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Lot Essay
The only known signed work by Isaac Soreau is a still life in the State Museum, Schwerin, no. 967, signed and dated 'I. Soreau 1638'. To a large degree because of this signature, pictures by Soreau have frequently been attributed to his brother, Jan Soreau, who died in 1626. Gerhard Bott in his Stillebenmaler des 17. Jahrhunderts Isaak Soreau-Peter Binoit, Darmstadt, 1962, showed that all works attributed to the two were in fact by Isaac. His compositions are generally similar, with a horizontal arrangement of one or more bowls or plates of fruit, frequently placed next to a vase of flowers, on an uncovered wooden table. One can compare the central platter of grapes with that in the picture in Schwerin, as well as the almost identical porcelain bowl, filled with blackberries in the Schwerin picture, and wild strawberries in this picture.
Isaac Soreau was born in Hanau in 1604, the son of Daniel Soreau. His father had been born in Antwerp, although by 1586 he was a citizen of Frankfurt. Joachim von Sandrart in his biography of Sebastian Stosskopf, recounts that Soreau was forced to leave Antwerp because of his Protestant religion. In 1597 Soreau was one of the signatories to an agreement with Graf Ludwig II of Hanau-Munzenberg to found a New Town in Hanau, to which place Soreau moved shortly after 1599, 'with many other people of the Spanish War' according to von Sandrart. The artistic community in Hanau introduced a large Flemish influence to the art of Frankfurt and the lower Main region.
This artistic confluence is visible in the work of Isaac Soreau, and, although no known work by Daniel Soreau exists, it can be presumed that his was the strongest influence on Isaac's work, with echoes of the styles of Beert and van Hulsdonck. Certainly, Daniel's reputation was high enough for the state of Strasbourg to send the young Sebastian Stosskopf to him as a student, who shows stylistic affinities in his early work with Isaac Soreau. Also comparable is the work of Peter Binoit, another student of Daniel Soreau's, who married his niece, Sarah.
Isaac Soreau was born in Hanau in 1604, the son of Daniel Soreau. His father had been born in Antwerp, although by 1586 he was a citizen of Frankfurt. Joachim von Sandrart in his biography of Sebastian Stosskopf, recounts that Soreau was forced to leave Antwerp because of his Protestant religion. In 1597 Soreau was one of the signatories to an agreement with Graf Ludwig II of Hanau-Munzenberg to found a New Town in Hanau, to which place Soreau moved shortly after 1599, 'with many other people of the Spanish War' according to von Sandrart. The artistic community in Hanau introduced a large Flemish influence to the art of Frankfurt and the lower Main region.
This artistic confluence is visible in the work of Isaac Soreau, and, although no known work by Daniel Soreau exists, it can be presumed that his was the strongest influence on Isaac's work, with echoes of the styles of Beert and van Hulsdonck. Certainly, Daniel's reputation was high enough for the state of Strasbourg to send the young Sebastian Stosskopf to him as a student, who shows stylistic affinities in his early work with Isaac Soreau. Also comparable is the work of Peter Binoit, another student of Daniel Soreau's, who married his niece, Sarah.