Jan van Os

Mrs. W. Tegelberg, Holland, by whom acquired in Paris in 1923;
Her deceased sale (The Property of the Late Mrs. W. Tegel-Berg-Hooft, Baarn), Amsterdam, Christie's, 28 November 1989, lot 198;
With Johnny van Haeften, London, by 1992;
From whom acquired by the present owners in 1996.

Greenwich, Connecticut, Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Old Master Paintings from the Hascoe Collection, 2 April - 29 May 2005, no. 19 b.

P. Mitchell, Jan van Os:  1744-1808, Leigh-on-Sea 1968, p. 24, no. 35, reproduced pl. 35;
Johnny van Haeften, Dutch and Flemish Old Master Paintings, London 1992, no. 25 (one of a pair), reproduced, with an entry by Peter Mitchell;
P. Sutton, Old Master Paintings from the Hascoe Collection (exh. cat. Bruce Museum), Greenwich 2005, p. 47, no. 19 b, reproduced. 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has been quite recently cleaned and restored however the lining is older, perhaps from the early to mid 20th century. The paint layer is clean and well varnished. There area a few retouches in the dark grapes in the upper left, a few in the dark melon in the background on the far right side and in the pear on the far left edge, and a few others along the bottom edge. The general condition is very fresh, the details are well preserved and the painting should be hung as is.
"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 work and its pendant, the following lot, are the earliest known dated paintings by Jan van Os.  Painted when the artist was only twenty-one years old, they are a testament to his precocious talent, and demonstrate his indebtedness to the sumptuous, high-keyed still lifes of Jan van Huysum (1682-1749), who, as early as 1722, was painting pendant still lifes juxtaposing fruit and flowers against light backgrounds.  That these works were conceived as pendants is highlighted by both the artist's color palette and the play of convex and concave shapes on the marble ledges:  the two pieces seem as though they would fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.  The blue-gray color of the background in the present work picks up the predominant blue tones of the flowers in its pendant; while the yellow-greens of the grapes and melon that dominate the present composition are complimented by the greenish tone of the background in the flower piece.  The theme of both fruit and flowers seems to be fecundity and abundance, with the mouse nibbling at the wheat and the bird's nest filled with eggs heightening the overall feel.  A similar pair of fruit and flower still lifes is in the collection of the Manchester City Galleries, bequeathed by Mr. and Mrs. E. Assheton Bennett in 1979 (inv. no. 1979.484 and 485).  These works combine fruit and flowers together in both works and have more fully realized background niches; however, both still utilize the same play of convex and concave shapes on the marble ledges.