Nicola van Houbraken

Baynton Family, Spye Park;
W.H. Hitchcock, Sr., Twickenham;
Thence by descent to Cyril Hitchcock, Richmond, Surrey;
With Newhouse Galleries, New York.

Relined. A fresh varnish has recently been added. Around all four sides very close to edge of canvas, one can see a faint broken line where frame rubbed the canvas and left some tiny remnants of gilding and some minor abrasion. There is another very thin line of darker paint that runs very close to the top edge. There are a few tiny discolored retouches in the wall at far left, in the leaf just left of center, as well as some miniscule losses in top rose bud, in the little red flowers, upper left, and in yellow flowers at center. There is a very small loss at bottom right and another small loss at the top right corner, but these would most likely be obscured by a frame. Ultraviolet reveals an area of older retouching in top right corner, to the background between the overturned clay vase and the flowers at left, in the nook of the vase and in the background just above the white hydrangea. Ultraviolet also reveals scattered new retouches to upper right corner, and retouches to aforementioned line of frame abrasion. Overall the picture presents a lovely and charming image and it is very recommendable. Unframed.
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.

Nicola van Houbraken, as his name suggests, was of Flemish origin, although his family had established themselves in the Sicilian port city of Messina.  His father Ettore was also a still life painter, and Nicola followed him in his choice of subject matter.  He appears to have left Sicily for Livorno as a child, possibly in 1674 at the time of the Messinese uprising against the occupying Spanish.  Nicola spent the rest of his life in Tuscany, where he found a ready audience for his varied and sometimes witty form of still life painting.¹  Given the inscription on the present painting, it must have been one of a number of similar canvases, making up a series representing the twelve months.

The attribution of the present work to Houbraken has been confirmed by Fred Meijer upon first-hand inspection.  

 

 

1  Paintings by Houbraken were recorded in a number of important collections in Florence and the rest of Tuscany.  The Medici guardaroba records at least one, and the Taddei family owned a picture which was described in their inventories as a portrait of the artist François Riviere .  This is certainly the canvas now in the collection of the Uffizi, which is presented as a trompe l'oeil of a man peering through a rip in a canvas on which a beautifully rendered garland of flowers has been painted.