Lot 191
  • 191

Jacob Jordaens

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description

  • Jacob, the elder Jordaens
  • Mercury, Argus and Io
  • oil on canvas
  • 116 by 196 cm

Provenance

Bertram Arthur, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury (1832-1856), Alton Towers, by 1857;
His sale, Alton Towers, Christie's, 6 July 1857, lot 448;
Georges Hulin de Loo, Ghent;
His sale Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 29 October 1947, lot 104; 
Jules Tytgat, Ghent;
Georges Cohen, Brussels;
His deceased sale, Brussels, Palais des Beaux Arts, 26 April 1971, lot 125;
Gaston Dulière, Brussels;
With Galerie Arnoldi-Livie, Munich;
Acquired from the above in 1997.

Exhibited

Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Jacques Jordaens, 1905, no. 39;
Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Jordaens in belgisch Bezit, 1978, no. 23;
Brussels, Galerie GGER, Muziek als inspiratiebron in de Belgische Kunst, 1985, no. 27;
Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), 1993, no. A77;
Tokyo, Fiji Art Museum, The 17th Century: The Golden Age of Flemish Painting, 1988, no. 39;
Antwerp, Rubenshuis, on loan.

Literature

G. F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, vol. III, London 1854, p. 387;
H. Hymans, Correspondance de Belgique. Exposition de Gand', in: Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosité, 1898, p. 183;
Album der tentoonstelling Jacob Jordaens, uitgegeven door het Uitvoerend Comiteit, Antwerp 1905, fig. 39;
P. Buschmann Jr., 'De Jordaens-tentoonstelling te Antwerpen', in: Onze Kunst IV, 2, 1905, p. 155;
P. Buschmann Jr., 'L'exposition Jordaens à Anvers', in: L'art flamand et hollandais, 2, 1905, p. 155;
P. Buschmann, Jacob Jordaens, 'Eene studie naar aanleiding van de tentoonstelling zijner werken ingericht te Antwerpen' in MCMV, Brussels 1905, p. 115;
M. Rooses, Jacob Jordaens: His Life and Work, London 1908, pp. 144, 257, reproduced;
Catalogue of the exhibition Jordaens et de son atelier, Brussels 1928, p. 36, under no. 61;
L. van Puyvelde, Jordaens, Paris-Brussels 1953, p. 116 and 198;
R.-A. d'Hulst, 'De tekeningen van Jakob Jordaens. Bijdrage tot de geschiedenes van de XVIIe-eeuwse kunst in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden', in Verhandelingen van de Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van Belgie, Brussels 1956, p. 216;
R.-A. d'Hulst, Jordaens Drawings, Brussels 1974, p. 215, under no. A121, and p. 242, under no. A148;
J. Truyen, 'Het Rubenshuis en het Mecenaat', in: Tijdschrift van de Stad Antwerpen, XXIII, Antwerpen 1977, pp. 209-210, reproduced fig. 4;
M. Vandenven, in the exhibition catalogue, Jordaens in Belgisch bezit, Antwerp 1978, p. 65, no. 23, reproduced;
R.-A. d'Hulst, Jacob Jordaens, Ithaka 1982, p. 220, no. 195, reproduced;
P. Huvenne, 'Het Rubenshuis', in: Openbaar Kunstbezit in Vlaanderen XXVI, 1988, p. 155, reproduced;
P. Huvenne and H. Nieuwdorp, 'Het Rubenshuis, Antwerpen', in Musea Nostra, 19, Brussels 1990, pp. 64-65, reproduced;
H. Buijs and M. van Berge-Gerbaud, Tableaux flamands et hollandais du Musée de Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Paris 1991, p. 76, under no. 25;
M. Vandenven, in the exhibition catalogue,  Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), Antwerp 1993, pp. 240-41, no. A77;
U. Wieczorek, in the exhibition catalogue, Götter wandelten einst... Antiker Mythos im Spiegel alter Meister aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein, Vaduz 1998, pp. 29, 77,80, 146, 165-166, 78-79;
P. Schoon and S. Paarlberg, in the exhibition catalogue, Greek Gods and Heroes in the Age of Rubens and Rembrandt, Dordrecht 2000, p. 81, fig. 68;
J. Kräftner, A. Hanzl and K. Klopf-Weiss, in the exhibition catalogue, Der Blick in die Ferne. Landschaftsmalerei aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von und zu Liechtenstein 15. bis 19. Jahrhundert, Vienna 2008, p. 151.

Condition

The canvas has a firm relining, which has not overly flattened the paint surface. The canvas is protected to the reverse with a piece of card attached to the stretcher. The paint surface is clean, secure and in good condition. There is some abrasion apparent to the darker tones of the painting, and some retouchings to these areas, such as to the cow lower right, are visible to the naked eye, but for the large part the painting's colours are well-preserved. An old restored vertical canvas join or fold which runs the full length of the canvas is visible 3cm. in from the left hand margin. However, no major damages to the painting are apparent, which is especially notable for a canvas of this size. Inspection under UV light confirms the aforementioned retouchings and further reveals fairly extensive scattered spot retouchings to the sky. Fairly extensive retouchings and strengthenings to the foreground are also revealed but these concentrate mainly on the definition of the cows, and leave large expanses of the wooded setting untouched. The figures and the dog are also mostly original. Offered in a stained wood and parcel gilt frame in good condition. The painting is ready to hang.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The story of the death of the shepherd Argus at the hands of the god Mercury is recounted by Ovid in his Metamorphoses (I, 568-721), and was a favourite theme of Jordaens, who returned to it on several occasions throughout his career. Argus had been appointed as guard to Io, princess of Argos, a lover of Jupiter who had been turned into a white heifer by Jupiter's jealous wife Juno. Mercury was sent by Jupiter to kill Argus, which he did after first lulling him to sleep with music. Mercury, his magic flute discarded in the foreground, is poised to kill Argus, who has fatally relaxed his guard and whose dog also sleeps beside him, while Io watches behind them. The fascination of the subject for the seventeenth century viewer is probably best expounded by Karel van Mander, who, writing at length in his Wtlegghingh op den Metamorphosis (Commentary on the Metamorphoses of Ovid) lectured on how it warned of the necessity of never relaxing one's vigilance, lest we succumb to the vices such as luxury which otherwise may govern us.

This grand canvas is a work of Jordaens' early maturity and is generally dated to around 1648-50. In contrast with his earlier treatments of the same subject, for example that in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyons from the 1620s, Jordaens has greatly expanded the landscape elements at the expense of the figures1. Waagen, when he saw this picture in the collection of the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1854, correctly remarked upon the marked influence of the landscapes of Rubens in this regard. For all his familiarity with the subject, Jordaens also seems to have taken particular care with the design, as witnessed by the number of preparatory drawings that can be associated with this canvas . A study for the figure of Argus is in the Art Institute of Chicago (fig.1) and some of his studies of cattle preserved on two sheest in the Louvre and in a private collection, clearly also served for the present canvas2. The small dog curled up alseep in the foreground recurs in a canvas of Cupid and Psyche also from the late 1640s and today in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp3. Another related canvas, also with smaller figures set in a landscape setting was sold in these Rooms, 16 July 1980, lot 100.

 

 

1. Inv. no. H679. Exhibited Antwerp, Jacob Jordaens, 1993, no. A26, reproduced.
2. For which see R.-A. d'Hulst, Jordaens Drawings, London-New York 1974, vol. I, nos. A122, A148, fig. 161.
3. Exhibited, Antwerp, Jacob Jordaens, 1993, no. A71.