Josua de Grave, the son of the French merchant Claude Pietersz de Grave (c. 1597/98- after 1667) and Sara Bols (?-c. 1655), grew up in Haarlem and here joined the guild in 1659 at age sixteen. It is unknown with whom he was trained. From 1663 to 1668 he stayed in Paris and then settled in the garrison city of Maastricht, where he met the brothers and draughtsmen Barend (?-?) and Valentijn Klotz (c. 1646-1721), who affiliated with the Dutch army. Until 1670, they resided in Maastricht, producing around sixty drawings of the city and its surroundings. The present view of Gronsveld is a fine and excellently preserved example. The village, pronounced Groêselt, is situated southeast of Maastricht and was an autonomous county until the Napoleonic era.
The artist no doubt drew the village from the Pietersberg on the other side of the river Maas as seen from the west with the hillside forest, Savelsbos, rising up against the sky. The houses of the village are barely visible between the dense screens of trees. The only buildings that can be identified are the Church of St Martin and Castle Gronsveld. Another drawing by De Grave showing a panoramic view of Gronsveld and dated 21 June 1670 is in the Historisch Centrum Limburg, Maastricht.1 De Grave also made paintings and drawings of Italianate gardens and imaginary landscapes, mainly later in his career, but his fame rests primarily on his topographical drawings. De Grave’s drawings documenting Maastricht and its surroundings are especially unique.
Notes 1 See: P. Scheele, Josua de Grave en Valentijn Klotz in Maastricht, Maastricht 2012, p. 25.
