Joachim Beuckelaer

Mr. S. A. (possibly S. Alberge, The Hague);
With Jacques Goudstikker, Amsterdam, before December 1922 (inv. 1578);
Looted by the Nazi Authorities, July 1940;
Anonymous sale, Hamburg, Hauswedell & Nolte, 11 June 2004, lot 814;
Klaus Lanker, St. Gall;
With Dr. Rohe, Munich;
Anonymously sold ("The Property of a Private Collector"), London, Sotheby's, 9 December 2004, lot 103;
With Jack Kilgore & Co., New York;
Restituted to Marei von Saher, the heir of Jaques Goudstikker, February 2008.

Greenwich, Bruce Museum, Reclaimed: Paintings from the Collection of Jacques Goudstikker, 10 May - 7 September 2008, cat. no. 11.

W. Kloek, "Pieter Aertsen en het probleem van het samenstellen van zijn oeuvre", in Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboeck, 40, 1989, p. 25, note 26;
P. Sutton,  Reclaimed: Paintings from the Collection of Jacques Goudstikker, exhibition catalogue, New Haven and London 2008, pp. 118-123, cat. no. 11, reproduced pp. 119, 123.

The panel is stable with a slight vertical bow and three horizontal supports affixed to the reverse. There is a loss of approximately an inch at the upper right corner and a crack of approximately ten inches running upward from the lower edge. The paint surface is secure under a slightly discolored varnish with very minor losses, notably to the upper edge and to the hair of St. Joseph. A reading under UV is impeded by an uneven, opaque varnish, possible minor retouching is visible and a repaired loss to the knee of St Joseph. Offered in a tabernacle frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This appears to be the only signed example of this composition, which exists in a number of closely related variants and which in the past have variously been assigned to both Beuckelaer and Pieter Aertsen. The presence of Beuckelaer's monogram on the present panel offers the strongest argument which establishes his authorship of the design. Additionally, since its recent cleaning the date 1564 has been revealed in the upper left corner, thus placing it within the final decade of Beuckelaer's life. Another version, dated 1652 and in which the figure of a shepherd raising his hat is introduced on the left of the composition, was sold in New York, Christie's, 27 January 2000, lot 166 (as by Aertsen). A weak copy of this painting was sold London, Sotheby's, 20 April 1977, lot 141.