楊·菲特

The Duc d'Arenberg, Paris;
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 11 January 1995, lot 93;
There purchased by the present owner. 

E. Greindl, Les Peintres flamands de nature morte au XVIIe siècle, Sterrebeek 1983, p. 353, cat. no 264 (as unsigned).

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 large elaborate still life is in lovely condition. The canvas has an early 20th century glue lining. The original canvas is made of three separate sections joined vertically, one join runs through the sky and left side of the work and the other is in the center right running through the still life. These joins are slightly raised but not unpleasantly so. The paint layer is extremely healthy. While the cracking and these original joins are raised, changing the lining is not recommended. The paint layer is slightly dirty, but the painting should not necessarily be cleaned. The few retouches that have been added have discolored, and these are visible on the left side of the sky and along the original joins. Elsewhere, retouches are few and far between, and the work's remarkable state of preservation is notable.
"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."

After Frans Snyders, his teacher, Jan Fyt is the best known and most accomplished painter of gamepieces in the southern Netherlands. His highly distinctive technique, with frenetic nervous brushstrokes, and his freer and more Baroque compositional style differ radically from those of Snyders, perhaps as a result of an Italian journey in the mid-1630s.

Despite his clear mastery in painting fish, this large scale and richly colored composition is a rare foray by Fyt into the sub-genre of fish still lifes. As Fred Meijer notes, Fyt probably selectively produced works for specific patrons whose livelihood was connected to the fish trade. Such a monumental and bountiful canvas would have likely hung in a place of prominence in a private home, most probably a dining room, and indeed its bountiful subject matter would have made a social statement as a symbol of abundance and wealth.¹

1. F.G. Meijer in L.M. Helmus et al., Fish. Still lifes by Dutch and Flemish masters 1550-1700, Utrecht 2004, p. 233.