- 170
Pieter Jansz. Quast
Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Pieter Jansz. Quast
- Portrait of a man, full-length, in a black slashed doublet and breeches and a ruff, standing beside a table with writing implements
- signed and dated lower right: PQ Ao 1631 (PQ in ligature)
- oil on oak panel
Provenance
Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland, K.G. (1851–1913);
By whose Trustees sold, London, Christie's, 24 November 1961, lot 68 for £170, to Sabin;
With Friederike Pallamar, Vienna, by 1966;
In the present family collection by 1970.
By whose Trustees sold, London, Christie's, 24 November 1961, lot 68 for £170, to Sabin;
With Friederike Pallamar, Vienna, by 1966;
In the present family collection by 1970.
Exhibited
Vienna, Galerie Friederike Pallamar, Gemàˆlde, bedeutender niederlàˆndischer Meister des 17. Jahrhunderts, 7 November – 24 December 1966, no. 23;
Amsterdam, Amsterdams Historisch Museum, 17e-eeuwse schilderijen uit de Verzameling Willem Russell, 20 June – 13 September 1970, no. 72.
Amsterdam, Amsterdams Historisch Museum, 17e-eeuwse schilderijen uit de Verzameling Willem Russell, 20 June – 13 September 1970, no. 72.
Literature
E. Köller, 'Jubiläumsausstellung der Galerie Friederike Pallamar', in Weltkunst, vol. XXXVI, no. 22, 15 November 1966, p. 1147;
S. Levie, in 17e-eeuwse schilderijen uit de Verzameling Willem Russell, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam 1970, p. 96, cat. no. 72, reproduced.
S. Levie, in 17e-eeuwse schilderijen uit de Verzameling Willem Russell, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam 1970, p. 96, cat. no. 72, reproduced.
Condition
The panel is taken from a single plank; it is uncradled and stable. The varnish is even and only slightly discoloured, and much of the impasto in the sitter's costume is still intact. In overall very good condition. The varnish fluoresces opaquely under ultraviolet light, which reveals extremely minor, pinprick retouchings in parts of the man's costume.
Offered in a later carved and gilt wood frame with minor chips and damages.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
It has been suggested that this is a caricatural portrait of the painter Cornelis Saftleven (1607–1681). While the subject's features, with a flat face and wide cheek-bones resemble those of Saftleven, known in a number of portraits,1 it is unlikely that Quast, who seems not to have left Amsterdam, knew Saftleven personally.
1. See Q. Buvelot and H. Buijs, A Choice Collection. Seventeenth-century Dutch paintings from the Frits Lugt collection, The Hague 2002, pp. 158–61, cat. no. 29, reproduced p. 159, and p. 160, figs 29a–29e.