Peter Snijers

With Kunsthandel Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam (inv. no. 7489; information listed by Schulz 1978, see Literature);
Alfred Brod, 1959 (as Cornelis Saftleven).

London, Alfred Brod Gallery, Annual Autumn Exhibition of Paintings by Old Dutch & Flemish Masters, 15 October - 14 November 1959, no. 6;
Providence 1964, no. 22;
New York, Finch College Museum of Art, Still life painters, Pieter Aertsen, 1508-1575 to Georges Braque, 1882-1963; a loan exhibition, 2 February 1965 (end date unknown), no. 80;
New York, Finch College 1966, no. 36;
Birmingham 1995, no. 20;
New Orleans 1997, no. 48;
Baltimore 1999, no. 47 (all the above as Cornelis Saftleven).

London, Alfred Brod Gallery, Annual Autumn Exhibition of Paintings by Old Dutch & Flemish Masters, 15 October - 14 November 1959, cat. no. 6;
Providence 1964, cat. no. 22, reproduced;
R. Manning, in New York, Finch College Museum of Art, Still life painters, Pieter Aertsen, 1508-1575 to Georges Braque, 1882-1963; a loan exhibition, cat. no. 80, reproduced (as signed upper left on the wooden brace);
New York, Finch College 1966, cat. no. 36, reproduced;
W. Schulz, Cornelis Saftleven 1607-1681 Leben und Werke, Berlin/New York 1978, pp. 246-247, no. 709 (as signed along the top: C. Saftleven f.);
New Orleans 1997, p. 123, cat. no. 48, reproduced p. 124;
Baltimore 1999, pp. 110-111, cat. no. 47, reproduced (all the above as by Cornelis Saftleven).

Canvas has been relined. Overall there is excellent retention of detail especially in the foreground vegetables and only some slight thinness in the basket. Under ultraviolet light, there are some small retouches in the basket, a few in background area above the cauliflower, a small area between the cauliflower and onions, and in the foreground to the right of the onions. A few other minor ones in the background. These have been well applied and there is no need for further work.
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For most of the 20th century this picture was given to the Rotterdam painter Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1681) and was listed as such in the 1978 Saftleven monograph by Dr. Wolfgang Schulz. However, although it was still shown under Saftleven’s name in the 1999 exhibition of the Weldon collection (see Exhibited), Joaneth Spicer noted in her entry that the picture had been recently re-attributed to Pieter Snijers. The confusion is logical as the two artists’ still lives are often quite similar in composition and subject matter. However, stylistic features and the handling of paint are quite distinct in each painter’s work. Whereas Saftleven's style is more painterly and loose, with the use of thick impasto in lighter areas of his compositions, Snijers's style is much more meticulous and fine. Snijers uses fine (white) lines to define the different objects in his still lives and his backgrounds are only roughly set out, although still in a refined matter; he pays great attention to detail, as can be observed in the Weldon picture. One can see his delicate white lines in the beetroots, for example, and the surface of the white of the cauliflower. Although Snijers is not known to have made versions of his work, he did make use of recurring motifs.¹   For example, the arrangement of the cauliflower and the red cabbage in this canvas can be seen in the foreground of a signed Woman and her Family Selling Vegetables, sold in these Rooms, 26 May 2005, lot 17.

Peter Snijers or Pieter Snyers was born in Antwerp into a well-off merchant family. He studied under Alexander van Bredael in 1694 and was registered as a master of the local Antwerp St. Luke Guild in 1707.  Later, in 1741 he became one of the directors of the Antwerp Academy, which eventually replaced the Guild of Saint Luke. He is reported to have resided in London in the period from 1720 to 1726, where he painted portraits of various members of the nobility. He was given the nickname 'De Heilige' or 'The Holy One' because of his calm and pious lifestyle. He died in Antwerp in 1752. Snijers was not only an accomplished painter, draftsman and engraver but was also an art collector in his own right. His substantial estate was sold in 3 posthumous sales in Antwerp in 1752, 1758 and 1763 and included not only works by famous Flemish painters such as Rubens, Van Dyck and Jan Brueghel I, but also paintings by Italian and Dutch artists such as Raphael, Locatelli, Rosa, Rembrandt, Cuyp and Wouwerman.

We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for endorsing the attribution to Snijers after firsthand inspection. 

 

1.  A. van der Willigen, Meijer, F.G., A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish still-life painters working in oils: 1525-1725, Leiden 2003, p. 185.