Godfried Schalcken Made, near Breda 1643 - 1706 The Hague

Probably in the collection of the Landgraves of Hessen-Kassel, Schloss Altstadt, Kassel, 1783 (1783 inv. no. 75);
Probably removed to Paris by Napoleonic troops under General Lagrange in 1814 or slightly before;
Marquise d'Aoust, Paris, circa 1910;
Her sale, Paris, Lair-Dubreuil, 5 June 1924, lot 83 (the subject wrongly identified as a 'Scène de séduction'). 

Valenciennes, Musée de Beaux-Arts, Gerborgene Kunstwerke aus dem besetzten Nordfrankreich, 1918, p. 70, no. 320.

Probably S. Causid, Verzeichniß der Hochfürstlich-Hessischen Gemäldesammlung in Cassel, Kassel 1783, p. 75, no. 30a;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol. V, London 1913, p. 320, nos. 30 & 30a (as now not to be found in the Kassel Gallery);
E. Trautscholdt in F. Thieme and U. Becker, Allgemeine Lexikon der bildenden Kunst, vol. XXIX, Leipzig 1935, p. 570, no. 30;
E. Herzog, Die Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel, Hanau 1969, p. 54, no.23;
T. Beherman, Godfried Schalken, Paris 1988, pp. 89-90, no. 9, reproduced (as whereabouts unknown).

The painting is sharper and less 'muddy' in tone than it appears in the catalogue illustration, but the colours are quite representative. The canvas has a relatively old relining which still holds well. The varnish layer is slightly discoloured and opaque, and appears to have been unevenly applied. The paint surface is in very good condition overall and shows no obvious signs of wear other than in the following areas: on the black coat of the man at extreme left, and in the lower left corner, as well as the red drapery worn by the lady just right of centre. The brushwork on the whole is beautifully preserved, particularly in details such as the candle and the pearls worn by the lady right of centre. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some retouching to the shadows and dark folds of the red drapery on this figure, particularly on the material draped over her right arm and the area in shadow near the little girl. Further retouchings are visible on the black coat of the man at left and in the lower left corner. There are a few very minor repaired losses in the background upper left, above the man and woman holding a candle, the largest of which measures only 5 by 3 mm.: the retouchings on these have since discoloured and are visible to the naked eye. There is a line of restoration along part of the margins, particularly upper left and along the top edge, probably caused by an old frame rubbing the surface. The painting is in very good condition overall. This painting is offered unframed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This picture, lost since 1924 and known only from an old photograph, has only recently come to light.

The subject is taken from the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter XV, verses 8 & 9.  The subject is relatively unusual in Dutch art of the time, but later in his career, in a work dated 1700, Schalcken did paint another Parable - of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.¹ 

Beherman dates this picture circa 1675-80 on grounds of style, but notes that if the figure of a young man in the left background is indeed a self-portrait, as the catalogue of the 1918 Valenciennes exhibition proposed, then on the basis of the artist's apparent age, it would have to be earlier, and date from between 1665 and 1670.

Although the majority of the several thousand paintings looted by the French from the Hessen-Kassel collections were returned after the defeat of Napoleon, a large number remained in France where they were dispersed.  Even though weakened by these losses, the collection, now belonging to the Staatliche Museen Kassel and housed at Wilhelmshöhe has a strong group of Dutch cabinet pictures, including five works by Schalcken. 

1 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen; see Beherman under Literature, pp. 90-91, no 10.