Willem Kalf

Chiquet de Champ-Renard, Secrétaire du Roi;

His sale, Paris, Joullain fils, 14 March 1768, lot 48 ('Un tableau peint sur toile par Kalf, en 1644, représentant des Flacons, un Vase d'or & des Huitres, à côté d'une Serviette; de 38 p. de haut sur 30 p. de large');

George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1746–1816), by 1806;

Thence by descent.

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, on long term loan.  

Anon., 'Pictures and Articles of Curiosity', in Inventory of the Contents of Warwick Castle, Warwickshire Record Office CR1886/466), Ms., circa 1800, hanging in the Compass window;

Anon., Inventory of the Contents of Warwick Castle, Ms., 1806, in the Compass Room Window;

W. Field, An Historical and Descriptive Account of Leamington Spa, Warwick 1815, p. 104 ('Still life, by Kalf'), in the Compass window;

Possibly S. Woodburne, Notes on the Paintings at Warwick Castle, 1832, no. 106 ('Ewer and plates etc – Flemish School'), in the Compass Room;

H. T. Cooke, An Historical and Descriptive Guide to Warwick Castle…, Warwick 1847, p. 73, in the Chapel Passage;

Cooper’s, History of Warwick and Guide to the Castle, illustrated, 1850, p. 107;

W. Kendall, Inventory of Warwick Castle, Ms., 1853, in the Passage and Staircase Landing;

Anon, Inventory of Warwick Castle, Ms., circa 1860, in the Passage and Staircase Landing;

W. von Bode, Studien zur Geschichte der holländischen Malerei, Brunswick 1883, p. 229–30;

W. von Bode, Die Meister der holländischen und flämischen Malerschulen, Leipzig 1917, p. 295, 1953 edition (ed. E. Plietszch) p. 383;

I. Bergström, Dutch Still-Life Painting in the Seventeenth Century, New York 1983, p. 277, reproduced fig. 222;

L. Grisebach, Willem Kalf 1619–1693, Berlin 1974, p. 240, no. 70, reproduced fig. 71;

J. Giltaij, in Gemaltes Licht. Die Stilleben von Willem Kalf, exhibition catalogue, Rotterdam/Aachen 2006–07, p. 92, under cat. no. 21.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Willem Kalf. Still Life. Signed and dated 1644. This painting has a firm, fairly old lining and stretcher. The original narrow stretcher bar lines are only faintly marked. The signature at lower left is finely intact, as is the beautiful detail for instance of the objects on the table above, including the sensitively painted rock to the left, the jewelled knife, the chain and fine gold and silver decoration of the jars and the candle sticks as well as the gleaming oysters on the right. The bright detail has survived well, with some subtleties in the white drapery perhaps rather over cleaned in the past. It is the darks however which have been most vulnerable, with the curtain on the right having quite wide surface strengthening. In the lower background there is less widespread patchy surface retouching visible under ultra violet light with some also in the large pewter platter, confusing the delicate reflections. The finesse of the upper reflections in the champagne flute on the right has been almost lost in the retouching of the curtain behind. Much of this may be to some extent due to the unflattering surface presentation and patchy varnishes, but these seem likely to be the result of wear from past restoration. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This is an early work by Kalf, and in it we see the first signs of the so-called pronk still life on which he would make his name. Unlike those richly contrasted works of the 1650s and 1660s this work of 1644 is more reminiscent of the glittering, silvery tonality of the 1630s ouput of Jan Jansz. Den Uyl and Jan Jansz. Treck in Amsterdam. Den Uyl’s influence is indeed unmistakable, especially in the subtle contrasts of the thickly applied whites and creams of the tablecloth with the silvers and greys of precious objects resting upon it. And though the details and reflections are expertly rendered, the objects are depicted with a surprisingly broad painterly technique, similar to that of another artist working briefly in this style in the 1640s in the wake of Den Uyl, Simon Luttichuys.

Precise details of Kalf’s early career are scant but he is known to have been in Paris during the late 1630s and Bergstrom believed he remained there until at least 1646.[1]He painted a number of works in this style during the years 1643–44 and many of them include many of the same objects as props. Perhaps the most clearly comparable work, and one which includes each of the central objects represented here, is the undated work in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which is of very similar dimensions and which must have been painted either immediately before or after the present work.[2]

[1] Bergstrom, under Literature, p. 260 ff.

[2] See Grisebach, under Literature, pp. 239–40, cat. no. 68, reproduced fig. 70.