PIETER VAN BOUCLE | Still life of fish and vegetables in baskets and copper dishes set in a kitchen interior, a cat and dog amongst the foodstuffs and a window with a landscape beyond

oil on canvas

The canvas is lined. Painting presents a strong image under a clear varnish with some areas of good retention of details. Other details, like those in darker hues have sunken a little. Inspection under UV reveals scattered fine lines of retouching throughout the composition with some more concentrated areas of retouching to address old repairs like the upper left corner and the center of the right edge. These retouches are not distracting to the naked eye. Offered in a carved giltwood 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.

Pieter van Boucle was a Flemish Baroque artist and pupil of Frans Snyders who worked mostly in Paris in the studios of both Laubin Baugin and Simon Vouet. In Paris, he became one of the most prolific Flemish still life painters, exemplifying the Flemish influence in Parisian paintings. This interior scene depicts the majority of the elements you would find in Boucle's paintings such as the cat, fishes, and overflowing baskets of fruits. The representation of a vicious dog in this painting that stares firmly at the cat with his teeth peeking through the sides of his snout is parallel to that of the dog in the composition in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. 1852). Furthermore, the stacked copper dishes, depicted with such luminosity and depth in far corners, also hold a similarity between these two works. However, the inclusion of the window that opens up the composition to an elaborate landscape, and the different levels where a variety of objects rest make it among the more ambitious works the artist did.

We are grateful to Dr. Fred Meijer for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs.