Featured Painting - Did Theodor Koch Exist?

I have this painting signed Th. Koch. My notes:
Painted on a panel of thin plywood. The back seems to have been stained dark brown. The panel measures 14 ½” by 18 ½”. Unframed. The painting is signed on the front lower right Th. Koch. Penciled notes on the back probably have something to do with the framing and read #11 and MEVIIA. There are some very minor paint losses along the edge (under the frame). The varnish has yellowed a bit with age.

My eyes are shot, and looking at it now, I can't tell if it's stained or not. I'm not even positive it's plywood. I find him online as Theodor Koch 1844-1931.

https://www.artnet.com/artists/theodor-koch/

The images I find on line are very similar in style, subject, and palette, and described as painted on panel. I think the plywood layers are heavier than Luan plywood, but of course I don't want it to be a modern decorator piece. (these days I'm not even certain it is plywood.) What do you think? Is this a legitimate known artist?

 

I notice that the Th. & Koch. are marked with period finishes, which may indicate that Koch. is an abbreviation...for whatever that's worth.
I like it...the mood an' certain details are particularly evocative, an' not as unpleasantly as the winter scene might otherwise suggest. I'll guess Amsterdam, but it could be any western European city on the sea, I suppose.
I'm not sure, but I'll also guess that it would brighten considerably after judicious cleaning, tho' I wouldn't attempt it myself. There is an accomplished art restoration person an hour's drive east of me who has done similar work on a couple of pieces, but it's been 20 years or so...she may no longer be available.

 

Certainly a real person, and he's listed on the RKD database having spent most of his working life in the Netherlands.
https://research.rkd.nl/nl/detail/https://data.rkd.nl/artists/88640

His style and signature seem to vary a lot. The drawing of the buildings in the background of your picture seems a bit crude though the boat is done nicely.

 

I find it evocative as well. It's not a harsh view of winter. It's good to know that he's real. I was guessing German rather than Metherlandish, but certainly don't mind being corrected.

 

Nice painting, it reminds me a bit of work by Dutch painter Breitner. Breitner painted in Amsterdam, and this is Rotterdam.

He was born in Heilbronn, southern Germany, but moved to the Netherlands to paint, like many painters did.
The first few Dutch years he lived in Arnhem, after which he moved to Rotterdam, where he spent most of his working life. He also died there, in 1931.

Your painting is of old Rotterdam, the way it was before the heart of the city, many people, and countless beautiful historic buildings were destroyed by German bombs.
My mother had relatives there before the war, she used to tell me how beautiful Rotterdam once was. She would probably have known where this was situated, but she passed years ago.

The only port in Rotterdam that still (again) looks somewhat like your painting is Delfshaven. Delfshaven is the old port formerly used by the town of Delft, hence the name which means Delft Port, but it is now part of Rotterdam.
Your painting could be of Delfshaven, because most of the canals in Rotterdam looked more grand, with grass going down to the water and townhouses of the well-to-do. Delfshaven, on the other hand, was built as a small working port. The warehouses were not as high as in Amsterdam.

Delfshaven attracts many visitors from the US because the Pilgrim Fathers set out from there to the New World. There is still a Pilgrim's Church.

Scroll down the page for photos:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delfshaven_(stadsdeel)

 

Amsterdam isn't on the sea. And the barge in the painting is for transport over inland waterways.
The canal and houses look typically Dutch and could be in any number of Dutch cities and towns. Nearly all of them used to have canals and inland ports. Even my town, in a high and dry part of the country.

 

Very interesting information. Thank you very much. I'm going to give this painting to a family member, and just wanted to be certain of what it was before doing so.

 

Similar bridges were once seen in many towns in the Low Countries, still are in some towns. And the canalside houses in Brugge/Bruges are prettier than these warehouses.

 

Thanks, AJ...that's what happens when I 'shoot from the hip'. Plus, I should know where Amsterdam is relative to the sea, given Mom's birth in Velsen.