Frans Snyders and Studio

Joseph Bonaparte, "Point Breeze," Bordentown, New Jersey;
His posthumous sale, Bordentown, Point Breeze, Thomas Birch, Jr.; 17-18 September 1845, lot 105 (as by Rubens);
Purchased at the 1845 sale by James Seddon, Sabot Hill, Goochland County, Virginia and thence by descent to the present owners.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has not been restored for many years. The canvas has an old glue lining which should be replaced. There is a vertical tear in the bottom right corner, which would also be addressed when the lining is replaced. The surface is very dirty and will respond to cleaning. The lion itself is in surprisingly good condition, but the sky and possibly the darker colors beneath the animal are abraded. The painting should nonetheless be fully cleaned, removing a significant amount of old retouching in the sky at which point the technical brilliance of the lion will be fully revealed and there will be a good chance to restore the sky and other areas in a way that compliments the remainder of the picture.
"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."

The imposing and powerful subject of the Lion and the Mouse is taken from Aesop's fables.¹ In the story, a lion is angered upon being awakened from his sleep by a mouse. After begging for forgiveness from the lion, by suggesting that such small prey would bring him no ultimate satisfaction, the mouse is spared. Later, the lion is caught in a net by hunters, and when the mouse hears the lion roaring for help, it gnaws through the rope, thus freeing the trapped animal as reciprocity for the lion's earlier kindness. The story is used to teach that mercy and kindness bring similar acts in return, and that even seemingly inconsequential events can make a large impact on one's life.  

The present work has been in the family of the present owners since it was purchased in the mid-19^th Century and thus was unknown to Roebels when she published her 1989 monograph.  The Lion and the Mouse was a favored composition of Snyders, as multiple versions, all with varying degrees of studio participation are known to exist. The presumed prime example belongs to the English Chamber of Ministers (inv. no. 129). Another version, which Koslow describes as a work with studio participation is now in a private collection (see S. Koslow, Snyders, Antwerp 1995, p. 266, fig. 361). Further examples have more recently come to market, one in a Piasa sale on 24 June 1998, lot 9, where it was catalogued as Snyders and Studio; and another, sold London, Christie's, 21 March 1958, lot 70, which Roebels categorizes as a product purely of the Snyders workshop.  In all of these examples, including the present picture, the prototype for the lion derives from Snyders' magnificent Two Young Lions Attacking a Buck, in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich (inv. no. 631).² 

Provenance:
This painting enjoys an extraordinarily long and unbroken provenance, especially for a painting which has been in America since the early 19^th century.  It was first owned by Joseph Bonaparte, the elder brother of Napoleon, who ruled for a short time as King of both Naples (1806-8) and Spain (1808-13), before fleeing to America following his brother's defeat at Waterloo in 1815. Though he first settled in Philadelphia, he would eventually build Point Breeze, a large estate in Bordentown, New Jersey. Much of Joseph Bonaparte's collection followed him to the United States, including a number of works given to him by Cardinal Joseph Fesch, famed collector and uncle of the Bonaparte brothers. The majority of Bonaparte's collection was sold in his posthumous sale at Point Breeze in 1845, including the present work which was purchased by James Seddon, an ancestor of the present owners. Seddon was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the U.S. Congress as a member of the Democratic Party. He was appointed Confederate States Secretary of War by Jefferson Davis during the American Civil War.  He hung the painting at his mansion of Sabot Hill, in Goochland County (see fig. 1), just to the west of Richmond, and the picture has remained with his descendants since that time.

1. Perry Index 146;
2. H. Roebels, Frans Snyders, Munich 1989, p. 316.