Jacques de Claeuw

Ingeborg Björnstjerna-Tamm, Sweden, by 1931;
Presumably by descent to Baron Tamm, Sweden, by 1961;
Private collection, Sweden;
With Peter Tillou, Litchfield Connecticut and London;
Private collection, Brasschaat, Belgium.

E. Buijsen et al.,  Haagse Schilders in de Gouden Eeuw. Het Hoogsteder Lexicon van alle schilders werkzaam in Den Haag 1600–1700, The Hague 1998, p. 111, reproduced fig. 3.

This painting has recently been cleaned and restored. The panel is uncradled and secure. The paint surface has some minor, careful restoration in the shadows and strengthenings in the fruit. The painting is in good overall condition and requires no further work.
"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."

Throughout his career the overriding influence on the still-lifes of Jacques de Claeuw were those of Abraham van Beyeren, under whom he possibly trained, and that influence is palpable here. Though a successful painter De Claeuw was clearly not so gifted as a businessman, probably due to the eight children he had to support, and he was regularly forced into quick sales of his paintings beneath their market value, and was just as regularly bailed out by his father and close friends. He worked initially in Dordrecht, where he set up the Guild of Saint Luke in 1642, before moving to The Hague in 1646, Leiden in 1651 and finally to Haarlem sometime before 1687.