Jacob van Hulsdonck

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 21 March 1973, lot 64 (as Jacob van Hulsdonck) for £8,000 to Hallsborough;
With the Hallsborough Gallery, London;
Private Collection, The Netherlands;
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

E. Greindl, Les peintres Flamands de Nature Morte au XVIIe siècle, Brussels 1960, p. 365, no. 51.

The support consists of a single panel bevelled on all bar the bottom edge. The paint surface is secure and in good condition, if a little thin in the middle distance, under an even varnish. There is an old restored panel split of approx. 15 cm. lower centre left running in from the left margin. Retouching work here is unobtrusive but does fluoresce under UV light which also reveals some minor other scattered retouchings elsewhere. Offered in a stained wooden northern style frame in good condition.
"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."

Hulsdonck clearly made a speciality of small scale still lifes such as this on both copper and panel, depicting simple plates or bowls of peaches and plums upon plain wooden table tops. A good signed example on copper and of similar size (28.8 by 35 cm.) was sold, for example, London, Christie's, 9 December 1988, lot 105 and another monogrammed panel was offered London, Christie's, 8 December 2005, lot 14. We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie for observing that the same dish also forms part of a larger composition by Hulsdonck (52 by 75 cm.) formerly in the Spoelberch collection and now in the Museum in Louvain. He also notes another version formerly with Salomon Lilian in Amsterdam. Other variants have also been ascribed to the Frankfurt-born painter Isaac Soreau, who may have worked alongside Hulsdonck in Antwerp and frequently borrowed his designs.