Studio of Georg Flegel Olmütz (Olomouc), Moravia 1566 - 1638 Frankfurt am Main

In the collection of the present owner's parents;
Thence by descent.

The composition of this still life is unique, though elements of it are borrowed from a Georg Flegel design, of which nine different autograph variants exist; the prime one probably being his still life in Munich, Alte Pinakothek.¹  This particular version is the only one on copper (the others are on panel). Certain elements in this painting are repeated in all other versions by Flegel himself: these include the mouse, open walnut and sweetbreads lower left, as well as the porcelain bowl containing hazelnuts and chestnuts in the centre. Where the painting varies is in its inclusion of the roemer upper right (this appears in only four of the seven autograph variants), the walnut and paired apricots in the centre (these also appears in only four of the seven variants), and the beetle (which is exclusive to this version alone). Given the common elements between this and the other known variants, it is highly likely that this painting was executed in Flegel's studio, perhaps even under the direction of the master himself (an opinion held by Dr. Hana Seifertová, a copy of whose letter, dated 17 May 2006, accompanies this lot).

1  Inv. no. 5026/1688; oil on panel, 22 by 28 cm.; reproduced in A.-D. Ketelsen-Volkhardt, Georg Flegel 1566-1638, Berlin 2003, colour plate 2. For the other variants see Ketelsen-Volkhardt, op. cit., pp. 174-81, cat. nos. 1-7, all reproduced.