Herman Doncker Active in Haarlem before 1620 - after 1656

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Description

Herman Doncker
a brothel scene with three men sleeping around a table, a dog and cat in the foreground
signed in monogram and dated lower right: HD (in ligature) /1634
oil on panel

Provenance

Heinemann, Munich, by 1934 (inv. no. 19079);
E... R...(?), 1961(both the above according to labels on the reverse).

Catalogue Note

All Doncker's genre pictures date from the years 1634-36 and his last dated work is from 1650. Thereafter he almost exclusively painted portraits, and occasionally a history painting. Frauke Laarmann was unaware of this picture when she published her monographic article on Doncker's paintings (see F. Laarmann, 'Herman Meindertsz. Doncker - Ein origineller Künstler zweiten Ranges', in Oud Holland, vol. 114/1, 2000, pp. 7-52). Another signed and 1634 dated painting shows the same cat in the foreground (Ibidem, p. 35, cat. no. 4, reproduced p. 36).

Offered with two photostat certificates by Dr. Walther Bernt, one dated 15 April 1955 and the other dated 1 November 1970, both confirming this painting to be by Doncker. Bernt read the date ultimately as 1654.