- 54
Attributed to Mathijs Wulfraet
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 EUR
bidding is closed
Description
- Mathijs Wulfraet
- An elegant company in an interior drinking and smoking, with a violin and a music book on a table in the foreground
- indistinctly signed with initials and dated: MW(in ligature). f. 1686
- oil on canvas
Provenance
Anonymous sale, Cologne, Lempertz, 28 May 1963, lot 157 (as by J. Verkolje).
Exhibited
Wiesbaden, Museum Wiesbaden, 5 Sammler - 5 Meinungen, 8 April - 27 May 1973 (as by Jan Verkolje).
Condition
The actual painting is a bit darker in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests.
The canvas has a firm relining. The paint surface has somewhat flattened, but is overall in good and stable condition. No damages are visible to the naked eye. Some small paint losses are visible along the edges, probably due to frame abrasion. The paint surface is under a dirty and discoloured varnish layer.
Inspection under UV-light is impeded by the varnish, however some spots do appear (probably only in the varnish layer itself) in the upper and lower centre.
Offered in an ornate, gilt plaster frame, in fair condition. (JD)
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
This lovely interior scene depicts three elegantly dressed couples indulging themselves in the delights of every-day life, such as making music, drinking wine and smoking. The painting was once attributed to Jan Verkolje (1650-1693), but this attribution is no longer tenable. Fred G. Meijer of the R.K.D., The Hague, has kindly suggested a tentative attribution to Mathijs Wulfraet, the portrait and genre painter, born in Arnhem, but active in Frankfurt-am-Main. A similar interior scene, signed and dated 1694 , is in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. A1912).1
1. See P.J.J. van Thiel, Alle schilderijen van het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam, Amsterdam/Haarlem 1976, p. 616.