Jacob Marrel

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 12 December 1979, lot 17;
David Koetser, 1985.

New Orleans 1997, no. 29;
Baltimore 1999, no. 27.

New Orleans 1997, pp. 71-73, cat. no 29, reproduced p. 72;
Baltimore 1999, pp. 65-67, reproduced p. 65 and 67 (detail);
G. Bott, Ein Stück von allerlei Blumenwerk, ein stück von Früchten, zwei Stück auf Tuch mit Hecht: die Stillebenmaler Soreau, Binoit, Codino und Marrell in Hanau und Frankfurt 1600-1650, Hanau 2001, p. 231, cat. no. 25.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work on copper is in very presentable condition. The paint layer seems to be clean. There is certainly no reason to clean or restore the picture at the moment. No retouches are visible under ultraviolet light. The corners of the copper plate are in very good condition. This is certainly a work that has survived beautifully over the centuries.
"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."

Beautifully painted on an intimate scale, this still life exemplifies Marrel’s skill as a naturalistic painter.  On the ledge, Marrel has included the characteristic morello cherries which Sam Segal interprets as a reference to the artist’s name, serving as a form of signature.¹  While the symmetrical composition set within a stone niche is typical of the artist, the scale of this work and the choice of copper support are rare in Marrel’s oeuvre.²   The bouquet is contained in a Dutch roemer and comprises some fifteen varieties of flower, from the humble forget-me-not draped on the ledge to the resplendent flame tulip crowning the composition.  The blooms are arranged in elegant disarray within a stone niche, in a manner reminiscent of Ambrosius Bosschart the Elder and Roelant Savery, by whom the artist was undoubtedly influenced.  

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

1.  S. Segal, Flowers and Nature: Netherlandish Flower Paintings of Four Centuries, exhibition catalogue, The Hague 1990, under cat. no. 195.
2.  New Orleans 1997, under Literature, p. 71.