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Lot Essay
The present lot is an impressive tour-de-force by the still life painter Adriana Haanen. Abundant in colour, technique and composition, all these artistic qualities were instantly recognised as the artist received a gold medal from the city of Amsterdam for the painting at the Levende Meesters exhibition in 1862. An inscription on a label on the reverse of the present lot confirms this recognition: 'Mej Adriana Haanen te Amsterdam/July rozen/op de Stedelijke tentoonstelling in 1862 bekroond met de gouden medaille van [...] van de stad Amsterdam/[..appe...]/amanuensis der [...] tot voornoemde tentoonstelling'.
As so many of her contemporaries, Adriana Haanen regularly contributed works to the yearly Levende Meesters exhibitions, either in Amsterdam, The Hague or other large Dutch city. These exhibitions usually lasted three to four weeks and at the time when the present lot was exhibited, the shows would draw about 8.000 to 10.000 visitors. In principle most of the works on show were for sale. Generally speaking about one in five paintings managed to find a buyer, with the lower value and highest value categories being the most popular. Despite the low threshold for artists to submit works and the therefore rather mixed quality of the works on offer, the Levende Meesters exhibitions were a great platform for artists to sell their works and show their paintings to a large public (for more information on these exhibitions, see: Chris Stolwijk, Uit de Schilderswereld, Leiden, 1998, pp. 131-160).
Adriana Haanen was the youngest of four children of the painter Casparis Haanen, who had settled as an artdealer in Amsterdam in 1830. All the children received their artistic education from their father. Three became members of the Amsterdam art academy: George Gillis joined in 1835, Elisabeth in 1838 and Adriana in 1845. In that same year Elisabeth sadly died. With her brothers both moving to Germany and Austria at that time, Adriana was the only sibling who had a successful career in Holland.
As so many of her contemporaries, Adriana Haanen regularly contributed works to the yearly Levende Meesters exhibitions, either in Amsterdam, The Hague or other large Dutch city. These exhibitions usually lasted three to four weeks and at the time when the present lot was exhibited, the shows would draw about 8.000 to 10.000 visitors. In principle most of the works on show were for sale. Generally speaking about one in five paintings managed to find a buyer, with the lower value and highest value categories being the most popular. Despite the low threshold for artists to submit works and the therefore rather mixed quality of the works on offer, the Levende Meesters exhibitions were a great platform for artists to sell their works and show their paintings to a large public (for more information on these exhibitions, see: Chris Stolwijk, Uit de Schilderswereld, Leiden, 1998, pp. 131-160).
Adriana Haanen was the youngest of four children of the painter Casparis Haanen, who had settled as an artdealer in Amsterdam in 1830. All the children received their artistic education from their father. Three became members of the Amsterdam art academy: George Gillis joined in 1835, Elisabeth in 1838 and Adriana in 1845. In that same year Elisabeth sadly died. With her brothers both moving to Germany and Austria at that time, Adriana was the only sibling who had a successful career in Holland.