Jan Miense Molenaer

Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Gentleman"), London, Christie's, June 29, 1979, lot 94;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, July 8, 1983, lot 32, for £17,000;
With Douwes, Bros., Amsterdam and London, from whom acquired by the present owner, circa 1984.

North Carolina, North Carolina Museum of Art; Indiana, Indianapolis Museum of Art; New Hampshire, The Currier Museum of Art, Jan Miense Molenaer: Painter of the Dutch Golden Age, October 13, 2002 - June 17, 2003, no. 16.

D.P. Weller, Jan Miense Molenaer: Painter of the Dutch Golden Age, North Carolina 2002, p. 112, cat. no. 16, reproduced.

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 canvas has been lined, cleaned and retouched. The varnish has bloomed in some places and the retouches do not go far enough to diminish the weakness to the paint layer which is still visible in the clothing of the violinist and in a few other areas, the shadowed area of the barrel for instance. The retouches that have been applied are visible under ultraviolet light in the top of the head of the dancing man on the right, in a scratch on his chest and in the dress of the woman next to him where some cracking and abrasion has been addressed. The retouches throughout are minimal for the most part and should not be removed. Rather one more effort to close up some of the slight thinness and weakness to the paint layer would be advantageous.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This jovial scene is probably the inspiration for later versions of the subject by Molenaer¹ and, indeed, for Jan Steen's painting of the same subject from the late 1660s in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.² The design, in which large figures are compressed into a small space, as well as the rich, colourful palette, are characteristics consistent with the artist's work in the early 1630s and, in this vein, may be compared with his Denial of St. Peter of 1633 in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.³

Molenaer's portrayals of children at leisure are his most entertaining and, in them, a "wickedness" of character is perhaps discernible. Here, a woman holds the cat up by its ears while a young girl tugs at its tail, a practice known as cat-pulling, which was common amongst peasants for kermis amusement. Molenaer makes further comment on the differences between the natures of cats and dogs, man's loyal servants; with both this and the Dublin work Molenaer portrays the dog as a willing participant in the children's pleasure, obedient to its master, while the cat is the very opposite.

1  Such as the panel in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; See Weller, under literature, p. 113, reproduced fig. 1.
2  Idem, p. 114, fig. 2.
3  Idem, pp. 106-8, reproduced p. 106.