Paul Liégeois

Said to have been discovered in an auction in Rouen, France circa 1975, there purchased by the present owner.

Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Goûts et saveurs baroques, September 24, 2004 - January 3, 2005, no. 184.

C. Salvi, D'après nature, La nature morte en France au XVII^e siècle, Tournai 2000, reproduced on cover and pp. 84-85, reproduced in color.

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 been fairly recently restored. The canvas has been lined using wax as an adhesive. The paint layer is stable and has been quite well retouched and varnished. This picture should be hung as is, even though the wax lining is reversible if desired. Under ultraviolet light there are restorations visible across the bottom edge, in the side of the stone on which the still life sits and in fairly regular yet isolated paint losses within the plum and other fruit in the still life. Nonetheless, none of these restorations are significant or unusual. In the darkest upper left quadrant restorations may exist and may be slightly more numerous due to the fickle nature of this dark color, yet these restorations are not visible under ultraviolet light and the picture looks well as is.
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.

Together with Jacques Linard and Louise Moillon, Paul Liégeois, is among the great French masters in the genre of still life painting of the 17^th century. He left his mark on still life painting by making the seamless transition between the more minimalistic early still life painters, such as François Garnier, Jacques Linard and Louise Moillon, and the more lavish and decorative painters such as Pierre Dupuis.

Very little is known about his life, but his name is frequently mentioned in inventories of prestigous collections in Paris and Aix-en-Provence in the 17^th and 18^th century (for example, a painting by the artist is mentioned in the 1680 inventory of the Boyer de Forestat de Bandol collection and another still life was mentioned in the collection of Simon Lenfant, an advisor to the Parliament).  Notably, Philippe de Champaigne, himself a keen collector of still lifes, owned a fruit piece by  Liégeois.

The present work is among Liégeois' most remarkable works in terms of size, complexity and composition.  Indeed, Claudia Salvi, in her book on French still life painting (see literature), describes it as a masterpiece and dates it circa 1660.  As Salvi points out, the artist has selected a range of fruits whose form and colour complement each other, creating a sophisticated decorative arrangement.  To add a sense of theatricality to the composition, the artist places the still life against a dark background and uses a fig tree branch as a pictorial device, cutting through the darkness and dividing the composition.  The artist's palette here is predominated by acid blues, and cool silvery tonalities, which are punctuated by the warm oranges and reds of the apricots.  In this tour de force of still life painting, the artist had fully realized his own individual style separate from Willem van Aelst, an artist who had had a profound influence on Liégeois' early style.