- 105
Jacques de Claeuw
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
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Description
- Jacques de Claeuw
- A vanitas still life of a violin, books, an inkwell, manuscripts, a roemer, a flute, a crucifix and a wreath of flowers on a cloth covered table
- signed and dated centre: JDClauew (JDC in ligature) 1649, and inscribed with inventory number: 538
- oil on oak panel
- 33in by 26½in
Provenance
Bought by Robert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian (1636-1703), in Europe, in circa 1670;
Thence by descent.
Thence by descent.
Literature
Newbattle Abbey inventory, c. 1726/27 ('ane other stil life with a fidle etc, by [?]Claschye');
Newbattle Abbey inventory, March 1833, no. 538;
Newbattle Abbey inventory, May 1878, no. 538 (Passage);
C. Hofstede de Groote, 'Hollandsche Kunst in Schotland', in Oud Holland, 11, 1893, p. 215 (as hanging at Newbattle Abbey).
Newbattle Abbey inventory, March 1833, no. 538;
Newbattle Abbey inventory, May 1878, no. 538 (Passage);
C. Hofstede de Groote, 'Hollandsche Kunst in Schotland', in Oud Holland, 11, 1893, p. 215 (as hanging at Newbattle Abbey).
Condition
The panel is flat and unbevelled on all but the right hand edge. Four lines of battens set into the reverse of the panel suggest that it formerly had four splits or joins, but if so these have all mended seamlessly and all but one are invisible from the front of the picture. The only exception is the fine vertical crack 22 cm. from the right edge which runs up to and through the flute. There is a recent 2 cm. vertical scratch above the neck of the flask. The paint surface has been recently cleaned and restored and appears in good overall condition. inspection under ultraviolet light reveals repairs around this last crack but none of the others. There has been quite extensive strengthening to the background on the right hand side of the picture behind the crucifix and the flask and similarly there is quite extensive careful touching out to the cloth upon which the still life sits. The main body of the still life appears in good order with again careful local retouching only, this time to the violin, the book and the paper. The restoration has been well carried out but has discoloured and is now visible in some parts. The varnish has yellowed slightly but remains clear and even.
This lot is offered with a modern composite parcel gilt frame, some minor losses.
"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
Jacques de Claeuw treated vanitas subjects frequently during a peripatetic career, working in Dordrecht, Leiden, The Hague and Haarlem. Scattered instruments and papers are cast as artefacts of human achievement, to which flowers in bloom act as emblems of impermanence and foils to hubris. In this composition we find a number of objects repeated by De Claeuw in other works; the crucifix and ink well in this piece, for example, are also found in his 1650 Vanitas Still Life (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).1
1. Inv. no. SK-A-1444; see N.R.A. Vroom, A modest message as intimated by the painters of the monochrome banketje, Schiedam, 1980, p. 41, cat. no. 180, reproduced.