Pieter Gerritsz. van Roestraeten

Oil on canvas

With Galerie Heinz Gerhard Fein, Heidelberg (according to a label on the reverse);
With P. De Boer, Amsterdam, from whom purchased by the present owners in 1987.

L.B. Shaw, 'Pieter van Roestraten and the English vanitas' in The Burlington Magazine, June 1990, pp. 403, fig. 19.

The canvas has a stiff wax relining. The paint surface is secure if rather flat but overall looks to the naked eye to be in fair condition. Inspection under UV light reveals some restored damage lower right as well as two small restored tears in the background. Several localised retouching do flouresce. These are for the most part limited to cosmetic interventions rather than structural corrections. The painting retains its decorative impact and is offered in a later rippled wooden frame in good condition.
"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."

Roestraeten was a pupil of Frans Hals, whose daughter he married in Amsterdam in 1654. He must have been in London little more than a decade later, however, since Arnold Houbraken recorded that Roestraeten suffered a hip injury during the Great Fire of London of 1666. Finding himself among patrons for whom portraiture was almost the only genre of consistent appeal, he caught and sustained the interest of aristocratic patrons by transposing the traditional iconography of the still-life into compositions of the fashionable objects with which they surrounded themselves. In this charming picture of tea things, Roestraeten, encapsulates not only his skill as an artist but also a ritual of everyday aristocratic life with which his patrons could associate.