Adriaen van der Werff Kralingen-Ambacht 1659 - 1722 Rotterdam

J.G. Cramer;
His sale, Amsterdam, Cok, 13 or 15 November 1769, lot 18, with pendant, a woman with a dog, for 1,400 Francs;
Gustaf Adolf Sparre (1746-1794);
Sparre inv., 1794, no. 34.

Stockholm, 1893, no. 109;
Stockholm, 1967, no. 174 (p. 111 in the catalogue);
Kristianstad, 1977, no. 43.

Granberg, 1885-6, no. 66;
Göthe, 1895, p. 29, no. 73;
Granberg, 1911-12, vol. I, no. 415, reproduced vol. 2, plate 55;
C. Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibendes und Kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke .... vol. ??, Stuttgart/Paris 1928, p. 280, no. 169;
G. Poensgen, `Die Bildergalerie Friedrichs der Großen in Sanssouci und Adriaen van der Werff',  in Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft, 1930, p. 177f;
Hasselgren, 1974, p. 116, 120, 127, reproduced p. 192;
M.F. Durantini, The Child in Seventeenth Century Dutch Painting, Studies in the Fine Arts: Iconography, Ann Arbor 1983, p. 262;
B. Gaehtgens, Adriaen van der Werff, Munich 1987, pp. 200-1, no. 5, reproduced (as in Lunds, Universiteits-Kunstmuseum).

"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is on a fine oak panel, that is rectangular behind the curved top of the frame. There is an old supporting structure attached to the back around the edges with one cross bar, that is apparently unnecessary but is not causing any trouble. There is no sign of movement, past or present, in the perfectly flat smooth surface. An old varnish, presumably from the same period as the backing bars, is quite opaque to UV but there is clearly no accidental damage and the only old retouching appears to be at the slightly messy edges, for instance in the middle of the left edge and by the right base corner, with one small retouching on the central child's right shoulder, where his lace collar is a little worn on that side and also a little on the left. There may be another small touch near the lower left corner, and a minute indented mark is at lower right near the cage. The vertical grain is occasionally visible, mainly at the edges, with the naturally increased transparency, and the face of the second child, more lightly painted to start with, has slightly sunk with time. However the finely glazed modelling and the rich depths of the background have if anything grown even more translucent. The fur and velvet of the cap, satin jacket and fine details of the cage etc are all in virtually immaculate condition. 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."

Several of Adriaen van der Werff's earliest works depict figures, often youths or children, in window openings, often playing with or teasing animals.  These pictures, all like the Sparre picture on small panels, are strongly influenced by his teacher Eglon Hendrick van der Neer.  As Gaehtgens points out, the Sparre picture is one of Van der Werff's earliest works.  Several other paintings are dated 1678, but only one is earlier, a Youth holding a Mousetrap, in a German private collection, which is dated 1676.¹  Eddy Schavemaker however believes that the 1676 picture, while authentically signed and dated by Van der Werff, is a collaboration between him and Eglon Hendrick van der Neer, in which Van der Werff's hand cannot be detected.²   Although Van der Werff was by 1676 an independent master, he and Van der Neer continued, according to Schavemaker, to paint collaborative works until 1680, when Van der Neer moved to Brussels.

The Sparre picture is loosely based on Eglon Hendrick van der Neer's indistinctly signed and dated painting in Karlsruhe, depicting Two Children in a Niche (see fig. 1).³ 

We are most grateful to Eddy Schavemaker for his help in writing this note.  Dr. Schavemaker will include the Sparre picture in his imminent catalogue raisonné of Eglon Hendrick van der Neer, which will contain a listing of Van der Werff's early paintings.

1.  See Gaehtgens under Literature, pp. 195-6, no. 1, reproduced.  Gaehtgens thinks this picture is based on a lost Eglon Hendrick van der Neer.
2.  See E. Schavemaker, in E. Mai, S. Paarlberg & G. J. M. Weber (ed.), Vom Adel der Malerei. Holland der Malerei, exhibition catalogue, Cologne 2006, pp. 228, 229, no. 61, reproduced.
3.  Oil on panel, 21 by 17 cm.;  Karlsruhe, Staatliche Kunsthalle, inv. no. 280.