Pieter Codde

Daniel Gaskell, M.P., Lupset Hall, Wakefield;
Major Gerald Milnes-Gaskell;
With H. Shickman Gallery, New York, by 1968;
Private collection, Connecticut, by 1972;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 13 December 1978, lot 58;
Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, 1985.

New York, H. Shickman Gallery, Exhibition of Dutch and Flemish Paintings, November 1968, no. 2 (as signed and dated, 1624);
Birmingham, 1995, no. 3;
New Orleans 1997, no. 13;
Baltimore 1999, no. 12.

C. Bigler Playter, Willem Duyster and Pieter Codde.  The Duystere Werelt of Dutch Genre Painting, PhD dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge 1972, pp. 65, 67, reproduced plate 64;
W. Liedtke, "Towards a History of Dutch Genre Painting II: The South Holland Tradition", in The Age of Rembrandt: Studies in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting.  Papers in Art History for Pennsylvania State University, R.E. Fleischer and S. Scott Munshower ed., vol. III, 1988, pp. 96, 99, reproduced fig. 5-12;
New Orleans 1997, pp. 31-33, cat. no. 13, reproduced p. 32;
Baltimore 1999, pp. 32-34, cat. no. 12, reproduced p. 33.

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This picture is in excellent condition, without any structural defects and virtually free of losses. The signature found on the left page of the open music book on the floor is well-preserved, as are the glazes and thinly-painted details throughout. A minor degree of increased transparency of the paint, a normal aging phenomenon, is visible in the two rear-most figures and the garments of the singer gazing back at the viewer. The horizontally-grained wood panel is comprised of a single board of wood and remains planar. On the verso, wide uneven bevels are found on the left and right edges only, and tool markings suggest the panel retains its original thickness. Although an absence of a bevel, particularly when only on some edges (here, top and bottom), can suggest a panel has been trimmed, in this case the intact paint film along the perimeter on the front implies the panel has not been altered. Several inscriptions in white chalk and a partial label are found on the verso. Although there may be a slight discoloration to the natural resin varnish, the painting has no urgent need of cleaning or restoration and may be displayed in its current state.
"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."

Codde captures the scene with a natural immediacy.  The male figure seated at left diligently follows the sheet music, held by the woman beside him, his mouth open, mid-song.  Beyond the more direct premise of music and revelry is a more subtle theme of love.  Harmony of course is symbolic of love and the two figures at right read from the same sheet, his arm rests tenderly on the chair behind her and, as Nancy Minty asserts, he “appears to look as much at her as at the music in her hands”.¹  At the far end of the table a man plays a lute, the instrument of choice in depictions of the serenading lover.  The lute would also often accompany a singer and that idea of companionship is echoed in the prominent placement of the lute case beside the singing female figure in the foreground.²  The singer has turned fully in her chair to engage the viewer as she sings, as though inviting them to join the festivities.  Perhaps the most palpable emblem of love is the single pink rose, dangling idly from her fingers.

The figures are painted with a naturalism that is typical of Codde, and the utmost care is taken in painting the sitters' clothing.  Though his palette is characteristically muted, restricted mostly to tones of green and brown, the artist instead concentrates on the representation of texture and light.  He differentiates the absorption of light by the decorative rug, and dull wooden lute case with the reflective luminosity of the silk clothing.  

Codde signed and dated his work on the open pages of the music book lower right and, while we know the painting was executed in the 1620s, the last digit of the date is now illegible.  Indeed, the subdued palette and simplistic elegance of the composition are consistent with early works by the artist.  At the time of the 1997 exhibition catalogue (see Exhibited and Literature), Minty considered the painting to date between circa 1624-1629.³  Fred G. Meijer, having examined the panel firsthand, suggested a likely date of 1627.⁴

 

 

1.  New Orleans 1997, under Literature, p. 33.
2.  Ibid.
3.  Ibid., p. 31.
4.  Oral communication with Fred G. Meijer, 27 January 2015.