- 551
Pieter de Grebber
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Pieter de Grebber
- Portrait of a woman, bust length
- oil on panel
- 15 1/2 by 13 1/4 in.; 39.4 by 33.7 cm.
Provenance
Julius Unger Canstatt;
His sale, Berlin, Paul Cassirer und Hugo Helbing, 21 March 1917, lot 12;
Ivan Traugott, Stockholm;
Dr. Albert Welcker, Amsterdam;
Alfred Brod, 1958.
His sale, Berlin, Paul Cassirer und Hugo Helbing, 21 March 1917, lot 12;
Ivan Traugott, Stockholm;
Dr. Albert Welcker, Amsterdam;
Alfred Brod, 1958.
Exhibited
London, Alfred Brod Gallery, Annual Spring Exhibition of Old Masters, 11 April – 10 May 1958, no. 18;
Providence, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Northern Baroque Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, 15 April - 7 June 1964, no. 10;
Allentown, Allentown Art Museum, Seventeenth Century Painters of Haarlem, 2 April – 13 June 1965, no. 32;
New York, Finch College Museum of Art, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, 11 May - 30 June 1966, no. 15;
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972, temporary loan;
Birmingham, Alabama, The Golden Age of Dutch Painting, 22 April - 18 June 1995, no. 9;
New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, 1997, no. 22;
Baltimore, The Walters Art Gallery, An Eye for Detail, 17th-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings of the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, 20 June - 5 September 1999, no. 21.
Providence, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Northern Baroque Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, 15 April - 7 June 1964, no. 10;
Allentown, Allentown Art Museum, Seventeenth Century Painters of Haarlem, 2 April – 13 June 1965, no. 32;
New York, Finch College Museum of Art, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, 11 May - 30 June 1966, no. 15;
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972, temporary loan;
Birmingham, Alabama, The Golden Age of Dutch Painting, 22 April - 18 June 1995, no. 9;
New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, 1997, no. 22;
Baltimore, The Walters Art Gallery, An Eye for Detail, 17th-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings of the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, 20 June - 5 September 1999, no. 21.
Literature
Der Kunstmarkt, vol. XIV, no. 27 (April 1917), p. 158;
The Burlington Magazine, vol. 100, no. 663 (June 1958), p. 221, reproduced p. 222, fig. 38;
Daily Telegraph and Morning Post, 10 April 1958, p. 12, reproduced;
Seventeenth Century Painters of Haarlem, exhibition catalogue, Allentown 1965, p. 29, cat. no. 32, reproduced;
N. T. Minty, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, New Orleans 1997, pp. 55-57, cat. no. 22, reproduced p. 56;
N.T. Minty and J. Spicer, An Eye for Detail, 17th-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, Baltimore 1999, pp. 54-56, cat. no. 21, reproduced p. 55.
The Burlington Magazine, vol. 100, no. 663 (June 1958), p. 221, reproduced p. 222, fig. 38;
Daily Telegraph and Morning Post, 10 April 1958, p. 12, reproduced;
Seventeenth Century Painters of Haarlem, exhibition catalogue, Allentown 1965, p. 29, cat. no. 32, reproduced;
N. T. Minty, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, New Orleans 1997, pp. 55-57, cat. no. 22, reproduced p. 56;
N.T. Minty and J. Spicer, An Eye for Detail, 17th-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, Baltimore 1999, pp. 54-56, cat. no. 21, reproduced p. 55.
Condition
The panel is uncradled, flat and stable. The panel is beveled on the bottom left and is comprised of a single piece of wood. Overall the painting presents a strong image with some minor scuffing at the edges, possibly as a result of old frame rubbing. Inspection under UV shows a few scattered retouches, some of which have slightly discolored, especially on the neck and face of the sitter. Although those retouches have become visible to the naked eye, they are not too distracting. The panel could be hung in its current condition. It is offered in a gilded wood frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
In this sympathetic bust-length portrait, a mysterious light source illuminates the delicate features, expressive eyes, loosely bound hair, and the modest attire of an unknown woman. Apart from her rosy lips, flushed cheeks, and blush fabric near her neck the color palette used is restrained. The format, color, and contrasts of light within this painting suggest that De Grebber was influenced by the intimate and solemn portraits painted by Rembrandt and Lievens in the 1620s. Interestingly enough, a label fragment on the reverse indicates that the work was thought to have been painted by Lievens at one point in the past. Pieter de Grebber is perhaps best known for his paintings with historical or religious subjects. While the present sitter’s heavenward gaze and pious spirit might suggest a devotional quality, a scene more typical of the artist’s religious work has been preserved under the surface of the Weldon portrait. It appears de Grebber reused an old panel that once depicted the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Details of the work underneath remain faintly visible to the naked eye: the angel expelling the pair is faintly visible in front of the woman’s shawl and the soft strokes in the woman’s head correspond to the figure of Eve.