Abraham Mignon Frankfurt 1640 - 1679 Utrecht

Edwin H. Lawrence, 84 Holland Park, London;
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, 6 May 1892, lot 372, for 9 1/2 guineas to Martin Colnaghi;
Rudolf von Gutmann (1880-1966), Vienna;
From whom seized by the Gestapo in Vienna, 1938;
Anonymous sale, Vienna, Dorotheum, 19 October 1943, lot 109, for 45,000 reichsmarks;
Führermuseum, Linz, Austria, accession no. 3124;
Collecting Point, Munich, 1951;
Mauerbach Depository, Austria, until October 1995, when transferred to the Federation of Austrian Jewish Communities;
By whom sold, Vienna, Mak-Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Christie's, 29 October 1996, lot 31;
With Richard Green, London;
From whom acquired by the present collector.

M. Kraemer-Noble, Abraham Mignon 1640-1679. Beitrage zur Stillebenmalerei im 17. Jahrhundert, dissertation 1972, no. B272;
M. Kraemer-Noble, Abraham Mignon, Leigh-on-Sea 1973, p. 71, no. B266.

"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has an old lining and stretcher, which are both firm and secure. The texture has not been disturbed. The beautiful condition of the painting is all the more remarkable given the vicissitudes of its recent past in the last century. The old lining was clearly preventative as there is no accidental damage at all, or damage of any sort, as there is also scarcely the slightest hint of wear. There are a few minute superficial retouchings in the recent restoration, tiny touches occasionally in the background, with some just above the central poppy, and one or two in the glass and along its base. There are two little matt drops on the surface near the centre left edge. But these are marginal imperfections in a virtually immaculate painting. The single flower where a pigment has proved flawed is the yellow anemone at upper centre, elsewhere throughout the extraordinary brilliance of the technique has survived unchanged, although probably with even richer depths in the darks and greater luminosity of colour over time. The most minute detail of each filament along the stalks of the convolvulus or the filigree of the dragon fly's wing is perfectly intact, not to mention the crystal clarity of the reflections in the glass. This report was not done under laboratory conditions."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Mignon's career lasted barely fifteen years but the still lifes that he painted in his short lifetime are of the very highest quality. Although his initial training was in Frankfurt, his town of birth, where he was a pupil of Jacob Marrel from 1647, his style was formed in Utrecht under the influence of Jan Davidsz. de Heem, the greatest still-life painter of the age. The death of Mignon's father in 1660 may have been the cause behind his move to Utrecht, where he eventually entered the guild in 1669. Mignon never dated his paintings so it is very difficult to establish a chronology for his work; however, it is likely that his elaborate flower still lifes such as this one which, with their sharp focus and clear colours set against a dark background, are a purification of De Heem's style and date from the years immediately around 1670, when he was working most closely with his master. In 1672, when De Heem left Utrecht, Mignon took over the running of the workshop. In the same year he was made a deacon of the French Reformed Church of Utrecht and three years later, in 1675, married the granddaughter of the marine painter Adam Willaerts. Although he died very young his paintings were much in demand during his own lifetime and he counted the Elector of Saxony among his patrons (-he owned thirteen still lifes by Mignon).

Due to the artist's piety, religious overtones have often been read into his paintings; the ears of corn might stand here for the Resurrection, or renewable life, as would the caterpillars which metamorphose into butterflies. Moreover the Four Elements, which are all portrayed, combine to symbolise God's Creation: Earth is represented by its products (flowers, stone, insects); Air by the flying insects; Fire by the glass vase (which is blown by fire); and Water, which fills the vase.  The transience of life, or the passage of time, is represented by the poppy; youthful in the centre, mature at the top and wilting over the ledge at the lower left. This abstract theme repeats itself again and again in Mignon's oeuvre, as do certain concrete motifs such as the tulip upper left, which reappears in the same position in a work now in The Hague, Mauritshuis.¹

A note on the provenance: In 1985 a law was passed in Austria by the then Chancellor, Dr. Sinowatz, to reopen the claims process for works of art gathered at the Austrian collecting points after 1945 whose ownership was still unresolved. While many claims were filed and processed over the following years, many paintings also remained unclaimed and these were taken to Mauerbach, a 14th-century monastery north of Vienna, for storage. In July 1995 an agreement was reached between the Federal Finance Ministry and the Federation of Austrian Jewish Communities, and a law was passed by the Austrian Parliament which transferred ownership to the Federation. These items were sold in 1996 and the proceeds put to the benefit of both Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

This painting will be included in the forthcoming revised catalogue raisonné on Mignon being prepared by Dr. Magdalena Kraemer-Noble.

1  See H.R. Hoetink (ed.), The Royal Picture Gallery. Mauritshuis, New York/ The Hague 1985, p. 402, cat. no. 111, reproduced.