Gerrit Adriaensz. de Heer

With Otto Naumann, Ltd, New York

Sold in attractive octagonal ebony frame. There are some small areas of discolouration to the vellum at the lower left, and upper centre. The pigment is slightly cracked in isolated areas, but otherwise the condition is good, the image very strong.
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.

The works of Gerrit de Heer and those of his son and pupil Willem, or Guillam, are frequently impossible to distinguish. Willem appears to have signed some of his drawings W. de Heer and others G. de Heer, the same signature that his father used, and the stylistic differences between their works are subtle in the extreme.Thus only those drawings signed W. de Heer, or dated in the 1630s or '40s, can be assigned to one or other artist with certainty.¹ 

The great majority of De Heer's known works depict lively scenes of peasant merry-making, and portraits by the artist are rare. A pair, depicting Johannes Bogaert and his wife Maria Wijnands, are in Groningen, and indeed those two drawings, which are dated 1634, are amongst the small number that can be definitively attributed to Gerrit de Heer, rather than his son, who was not born until 1637/8.² On the basis of comparison with the Groningen drawings, the present work can also be given to Gerrit, as can the only other portrait by the artist that has appeared on the market in recent years.³ 

1. For further analysis of this problem, see Franklin W. Robinson, Dutch Drawings from the Abrams collection, exhib. cat., Wellesley, Mass., etc, 1969, under cat. no. 23.

2. See J. Bolten, Dutch Drawings from the Collection of Dr. C. Hofstede de Groot, Utrecht 1967, cat. nos. 38 and 39, as Guillam de Heer

3. Sold Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 10 November 1998, lot 49