.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Pieter Claesz. has long been regarded as one of the preeminent still life painters of his generation and, with Willem Claesz. Heda, the leading proponent of monochromatic still lifes, paintings that echoed the tonal landscapes then in vogue with Claesz.’s Haarlem contemporaries. In a pioneering study of the artist and his work, the nineteenth-century Dutch art historian Abraham Bredius identified the essential characteristics of his art: his paintings are ‘distinguished by their beautifully luminous colors, the large amount of light, and the excellent painting, especially of metal objects.’ Bredius would go on to conclude that his paintings ‘are among the best still lifes of the seventeenth century’ (A. Bredius, ‘Der wahre Name des Meisters PC,’ Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, XVIII, 1883, p. 167).
The final digit of the date of this painting is difficult to read, and Martina Brunner-Bulst variously suggested ‘1637’ (op. cit., 2004) and ‘1638’ (op. cit., 1998), though it is likelier to read ‘1639’. Claesz.’s mature still lifes from the 1630s and 1640s exhibit tightly knit and cleverly constructed compositions with comparatively few elements. Works of the period often center around striking diagonals formed by objects like the knife, overturned tazza and pewter plates seen here. Claesz. captured the cool monochromatic harmony of their surfaces with exceptional refinement.
Several of the still life elements in this painting reappear in other works datable to the latter 1630s and 1640s. The hexagonal silver salt cellar, for example, can likewise be found in a painting of 1644 that is today at the Muzej grada in Novi Sad (see Brunner-Bulst, op. cit., 2004, no. 124). A variant with a rounded, rather than hexagonal, lip appears in a greater number of paintings, including examples dated 1643 at the Národní Galerie, Prague, and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (see Brunner-Bulst, op. cit., 2004, nos. 122 and 123). Similarly, an identical overturned tazza features in a number of paintings of the late 1630s, including ones dated 1638 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, and another in a private collection (see Brunner-Bulst, op. cit., 2004, nos. 83 and 84).
The final digit of the date of this painting is difficult to read, and Martina Brunner-Bulst variously suggested ‘1637’ (op. cit., 2004) and ‘1638’ (op. cit., 1998), though it is likelier to read ‘1639’. Claesz.’s mature still lifes from the 1630s and 1640s exhibit tightly knit and cleverly constructed compositions with comparatively few elements. Works of the period often center around striking diagonals formed by objects like the knife, overturned tazza and pewter plates seen here. Claesz. captured the cool monochromatic harmony of their surfaces with exceptional refinement.
Several of the still life elements in this painting reappear in other works datable to the latter 1630s and 1640s. The hexagonal silver salt cellar, for example, can likewise be found in a painting of 1644 that is today at the Muzej grada in Novi Sad (see Brunner-Bulst, op. cit., 2004, no. 124). A variant with a rounded, rather than hexagonal, lip appears in a greater number of paintings, including examples dated 1643 at the Národní Galerie, Prague, and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (see Brunner-Bulst, op. cit., 2004, nos. 122 and 123). Similarly, an identical overturned tazza features in a number of paintings of the late 1630s, including ones dated 1638 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, and another in a private collection (see Brunner-Bulst, op. cit., 2004, nos. 83 and 84).