CIRCLE OF CORNELIS CORNELISZ VAN HAARLEM | THE PRODIGAL SON

Lot Closed

February 5, 05:04 PM GMT

Estimate

12,000 - 18,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

CIRCLE OF CORNELIS CORNELISZ VAN HAARLEM

THE PRODIGAL SON

oil on panel

panel: 24⅞ by 37⅝ in.; 63.2 by 95.6 cm.

framed: 30½ by 43¼ in.; 77.5 by 109.9 cm.

The panel consists of a single board that is uncradled, but stable with all the edges beveled except the bottom right corner. The panel shows an elaborate scene, though the paint has thinned in some areas, causing details to sink like the dog underneath the table. There appears to be some lifting in the paint, which has caused scattered pindots of loss here and there, the most significant being at bottom left, underneath the rock and along the top edge. Inspection under UV shows small spots of retouching scattered throughout the figures and tablecloth, meanwhile the figure sitting at left has a more concentrated area of retouching on his back and the floor below him, as well as the figure in the background holding a jug on his face and neck. It is recommended to have a restorer address the flaking and loss on this painting. Offered in a wooden frame.

The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

Anonymous sale, Berlin, Lepke, 22 November 1904, lot 111 (as Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem and signed with monogram and dated 1638);

Anonymous sale, Berlin, Lepke, 11 April 1905, lot 56 (as Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem and signed with monogram and dated 1638);

Possibly with Galerie Sant Lucas, Vienna, 1967;

Possibly anonymous sale, Vienna, Dorotheum, 17 September 1968, lot 44 (as Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem).

J.R. Judson, Dirck Barendsz. 1534-1592, Amsterdam 1970, p. 94 (as Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem and signed with monogram and dated 1638);

P.J.J. van Thiel, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, Ghent 1999, p. 314, under cat. no. 58 (as a period copy).

In the catalogue raisonné of the artist, Pieter J.J. van Thiel lists this painting as the first of two almost identical contemporary copies that derive from a work Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem painted in 1618 and recorded as having been destroyed in a fire at Potsdam in 1945(1). The second painting listed was formerly sold in 1968 in Vienna at Dorotheum(2) and present whereabouts are unknown. The only difference between these two versions is the absence of a monogram and date. He further suggests that the signature was removed at some point between 1905-1967, making it likely that these two paintings are one and the same.

The subject of this painting is from The Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-13), which was a popular theme in the Netherlands during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It depicts the moment when the younger son squandered all his wealth in wild living in a distant place from home.

1. See Literature.

2. See Provenance.