The Maritime Realm: a still life of shells on a shore, the Triumph of Neptune beyond

Details

Attributed to Hieronymous Francken II (Antwerp 1578-1623)
The Maritime Realm: a still life of shells on a shore, the Triumph of Neptune beyond
oil on panel
25¾ x 35½ in. (65.4 x 90.2 cm.)

Provenance

with Schweitzer Galleries, New York, 1971.

Literature

Apollo, XCIII, April 1971, p. 54, as Hieronymous Francken II.
U. Härting, Studien zur Kabinettbildmalerei des Frans Francken II 1581-1642, Hildesheim, Zurich and New York, 1983, no. A355, as Frans Francken II.
S. Segal, in the exhibition catalogue, A Prosperous Past, Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft, 1988, p. 80, illustrated, as attributed to Hieronymous Francken II.
U. Härting, Frans Francken Der Jüngere (1581-1642). Die Gemälde mit Kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Freren, 1989, p. 113, fig. 93, and p. 367, no. (439*), as a doubtful work by Frans Francken II, possibly by Hieronymous Francken II.

Exhibited

Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, World of Wonder, 1971-1972, no. 17, as by Frans Francken I.

Lot Essay

Dr. Sam Segal (loc. cit.) suggests that the subject of the present work may possibly be derived from a motto in Ovid's Ars Amatoria (II, line 519): 'Litore quot conchae, tot sunt in amore dolores...' ('There are as many sorrows in love as there are shells on the beach...').

On the basis of a transparency and a black and white photograph, Dr. Ursula Härting no longer considers the present work to be by Frans Francken II (private communication, 10 July 2001).

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