Jean-Baptiste Saive the Younger

Acquired by the father of the present owner in the middle of the 20th Century;
Thence by descent.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas has an old lining and two restored vertical seams. The paint is raised and unstable and, scattered across the surface, can be seen many locally consolidated and restored paint losses. These restorations are clumsy and discoloured. There are other areas of excessive restoration, e.g. the flesh tones of Ceres, the back of the Bacchanalian figure standing and to the sky above Bacchus' head. The still life of the fruit and vegetables, lower right, is in good condition, as are the grapes and other fruits to the lower left and the flowers, upper left. Removing the varnish would improve the tonality considerably. Offered in a modern gilt frame, in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Jean-Baptiste de Saive the Younger was born in Malines in 1597 and studied in the workshop of his father; his works retain a strong stylistic affinity with both those of his father and, especially in terms of composition, with the work of Joachim Beuckelaer. Saive the Elder's work is best exemplified by a series of six canvases representing the months of the year, three of which are now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and two more were sold London, Sotheby's, 3 July 1997, lots 17 and 18. Many of Saive the Younger's works have previously been attributed to his father; the Fruit and vegetable stall in a town market that sold London, Christie's, 7 July 2000, lot 36, for £300,000, for example, had been exhibited in the Beuckelaer exhibtion in Ghent in 1986-7 as the work of the father.¹

1. Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Joachim de Beuckelaer. Het Markt-en Keukenstuk in de Nederlanden 1550-1650, 12 December 1986 - 8 March 1987, no. 27.