Lot Essay
Born in either Leiden or possibly Ypres, the home town of his parents, Pieter de Ring may have initially trained as a mason. He appears to have moved to Antwerp by the 1630s, possibly to study with the famous still life painter, Jan Davidz. de Heem, as his eighteenth-century biographer Arnold Houbraken reports (see A. van der Willigen and F. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-life Painters Working in Oils, 1525-1725, Leiden, 2003, pp. 168-169), although he is not documented in the master's workshop. In any event, a palpable influence of this Dutch master is apparent in Pieter's still lifes of the late 1640's and early 1650's. Pieter de Ring cofounded the Leiden guild in 1648, and was a powerful influence on the artistic climate in that city. In a delightful play on words, Pieter often signed his paintings with a simple ring with a stone, as in the present composition.
We are grateful to Fred Meijer, of the RKD in The Hague, for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs (private communication, 13 April 2012).
We are grateful to Fred Meijer, of the RKD in The Hague, for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs (private communication, 13 April 2012).