Jacob Duck

Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Lady"), London, Sotheby's, 16 April 1980, lot 4;
With Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, 2003;
From whom purchased by a private collector.

Galerie Sanct Lucas, Gemälde alter Meister: Winter 1980/81, no. 11, reproduced in the catalogue.

N. Salomon, Jacob Duck and the Gentrification of Dutch Genre Painting, Doornspijk 1998, p. 163, cat. no. 94 (as location unknown).

The uncradled panel appears to be made up of a single board and is flat and beveled on the lower and right hand edges. The paint surface is stable under a clear varnish with some minor retouches in the background faintly visible to the naked eye. Inspection under UV reveals minor retouches scattered throughout the surface, most notably to the figures at left, in the decorative drapery in the central foreground and in the dress of the central figure. The painting does not require further work and is ready to hang. Offered in a black carved wood 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.

Jacob Duck was the most successful exponent of the genre of guardroom interiors (cortegaerdje), where soldiers are depicted in the company of elegantly dressed ladies, often eating and drinking together in a highly social, merry setting. The genre originated in the 1620's in Amsterdam, where it enjoyed enormous popularity, its main exponents being Willem Cornelisz. Duyster and Pieter Codde. The latter's studio produced a number of very accomplished practitioners in the genre, Jacob Duck amongst them. Duck rarely dated his pictures, but the costumes and silvery tonality of this work suggest a dating to the mid 1630's.