Property from an Important European Private Collection | 重要歐洲私人收藏
JOHANNES BOSSCHAERT | Still life of tulips and other flowers in a basket, with shells and fruit on a stone ledge | 約翰內斯・博斯哈特 | 《靜物：籃子內的鬱金香與其他花卉，以及石臺上的貝殼與果實》
Estimate: 150,000 - 200,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from an Important European Private Collection
重要歐洲私人收藏
JOHANNES BOSSCHAERT
約翰內斯・博斯哈特
Middelburg 1610/11 - after 1628 Dordrecht?
1610/11年生於米德爾堡，1628年後卒於多德雷赫特?
Still life of tulips and other flowers in a basket, with shells and fruit on a stone ledge
《靜物：籃子內的鬱金香與其他花卉，以及石臺上的貝殼與果實》
signed with initials and dated lower left: ·I·B· 1624 ·
款識：藝術家簽姓名縮寫並紀年·I·B· 1624 ·（左下）
oil on oak panel
油彩橡木畫板
37.2 x 55.9 cm.; 14⅝ x 22 in.
37.2 x 55.9公分；14 ⅝ x 22英寸
Condition Report
The following condition report is provided by Henry Gentle who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's:
Johannes Bosschaert
Still life
Oil on panel, in a modern black and gilt wood frame, in good condition.
The original oak panel has been re-backed and has edging strips applied.
Under u-v light , on the paint surface, a repaired horizontal join is visible that is not discernible to the reverse of the panel.
The panel is in flat and stable condition with wood grain running horizontally.
Under raking light the grain is slightly pronounced.
The paint layer is in a good stable state; under u-v light a scattering of minor restoration can be detected across the surface.
There is a natural sketchy quality to the background with open brushwork. Recent restoration has been applied to reduce this sketchiness, this has been applied excessively and unsympathetically.
Some small areas of glazing to the tulips and roses have been slightly compromised and minor strengthening to these details has been undertaken; generally these fine details have been preserved.
The textured highlights are in good original condition, as is the monogram, and subtle nuances to the paint of the grapes, redcurrants and nectarines are well preserved.
Removal of a moderately discoloured varnish would improve the tonality.
"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."
Cataloguing
Provenance
Anonymous sale, Cologne, Lempertz, 29 November 1968, lot 70 (as attributed to Jan Baers; 'signed J.B. 1624'), for DM 110,000;
Anonymous sale (‘The Property of a Gentleman of Title’), London, Christie’s, 8 December 1995, lot 35 for £375,500;
Where acquired by the father of the present owner;
Thence by inheritance.
Literature
P. Mitchell, European Flower Painters, London 1973, p. 60, reproduced in colour on p. 68, fig. 88.
Catalogue Note
An infant prodigy, Johannes Bosschaert painted this beautifully preserved panel early on in his brief career. Signed and dated 1624, it is the earliest known flower and fruit painting by the artist. Around twenty-five undisputed works, the majority horizontal in format like this one, testify to his talent as a painter. Of these, nearly half are dated between 1624 and 1627, when the artist was still a teenager, the period into which the present painting falls. The only earlier dated work by Johannes is a study on paper of four plums painted the previous year, now at the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Brunswick.1
The second son of Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573–1621), justly regarded as the founder of Dutch still-life painting, Johannes was raised in an artistically stimulating environment. His two brothers – Ambrosius the Younger and Abraham – were also painters and his uncle was the celebrated still-life specialist Balthasar van der Ast (c. 1593/4–1657), with whom he may have been sent to train following the death of his father. Indeed his uncle’s influence resonates strongly throughout his small œuvre. This still life – with its assortment of flowers that includes tulips, roses, fritillary, bluebells and an iris – is a superb example of the pioneering work of this dynasty of painters, who became enormously influential, dominating the development of still-life painting in Middelburg for decades to come.
We are grateful to Dr Fred G. Meijer for confirming that this is the earliest known dated example on panel by Bosschaert, although others, such as a comparable still life of flowers in a basket, must be from the same year and datable perhaps slightly earlier.2 Dr Meijer describes the present painting as an excellent example of Johannes Bosschaert's work.
1 S. Segal, ‘Johannes Bosschaert’, in Masters of Middelburg, exh. cat., Kunsthandel K. & V. Waterman, Amsterdam, March 1984, p. 63.
2 Last recorded with Michel Segoura, Paris; https://rkd.nl/explore/images/4787.
