Lot 34
  • 34

Joos van Craesbeeck

Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 USD
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Description

  • Joos van Craesbeeck
  • A peasant grimacing, his arm in a sling
  • oil on panel
  • 5 3/4  by 4 1/2  in.; 14.6 by 10.9 cm.

Provenance

Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 25 January 2007, lot 1;
From whence purchased.

Condition

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 oil on panel is in very good condition. It shows no retouches or damages. the panel is unreinforced and is curved from left to right. The curve is accommodated in the frame. 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."

Catalogue Note

According to Cornelis de Bie and Arnold Houbraken, Joos van Craesbeeck was a student of the much admired Adriaen Brouwer, whose peasant scenes, with their artistic roots in the art of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, influenced a countless number of contemporaries and followers.  Like Brouwer, Craesbeeck used thinly applied glazes and harmonious colors to portray the lower class and found great interest in depicting human feeling and emotion.   In the present painting, Craesbeeck depicts a peasant with unkempt hair, wearing a simple brown costume and cap.  With a gaping mouth, downcast eyes, and bandaged head, the figure leans slightly forward towards his right arm, which hangs limply in a thin sling wrapped around his neck.  Clearly interested in the physiognomy of the sitter, Craesbeeck uses an expressive grimace and body language to convey a feeling of unbearable pain.