Willem Claesz. Heda

Wilhelm Graf von Sickingen, Vienna;
His deceased sale, Vienna, Ratakowsky, December 1819, lot 88 or 89, where acquired by Prince Johann I of Liechtenstein (1760-1836).

Lucerne, Kunstmuseum, Meisterwerke aus den Sammlungen Fursten von Liechtenstein, 1948, no. 144.

J. Falke, Katalog der Fürstlich Liechtensteinischen Bilder-Galerie im Gartenpalais der Rossau zu Wien, Vienna 1873, p. 59, no. 498;
J. Falke, Katalog der fürstlich Liechtensteinischen Bilder-Galerie im Gartenpalais der Rossau zu Wien, Vienna 1885, p. 108, no. 807;
W. Bode, Die Fürstlich Liechtenstein'sche Galerie in Wien, Vienna 1896, p. 103;
A. von Wurzbach, Niederländisches Künstler-Lexikon, vol. I, Vienna-Leipzig 1906, p. 655;
A. Kronfeld, Führer durch die Fürstlich Liechtensteinsche Gemäldegalerie in Wien, Vienna 1931, p. 160, no. 807;
I. Bergström, Dutch Still-Life Painting in the Seventeenth Century, London 1956, p. 133, reproduced fig. 116;
N.R.A. Vroom, A Modest Message as Intimated by the Painters of the "Monochrome Banketje", Schiedam 1980, vol. I, p. 76, no. 378, vol. II, p. 78;
R. Baumstark, Meisterwerke der Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein. Gemälde, Zürich 1980, pp. 119, 239, 211;
H. Bertram, Stillebenbilder der Kunsthalle, Hamburg 1983, p. 91, reproduced fig. 19,5;
R. Baumstark, "Ein fürstlicher Rahmen um bürgerliche Kunst", in: Im Lichte Hollands. Holländische Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts. Aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein und aus Schweizer Besitz, Basel 1987, p. 34, reproduced fig. 8;
N. Schneider, Stilleben. Realität und Symbolik der Dinge. Die Stillebenmalerei der frühen Neuzeit, Cologne 1989, p. 106, reproduced fig. 100.

The following condition report is provided by Rebecca Gregg, who is an external expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. The support appears in good condition. The three member oak panel is stable with no additions to the reverse. The paint layers appear in relatively good condition. There are minor losses, predominantly along the lower edge and along the lower right. These appear to be the result of movement within the frame. There is a small loss located on the left edge 23cm from the lower edge and two others on the right edge 24cm from the top and 22.5cm from the lower edge. There is a small mechanical damage 26cm from the right and 9.5cm from the lower edge. None of these could be considered significant. Overall the adhesion between the paint and ground layers and the support appears good. There are areas of minor abrasion visible at the lower edge and beneath the white cloth. There are areas of retouching present from a previous retouching campaign; these are predominantly in the upper half of the composition in the background of the composition. This retouching is visible under the ultra violet examination and appears slightly matt. The signature and the date appear stable. There is a slightly patchy appearance to the surface. Under ultra violet examination the painting appears to be partially cleaned, the white cloth, bowl and highlights do not fluoresce while the remainder of the painting has a patchy fluorescence, particularly strong in the lower left quadrant, in the centre across the metal work and dark glazed elements of the composition and along the right edge where it covers the signature. The painting was examined in the frame.
"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."

For Bergström, this painting, dated 1651, marks a significant development in Heda's oeuvre.¹ From the tonal simplicity and compositional rigidity of his earlier works, such as his panel in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne,² the cohesion apparent in the current work is less dependent on strict linear structure and furthermore experiments with broader colouring; whereas the Cologne work is entirely enveloped by an olive green tonality, the current work sees this restricted to the background and contrasting with the highlights of colour in the fruit and ham. Heda was the foremost painter of these so-called Monochrome Banketjes, alongside his Haarlem contemporary, Pieter Claesz., and it is the richer, almost over-abundant compositions like the current work which are considered the high-point of this genre.³

This is one of a number of Dutch still lifes acquired by Prince Johann I of Liechtenstein, one of the most important of the Liechtenstein family's princely collectors. He is also known to have acquired two paintings by Jan van Huysum, one of which will be offered in the evening section of this sale.

At the time of the 1819 sale (see Provenance), this painting was sold alongside another work by Heda, with the same dimensions and an apparently similar content, which was described as a partner to the present painting. The current location of this work is unknown.

1. I. Bergström, op.cit.
2. N.R.A. Vroom in Literature, vol. I, p. 68, reproduced fig. 83.
3. N.R.A. Vroom in Literature, vol. I, p. 78.