Lot 213
  • 213

Jan Frans van Dael

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Jan Frans van Dael
  • Still life with fritillaria imperialis, roses and tulips in a stone vase, on a red marble ledge
  • signed and dated lower left: Van dael / Can 3 ème
  • oil on canvas

Provenance

Baron Eugène Fould-Springer (d. 1929) and his wife Marie-Cecile (d. 1978), Palais Abbatial de Royaumont, Asnières-sur-Oise, France;
Thence by family descent until sold, Paris, Christie's, 19 September 2011, lot 48.

Condition

The canvas has a firm relining. The paint surface is stable, the varnish clear and even. There are no major damages visible to the naked eye. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals very little but a few very minor retouchings, scattered throughout, to mask the craquelure. In very good overall condition and offered in a carved and giltwood cassetta frame in good condition.
"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

Jan Frans van Dael was one of the most highly regarded painters of flowers and fruit in Paris during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He turned to still-life painting after training as an architect in his native Antwerp and moving to Paris in 1786 as a decorative painter, in which capacity he gained important commissions at the chateaux of Saint-Cloud, Bellevue and Chantilly, among others. In 1793 Van Dael acquired lodgings in the Louvre and came under the guidance of his fellow countryman, Gerard van Spaendonck (1746–1822), the leading still-life painter of the time, whose influence inspired Van Dael to specialise in the genre for the rest of his career. The popularity of his work is attested to by the commissions he secured from patrons as important and influential as the Empresses Josephine and Marie-Louise Bonaparte, and the Restoration kings Louis XVIII and Charles X. When he died in 1840, Van Dael was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery next to van Spaendonck.

The present work is one of Van Dael’s earliest. Its date ‘3 ème’ refers to the third year of the French Revolutionary calendar, which ran from 22 September 1794 to 22 September 1795. The rather dark background is characteristic of his early compositions, illuminated by a bright but soft light, which allows for the meticulous articulation of every intricate detail and assorted texture, as well as the convincing impression of depth and substance. The style here is highly refined and the colours jewel-like, reflecting both Van Dael’s fidelity to the Flemish and Dutch tradition and the grand context of turn-of-the-century France. Indeed, Van Dael collected the flower paintings of both his contemporaries and 17th-century masters, such as Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Abraham Mignon and Rachel Ruysch. Although he was clearly inspired by the rich compositions and luxurious motifs of Van Spaendonck’s works, the present painting is evidence of Van Dael’s originality of invention. The plant in the lower right corner, apparently growing from an unseen source in front of the marble ledge, would seem to be a unique device.

This painting was formerly in the collection of the banker Baron Eugène Fould-Springer and his wife Marie-Cecil, daughter of the industrialist Baron Gustav Springer. Their house – the Palais Abbatial de Royaumont at Asnières-sur-Oise, near Chantilly, formerly a 13th-century Cistercian abbey, transformed into a neoclassical building in 1784 – and their collection, were protected from the Nazis during the Second World War by the couple’s son-in-law, the Spanish diplomat Eduardo Propper de Callejón who, by declaring it to be his main residence, gave it diplomatic immunity. Propper de Callejón is mainly remembered for facilitating the escape of thousands of Jews from occupied France at this time.