- 273
Willem van Leen
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
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Description
- Willem van Leen
- Still life with a basket of flowers, a bird's nest and a songbird, all arranged on a marble plinth, the city of Rotterdam beyond, with the tower of the Laurenskerk;Still life with a basket of fruit on a ledge before a landscape, including a pineapple, bunches of grapes and plums, with a melon slice and berries resting on the ledge beneath
a pair, each bears signature lower right, the former: G. Van Spaendonck
the latter: G. Van Spaendonk- both oil on oak panel
Condition
"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
The' basket of flowers' oak panel is in a good condition with no joins ore deformations, the paint layer is stable. There are discoloured restorations to the wall behind the ledge, lower left, and to trees mid left, to augment areas that have been abraded. Some of the more thinly painted leaves, upper right, are a little worn.
The 'basket of flowers' has an oak panel with a central repaired join, this is a little unstable with some paint fragility along it. There is a fine filigree of pale cracking to be seen in some areas and some of the more delicate glazes have been compromised.
The varnishes to both paintings have discoloured and removing them would improve the tonality. The overall condition on both is favourable with well preserved paint texture and many delicate details intact.
Offered in good carved gilt wood frames."
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for proposing the attribution to Willem van Leen, an artist active in Delfsheven (now part of Rotterdam), and for suggesting that these works are particularly good examples of his work from the 1790s.