Juriaan van Streek

With Alfred Brod, London;
Willem M.J. Russell, Amsterdam;
From whom acquired in circa 1980-81 by the present collector.

Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Nederlandse Stillevens uit de zeventiende eeuw, 21 July - 2 September 1962, no. 100;
Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art; Kyoto, Municipal Museum, The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings and Drawings of the 17th Century, 19 October 1968 - 2 March 1969, no. 62 (as circa 1665/70);
Amsterdam, Amsterdams Historisch Museum, 17e-eeuwse schilderijen uit de verzameling Willem Russell, 20 June - 13 September 1970, no, 87;
Auckland, Auckland City Art Gallery, Still-Life in the age of Rembrandt, 1982, no. 16;
Amsterdam, Gallery Pieter de Boer; Brunswick, Anton-Ulrich Museum, A Fruitful Past, A Survey of the Fruit Still Lifes of the Northern and Southern Netherlands from Brueghel till Van Gogh, 22 April - 31 July 1983, no. 52.

L.J. Bol, Holländische Maler des 17. Jahrhunderts nahe den grossen Meistern, Landschaften und Stilleben, Brunswick 1969, p. 347, reproduced p. 348, fig. 312;
I. Bergström, "The Russell Collection in Amsterdam," in Apollo, vol. 96, no. 125, July 1972, p. 38, reproduced p. 40, fig. 4;
E. de Jongh, in Still-Life in the age of Rembrandt, exhibition catalogue, Auckland 1982, cat. no. 113, reproduced p. 112;
S. Segal, in A Fruitful Past, A Survey of the Fruit Still Lifes of the Northern and Southern Netherlands from Brueghel till Van Gogh, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam and Brunswick 1983, p. 127, cat. no. 52, reproduced.

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 has been restored and is in very good condition. The canvas has an old glue lining which is nicely presenting the surface. The varnish is good, and the retouches are well matched. There are retouches in the lighter colors of the lemon and peaches in the bowl and in the orange on the far left. There are a few spots along the extreme bottom left. There is a restoration in the upper background about 1 inch from the center top edge, and another line of restoration extending 2 inches from the upper center of the left side. The paint layer does not appear to be abraded. The work should be hung as is.
"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."

Van Streek is first documented in Amsterdam in 1653, where he seems to have remained for his entire career.  Primarily a painter of still lifes, he also produced tronies and is mentioned as a portrait painter, though none are accounted for today.  Although we know nothing about his artistic training, many of his still life paintings show a close affinity to those of the Rotterdam-born painter Willem Kalf (1619-1693), who was also first reported working in Amsterdam in 1653.  During the previous decade, Kalf had developed a more sumptuous form of still life painting (pronkstilleven).  Depicting a variety of precious and exotic objects and foods, these paintings were a reflection of the growing wealth and power of the Dutch Republic and the benefits of trade.  With his ability to skillfully render different objects and textures, Van Streek was able to successfully meet the burgeoning demand for these symbols of prosperity.

This striking still life incorporates some of Van Streek’s favorite elements such as the blue and white Chinese porcelain objects and velvet drapery which he used repeatedly in his works.  The tilted bowl of fruit set against strong vertical objects, here a tall wine glass and ewer, was a compositional device he used in many of his paintings.  Van Streek rarely dated his pictures and seems to have maintained a consistent style throughout his career.