Dirck van Delen

Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Frederik Muller, 30 April 1907, lot 72 (as Dutch School);

M.P. Mersch;

His sale, Paris, Drouot, 8 May 1908, lot 25;

Mrs. G. Hult, Gothenburg, Sweden;

By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 12 April 1978, lot 8 (as signed and dated 1627 with the figures attributed to Anthonie Palamedes), for £10,500 to Gismondi;

With Pierre Yves Gabus, Montalchez, Switzerland;

Acquired from the above by the present owner.

H. Jantzen, Das Niederlandische Architekturbild, Leipzig 1910, p. 71, no. 133;

T.T. Blade, The Paintings of Dirck van Delen, Ph.D. Diss. University of Minnesota 1976, Ann Arbor 1979, p. 220, cat. no. 29, reproduced fig. 20 (as a work of circa 1629-30).

The catalogue illustration is too red in tone. The panel has an old cradle and an old very slight convex bow. There is a small diagonal insert of 2 x 6 cm. in the upper right hand corner. There are a number of old cracks which are visible. These include two irregular splits of around 50 cms running in from both sides about 25 cms from the top edge and just below the line of an old panel join. Below these, at the level of the heads of the elegant couple on the right, smaller splits extend in about 25-29 cms from both sides. A small 6 cm crack appears on the right edge just above them on the right , and a small 15 cm old split below them on the left side, running into the legs of the man in red. A longer old split , nearly 50 cm in length runs in from the bottom right hand corner across to the wine cooler. There are some old scattered small losses in the centre where the woman plays the organ and on the extreme right edge. The paint surface itself is extremely well preserved, with no sign of wear and nearly all details preserved intact throughout. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals retouching to all the splits, and in a few parts of the background, for example the shadows in the wall on the far left and in the back on the right, where the original paint was quite thinly applied. The varnish layer has now discoloured. Offered with a later plain gilt wood frame in very 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."

At the time of the Hult sale in 1978, the figures in this painting were thought to be the work of Anthonie Palamedes (1601-1673), and since then they have also been attributed to Dirck Hals (1591-1656), Delen's regular collaborator on works on this type. In fact, the figures are very probably by Delen himself, but modelled upon those painted by Hals in earlier joint works from the later 1620s. The figures of the elegant couple entering the room on the right hand side of the picture, for example, as well as those of the two young page boys dressed in red taking wine from the cooler in the centre, are very similar to those in a Merry company in an interior signed by both artists and of very similar date.¹ Similar figures recur again in another work of 1629, an Interior with ladies and gentlemen dining from the Safra Collection sold New York, Sotheby's, 26 January 2006, lot 3, in which the figures are again by Delen himself.² The palatial interior is imaginary, and together with other similar scenes in Dublin and Amsterdam seems to have been inspired by a plate in Hans Vredeman de Vries' Scenographiae sine Perspectivae'of 1560.

 

1. Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Private Collector'), New York, Christie's, 29 January 1999, lot 82.

2. Panel, 123.8 by 188 cm. Signed and dated 1629. $230,000.