recent 12-month activity (18 lots) is down from the prior 12-month period (44 lots), which may reflect normal cyclical variation or a modest softening in supply. Marine subjects, harbor scenes, and coastal views are his most recognizable and marketable subjects, followed by river landscapes and later Dauphiné-period works.

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal of a Jongkind work would cross-reference the artist's auction record against the specific piece's medium, dimensions, subject matter, signature, date, condition, and provenance. Oil paintings of recognized harbors (Honfleur, Le Havre, Rotterdam) or Dutch canal scenes carry the strongest premiums and are the most directly comparable to the higher end of the recorded price range. Watercolors and drawings fall into the middle band, while etchings, lithographs, and other prints typically cluster at the lower end. Authentication should account for his characteristic 'JongKind' signature with date, and for the stylistic evolution across his Dutch, Parisian, and Dauphiné periods. Provenance documentation linking a work to a known collection, exhibition, or sale at a major house materially strengthens value. Condition reports should note any fading (especially in watercolors), foxing, or later overpaint, as these are common issues for 19th-century works on paper.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: oil paintings command the highest prices; works on paper and prints trade at lower tiers
- Subject: marine landscapes, harbor scenes, and coastal views attract the strongest collector interest
- Size: larger-scale oils are less common at auction and may carry premiums over smaller works on paper
- Period: early Dutch and Parisian marine subjects are generally more sought after than late Dauphiné-period landscapes
- Provenance: documented history through a recognized collection or major auction house (Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams) strengthens value
- Signature and date: Jongkind typically signed 'JongKind' with a date, which supports attribution
- Condition: foxing, fading, tearing, or later overpaint can materially reduce value, especially for works on paper
- Authentication: style evolved significantly across periods; expert connoisseurship may be needed for reliable attribution

### Collector notes

- Jongkind's market has genuine depth at both the blue-chip level (major oils at Christie's and Sotheby's) and the accessible level (etchings and small watercolors at regional houses). Collectors seeking entry points may find etchings and minor watercolors under $2,000, while important harbor-scene oils can reach six figures. The wide price range ($50–$721,600) reflects genuine variation in medium, scale, and quality rather than market instability. Be aware that name-similar artists (e.g., Johan Oldert, Joop Sjollema) occasionally appear in broad keyword-matched search results — always verify the artist attribution on any lot before relying on it as a comparable. For sellers, emphasizing provenance, publishing clear condition reports, and timing consignment to match Impressionist sales at major houses will maximize exposure to the right buyer pool.

### Market caveats

- The recent-lot sample in the source pack includes lots by name-similar artists (Johan Oldert, Joop Sjollema) that are not by Jongkind; aggregate statistics (lotCount, price distribution) may include some non-Jongkind results due to keyword matching. Treat the price range as indicative rather than precise.
- Only two of the 24 recent lots are confirmed genuine Jongkind works (a landscape oil at $1,000 and an etching at $150); the remainder are attributed to other artists and should not be used as comparables.
- Auction prices are realized hammer prices or hammer-plus-premium as reported; currency-mix effects (USD, ZAR, EUR) are not normalized in the source data, which can distort cross-currency comparisons.
- The 59% decline in lot volume (44 to 18) between the prior and most recent 12-month periods should be interpreted cautiously — it may reflect keyword-matching noise rather than genuine market softening.
- Provenance and condition details for individual lots are not available in the aggregate source data; a formal appraisal requires lot-by-lot verification.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/johan-barthold-jongkind/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-johan-barthold-jongkind-dutch-1819-1891-etching-on-paper-142-c-c3b490ba77

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Jongkind, identity data is supported by the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, the Library of Congress, VIAF, Wikidata, and the Museum of Modern Art.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/42775
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50038617
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q704585
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Jongkind
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/64957
- VIAF / OCLC: https://viaf.org/viaf/51697804/