Lot Essay
The artist was named 'The Master of the Lombard Fruit Bowl' by Professor Luigi Salerno (La natura morta italiana, 1984, pp. 18-21) after a group of still lifes with bowls of fruit, two of which had been published by Professor John Spike (in the catalogue of the exhibition, Italian Still Life Paintings from three Centuries, New York, Tulsa and Dayton, 1983, nos. 3-4) as 'Anonymous Lombard, c. 1600.' Their attempts to identify the artist as Italian have not, however, gained acceptance. The most important of the pictures illustrated by Salerno, that formerly owned by Victor Spark in New York, had previously been published as the work of Snchez Cotn by Ramon Torres Martn (La naturaleza muerta en la pintura espaola, Barcelona, 1971, color pl. 8) and was sold at Sotheby's, New York, June 3 , 1988, lot 140, with a tentative attribution to that artist.
A group of closely related pictures was sold at Edmund Peel, Madrid, May 21, 1991, lots 10-12, and Oct. 29, 1991, lots 12-13. Dr. William Jordan attributed that group of paintings to Toms Hiepes, but since their appearance he has identified approximately forty still lifes in the same style, all of which are unsigned, and he is no longer certain of their attribution. In the catalogue of the exhibition, Spanish Still Life from Velzquez to Goya, The National Gallery, London, Feb. 22 - May 21, 1995, pp. 124-8 and 197-8, notes 14-31, Dr. William Jordan and Dr. Peter Cherry have persuasively argued that the painter was indeed Spanish and was probably active near the middle of the seventeenth century. They note 'because of similarities to the works of Toms Hiepes, himself an archaizing artist, we may conjecture a familiarity with his still lifes'. They surmise that the identity of this mysterious artist should probably be sought somewhere in the region extending from Valencia, in the South, northwards to the region of Zaragoza, and that until a signed example is discovered (in keeping with the traditional attribution to Toms Hiepes of six paintings by this artist in a private collection in Madrid, op. cit., pp. 125-6, fig. 48), the artist should be identified as 'The Pseudo-Hiepes.'
The works thus far identified as by the Pseudo-Hiepes are characterized by the repetition of selected motifs. Among the objects most commonly depicted are the small chests of drawers, or papeleras, which were popular luxury items in seventeenth century Spain. These chests also feature in works by other Spanish still-life artists, such as Antonio de Pereda (Still Life with Sweets, Vessels and Ebony Chest, 1652, The Hermitage, St. Petersberg) and Pedro de Camprobn (Still Life with Sweets and Flowers, circa 1660s, private collection, Madrid). Surprisingly, Hiepes also depicted these chests, see, for example, a work from a private collection in Madrid exhibited in the 1995 Valencia exhibition, Toms Yepes (p. 60, no. 12). In his catalogue entry for the Pseudo-Hiepes in the 1997 exhibition, An Eye on Nature at the Matthiesen Gallery, London (p. 116, note 7), Jordan notes that there are at least seven known still-lifes with papeleras. Amongst these is a still life sold at Christie's, London, July 7, 1995, lot 89, which is very similar to the present work, most notably in the fine inlaid papeleras surmounted by a tortoiseshell casket. These two works also share another common motif in the Pseudo-Hiepes' corpus, the latticinio vase to the right of the chest, itself typical of Valencian glass-ware at this time. However, there are a number of differences between the two works: the present work has, on the left in front of the cabinet, a basket of sweets whereas the London picture has a bowl of fruit (although there is a branch of cherries rising out of each object) and in the place of the apples and small document seen on the right in the latter work, the present composition has a glass of milk on a plate of sweets and a charming pot bearing an inscription on its cover. The apparent ease with which the Pseudo-Hiepes interchanged motifs might suggest that he kept these objects in his studio, or, more likely, that he worked from models or pattern-books.
A group of closely related pictures was sold at Edmund Peel, Madrid, May 21, 1991, lots 10-12, and Oct. 29, 1991, lots 12-13. Dr. William Jordan attributed that group of paintings to Toms Hiepes, but since their appearance he has identified approximately forty still lifes in the same style, all of which are unsigned, and he is no longer certain of their attribution. In the catalogue of the exhibition, Spanish Still Life from Velzquez to Goya, The National Gallery, London, Feb. 22 - May 21, 1995, pp. 124-8 and 197-8, notes 14-31, Dr. William Jordan and Dr. Peter Cherry have persuasively argued that the painter was indeed Spanish and was probably active near the middle of the seventeenth century. They note 'because of similarities to the works of Toms Hiepes, himself an archaizing artist, we may conjecture a familiarity with his still lifes'. They surmise that the identity of this mysterious artist should probably be sought somewhere in the region extending from Valencia, in the South, northwards to the region of Zaragoza, and that until a signed example is discovered (in keeping with the traditional attribution to Toms Hiepes of six paintings by this artist in a private collection in Madrid, op. cit., pp. 125-6, fig. 48), the artist should be identified as 'The Pseudo-Hiepes.'
The works thus far identified as by the Pseudo-Hiepes are characterized by the repetition of selected motifs. Among the objects most commonly depicted are the small chests of drawers, or papeleras, which were popular luxury items in seventeenth century Spain. These chests also feature in works by other Spanish still-life artists, such as Antonio de Pereda (Still Life with Sweets, Vessels and Ebony Chest, 1652, The Hermitage, St. Petersberg) and Pedro de Camprobn (Still Life with Sweets and Flowers, circa 1660s, private collection, Madrid). Surprisingly, Hiepes also depicted these chests, see, for example, a work from a private collection in Madrid exhibited in the 1995 Valencia exhibition, Toms Yepes (p. 60, no. 12). In his catalogue entry for the Pseudo-Hiepes in the 1997 exhibition, An Eye on Nature at the Matthiesen Gallery, London (p. 116, note 7), Jordan notes that there are at least seven known still-lifes with papeleras. Amongst these is a still life sold at Christie's, London, July 7, 1995, lot 89, which is very similar to the present work, most notably in the fine inlaid papeleras surmounted by a tortoiseshell casket. These two works also share another common motif in the Pseudo-Hiepes' corpus, the latticinio vase to the right of the chest, itself typical of Valencian glass-ware at this time. However, there are a number of differences between the two works: the present work has, on the left in front of the cabinet, a basket of sweets whereas the London picture has a bowl of fruit (although there is a branch of cherries rising out of each object) and in the place of the apples and small document seen on the right in the latter work, the present composition has a glass of milk on a plate of sweets and a charming pot bearing an inscription on its cover. The apparent ease with which the Pseudo-Hiepes interchanged motifs might suggest that he kept these objects in his studio, or, more likely, that he worked from models or pattern-books.