The Gilded Age Revisited: Property from a Distinguished American Collection

The Gilded Age Revisited: Property from a Distinguished American Collection

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 812. Hendrik Reekers | DAHLIAS, NASTURTIUMS, ROSES AND OTHER FLOWERS IN A COPPER EWER WITH PLUMS, GRAPES AND PEACHES ON A MARBLE LEDGE.

Hendrik Reekers | DAHLIAS, NASTURTIUMS, ROSES AND OTHER FLOWERS IN A COPPER EWER WITH PLUMS, GRAPES AND PEACHES ON A MARBLE LEDGE

Auction Closed

February 2, 06:45 PM GMT

Estimate

200,000 - 300,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Hendrik Reekers

1815 - 1854

DUTCH

DAHLIAS, NASTURTIUMS, ROSES AND OTHER FLOWERS IN A COPPER EWER WITH PLUMS, GRAPES AND PEACHES ON A MARBLE LEDGE


signed H. Reekers and dated 1853 (lower left) 

oil on panel 

30 by 23 3/8 in.

76.2 by 59.4 cm

Sale: Christie's, London, April 6, 2000, lot 16, illustrated 

Richard Green, London

Acquired from the above in 2001 

Though his career was short lived—he died at the young age of thirty-nine— Hendrik Reekers experienced international success throughout his lifetime, and the present work demonstrates his immense passion and skill. Born in Haarlem, he first studied under his father, the still life and genre painter Johannes Reekers the Elder (1790-1858), before training under Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os (1782-1861), the foremost still life artist of the mid-nineteenth century. Reekers went on to teach at the Stadstekenschool Haarlem and continued to exhibit in Haarlem as well as The Hague, Amsterdam and at the British Institution in London.


Dahlias, Nasturtiums, Roses and Other Flowers is exquisitely rendered. The full blooms are thoughtfully and carefully arranged against a cool grey background, heightening the riot of colors and unique architecture of each individual flower, fruit and stem. Spilling over the edges of the ewer and onto a ledge, the bouquet retains a sense of wild nature. No detail has been spared, from the minuscule drops of water that delicately linger on the grapes, to the reflection of light on the fruit and the flaming orange and white pattern of the butterfly’s wings, all of which have been given considerable attention. 


Reekers' meticulous depiction of flora, fauna, and fruit, as well as the classical nature of his composition, pays homage to the artists of the Dutch Golden Age, many of whom were from the artist’s hometown of Haarlem. Masters and innovators of seventeenth century still life painting, such as Pieter Claesz and Willem Claesz Heda, had a heavy influence on Reekers, whose canvases were contemporary reinterpretations of one of the most revered genres of painting in The Netherlands.