Attributed to Gabriel Metsu Leiden 1629 - 1669 Amsterdam

Gustaf Adolf Sparre (1746-1794);
Sparre inv., 1794, no. 50.

Stockholm, 1967, no. 100;
Kristianstad, 1977, no. 25.

Granberg, 1885-6, no. 39;
Göthe, 1895, p. 21, no. 40;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol. I, London 1907, p. 271, no. 53;
Granberg, 1911-12, no. 376, reproduced plate 12;
S.J. Gudlaugsson, 'Kanttekening bij de ontwikkeling van Metsu', in Oud Holland 83, 1968, pp. 24, 40, reproduced p. 18, fig. 2;
Hasselgren, 1974, pp. 118, 121, reproduced p. 180;
F.W. Robinson, Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667).  A Study of His Place in Dutch Genre Painting of the Golden Age, New York 1974, p. 41, reproduced p. 147, fig. 79a.
.

"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 which has had backing edge bars with one cross bar attached behind, quite long ago. There is however no sign of past movement, either of cracking or flaking. One tiny hole has been accidentally pierced near the upper left edge and the upper right edge has a small older scrape. The figures are largely in good condition, with any wear mainly confined to the sky and the landscape on the right, and a few other places down the right side such as baby's drapery which is rather thin. The little boy' face is also slightly rubbed and shows pentimenti, as does his mother's apron next to him. The face of the old woman has some indistinct detail particularly along her profile which may also be a pentiment as with the two hands joining in the centre, and perhaps the pancake mixture she is stirring in the beautiful bowl. The foreground detail is otherwise finely intact, as is the dark drapery of the old woman and her hut. There is a little thinness along the jaw line of the mother's face but the brushwork generally is fresh, vivid and intact. 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."

Horst Gerson considered this to be an early work by Metsu.¹  On grounds not only of subject, but also of handling and dating, Frank Robinson compares the Sparre picture to the Pancake Woman in the Girardet collection and dates both pictures to the late 1650s, during Metsu's early Amsterdam period.²  Gudlaugsson published the Sparre picture as by Metsu datable to the mid-1650s, discussing it in the context of a small group of works in which he saw as reminiscent of painters working in Utrecht - in this case in particular Jan-Baptist Weenix.³  The subject may have owed its popularity to Rembrandt's famous etching, although Robinson sees Gerrit Dou as a more likely direct source.

This picture is remarkable for its free bravura brushwork and distinctive and appealing colour scheme. Dr. Adriaan Waiboer thinks that this picture is not by Metsu, but rather by a follower or an artist in his circle.

1.  Cited in the catalogue of the 1977 exhibition at Kristianstad
2.  Currently on loan to the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin; see Robinson under Literature, p. 41, reproduced fig. 79.
3.  See under Literature.  In other works he saw similarities with Jacob Duck and Nicolaus Knüpfer.