Isaak Soreau

Anonymous sale, Monaco, Sotheby's, 17 June 1988, lot 876;
With Galerie de Jonckheere, Paris, 1989;
Private collection.

G. Bott, Die Stillebenmaler Soreau, Binoit, Codino und Marrell in Hanau und Frankfurt 1600-1650, Hanau 2001, p. 190, cat. no. WV.UIS.F, reproduced.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an independent expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is on a fine oak panel, which has been cradled earlier in the last century. The cradle is very rigid with immoveable upright bars against the grain, and is also held in tightly around the edges. The strain can be seen in some parts of the panel, with little cracks regularly down the side edges. In the uppermost section of the panel the paint is raised in many places in a quite wide stretch across the top. The cradle should be removed, with any support behind better adapted to the needs of the panel, if it is necessary. There are evidently original joints crossing in the middle and along the rim of the basket with some old retouching along these lines. A few scattered other little old retouchings can be seen in the upper background on either side, indicating one or two small past flakes with an occasional brief little line of old cracking, but there is no suggestion of dramatic past movement and flaking. The central still life is largely in beautiful condition, especially the lighter areas including the perfectly intact green grapes and exquisite detail in the vine leaves. Darker more shadowy areas are worn in places, in particular the shadow on the table to the right has widespread strengthening retouching. Briefer retouchings can be seen at the dark back edge of the table at the middle of the left side. Shadows on the basket under the red grapes to the left are also thin and have been reinforced as has the shadowy basket rim to the right. The dark grapes have been strengthened at the top with some retouching on the wall behind. The peach leaves at lower right are finely intact as is the peach itself which has one or two pentimenti, and the foreground almost throughout. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"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."

Like so many of Soreau's still lifes, this painting bears the unmistakable influence of the Antwerp painter Jacob van Hulsdonck and it is widely considered that Soreau spent some time in his studio. Not being a member of the guild there, Soreau would not have been able to sell his paintings under his own name and, so close is his style to Hulsdonck's, it is likely that his paintings were sold in that city as the work of his master.

Soreau was probably still in Antwerp in 1638 as a work dated to that year is a partial copy of a painting by Hulsdonck from circa 1615.¹  His only other dated work is from 1645² but by this time Soreau must have been back in Frankfurt as the painting is quite different from his earlier work and instead is clearly influenced by the leading Frankfurt still-life painter, Georg Flegel. After this date there is no further sign of life.

Soreau was born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, and was the son, and probably the pupil, of Daniel Soreau, a painter, architect and wool merchant who had emigrated from Tournai to Frankfurt by 1586. After Daniel's death in 1619 his studio was placed in the hands of Sebastien Stosskopf and it is probable that Isaak, together with his twin brother Peter (1604-before 1672), trained under him before Isaak moved to Antwerp after 1626.


Bott states that this painting was sold in London, Christie's, 29 June 1973, but it does not feature in the catalogue for that sale. The provenance he gives for a comparable work by Hulsdonck in fact applies to the present lot.


1. Sold New York, Sotheby's, 11 January 1996, lot 73.
2. See G. Bott, under Literature, p. 188, no. WV.IS.50, reproduced.