- 33
Willem Claesz. Heda
Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 GBP
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Description
- Willem Claesz. Heda
- a still life with a silver tazza, a silver pot, a roemer with white wine, a glass with beer, four pewter plates with a bread roll and a shoulder of ham, all on a green table cloth
- oil on panel
Provenance
Dr. Leon Lilienfeld collection, Vienna and New York, by 1917;
By descent to Mrs. Leon Lilienfield, Winchester, Mass.;
Her deceased sale, New York, Sotheby, Parke-Bernet, 17 May 1972, lot 52, for $15,000;
With Richard Green, London.
By descent to Mrs. Leon Lilienfield, Winchester, Mass.;
Her deceased sale, New York, Sotheby, Parke-Bernet, 17 May 1972, lot 52, for $15,000;
With Richard Green, London.
Literature
G. Glück, Die Sammlung Dr. Leon Lilienfield, Vienna 1917, no. 27, reproduced.
Condition
"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
The oak panel has two vertical splits , one from the top into the handle of the ewer and one from the top ending just passed the ham ; there is significant accompanying paint loss either side of this split and around the ham. The paint layer is stable with vertical raised wood grain. Some of the darker passages, those to the pewter plates and the shadows of the table cloth, have been compromised and strengthened along with some small areas to the ewer, goblet and white napkin. The paint to the background, other than those areas already mentioned, is in a good condition and much of the paint to the still life is well preserved, particularly the highlights. A slight tonal improvement would be gained from removing the varnish.
Offered in a modern dark wood frame with a gilt sight edge, in good condition."
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
The composition bears a strong resemblance to several works executed by Heda in the mid- to late 1640s, all of which include the very same silver ewer as the dominant element; see, for example, the slightly larger, 1644 dated work formerly in the collection of the late Count Gerard van den Steen de Jehay that sold in these Rooms, 14 December 2000, lot 32, for £480,000, in which the ewer is placed beside a roemer before a haphazardly piled-up tablecloth. Equally prevalent in Heda's work is the pewter mustard pot which recurs in numerous works throughout the artist's career.
The elaborate nature of this composition is consistent with the artist's output after 1640, when he continued to develop the monochromatic themes and compositions of the 1630s but with a far richer and luxuriant approach. The compositions take on a more casual look and lose the simplicity and linearity of former years but are, however, always built along firm and balanced lines. Heda himself had only begun to paint these monochrome banketjes at the age of thirty-five but, along with Pieter Claesz., he became the foremost exponent of the genre in The Netherlands. He was admitted to the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1637 and in the same year took on his first students, including his son Gerrit Willemsz. and Maarten Boelema de Stomme. After circa 1650 the quality of his works declines and his last dated painting is from 1665. He died in very old age in 1680 at the age of eighty-four.
The elaborate nature of this composition is consistent with the artist's output after 1640, when he continued to develop the monochromatic themes and compositions of the 1630s but with a far richer and luxuriant approach. The compositions take on a more casual look and lose the simplicity and linearity of former years but are, however, always built along firm and balanced lines. Heda himself had only begun to paint these monochrome banketjes at the age of thirty-five but, along with Pieter Claesz., he became the foremost exponent of the genre in The Netherlands. He was admitted to the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1637 and in the same year took on his first students, including his son Gerrit Willemsz. and Maarten Boelema de Stomme. After circa 1650 the quality of his works declines and his last dated painting is from 1665. He died in very old age in 1680 at the age of eighty-four.