Lot 111
  • 111

Jeremias van Winghe

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
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Description

  • Jeremias van Winghe
  • The Glorification of Art and Diligence and the Punishment of Gluttony and Earthly Pleasures
  • oil on canvas

Provenance

Private collection, France;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Claude Aguttes, June 16, 2003, lot 18 (as Attributed to Jeremias van Winghe).

Condition

Canvas is relined. Paint surface is generally well retained. Colors remain vibrant to naked eye. U.V. reveals retouches along all four edges. Numerous scattered retouches can be seen throughout composition. These include old repaired tears in center background, on face and neck of figure pouring wine, and through the figure at right holding the tablet, as well as on the legs of seated couple at bottom right. Larger area of retouching along red fabric of some seated gentleman. Other various retouches throughout. Despite retouches, they are applied well and painting presents a strong image. In a carved giltwood frame.
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.

Catalogue Note

The present composition is a rare example of van Winghe's allegorical scenes, here depicting virtue and vice. Virtue, represented on the left hand side of the canvas, is represented by people conducting productive and scholarly activities. The arts, unsurprisingly, are prominently represented among the virtuous group in the foreground. A gentleman carves a sculpture while behind him another pair of men sketch in red chalk. Vice, on the right hand side of the canvas, is filled with gluttonous individuals consuming alcohol, being lustful, and eating excessive amounts of food.  The silver tazza shown amidst this gluttonous group demonstrates van Winghe's technical mastery as a still-life painter. The tazza shown on the table to the right is a quote from a highly accomplished still life composition (sold, London, Christie's, July 5, 2007, lot 9, for $579,542), a genre which he practiced on a number of occasions. Above, two angels fly over the separated scenes. The angel to the left crowns the virtuous scene with a laurel wreath, signifying their good standing as moral and productive members of society, while the angel hovering over vice holds switches and a barbed whip, illustrating the judgment being handed down for such sinful acts.

The son of Joos van Winghe (c.1544-1603), Jeremias van Winghe specialized in drawings in his early career, before focusing on figural paintings and portraits until his death in 1645. He studied with Frans Badens in Amsterdam, after which time he lived and worked in Italy for a number of years.  Upon marrying Johanna de Neufville, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, Winghe stepped away from painting in 1616, and subsequently joined his step-father's business. He later returned to painting as his primary profession, around 1640, however this absence from painting provides for the relative scarcity of known works by him. Although he focused primarily on portraits and kitchen scenes (one such example offered London, Christie's, December 8, 2004, lot 30), large scale compositions such as this are not completely unknown within his oeuvre.