Lot 31: - Gérard van Kuijl , Gouda 1604 - 1673 Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharoah's Baker and butler in prison oil on canvas

signed with initials lower left: G.V.K. oil on canvas

measurements note 134.6 by 174.5 cm.; 53 by 68 3/4 in.

Arcade Gallery, 1953, no. 17;
London, Robilant and Voena, French, Dutch and Flemish Caravaggesque Paintings from the Koelliker Collection, 2005.

M.R. Waddingham, "The Sweerts Exhibition in Rotterdam", in Paragone, no. 107, 1958, p. 71, reproduced fig. 25;
M.R. Waddingham, "Another Look at Gysbert van der Kuyl", in Paragone, no. 125, 1960, p. 46-9, reproduced fig. 24;
E.J. Sluijter, "Niet Gysbert van der Kuyl uit Gouda, maar Gerard van Kuijl uit Gorinchem; een identiteitsverwisseling sinds Houbraken", in Oud Holland, no. 91, 1977, pp. 173-4, cat. no. A3, reproduced;
J. Bikker, in The International Caravaggesque Movement: French, Dutch and Flemish Caravaggesque Paintings from the Koelliker Foundation, exhibition catalogue, London 2005, pp. 46-9.

Presumably John Francis, 16th Lord Arundell (d. 1944), Wardour Castle, Wiltshire;
Wardour Castle sale, 4 June 1948, lot 542;
With Arcade Gallery, 1953, no. 17;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 16 July 1971, lot 56, for 800 gns. to French;
With Loewi-Robertson Gallery, Los Angeles, 1976;
Private collection, Milan;
Acquired by the present owner in April 2003.

PROPERTY FROM THE LONDON RESIDENCE OF LUIGI KOELLIKER
Until recently this late proponent of Dutch Caravaggism, Gerard van Kuijl, was identified with the artist Gysbert van der Kuyl from Gouda and it was only in 1977 that his true identity as the son a wealthy family in Gorinchem was established.υ1 Subsequently it has been possible to reconstruct his career which probably began in Utrecht under Gerrit van Honthorst, whose will van Kuijl witnessed in 1625. Van Kuij was then in Rome between 1629-31 and returned to his home town of Gorinchem where he joined the Broederschap der Romeinen binnen Gorinchem (the Roman Brotherhood of Gorinchem) in 1632. No work from this period survives so it is difficult to guage the effect the early teachings of Honthorst and his subsequent trip to Rome had on the young artist. However he was again to visit Utrecht in the 1640's when the influence of Honthorst can be clearly seen in his work. This picture was first published as autograph by M.R. Waddingham in 1958 when entitled Three Men in a Conversation. It is a testament to van Kuijl's skill that he was able to imbue these biblical characters with such a palpable sense of normality and it was not until two years later that the subject was recognised as the Old Testament story of Joseph Interpreting the Dreams of Pharaoh's Baker and Butler in Prison, (Genesis 41: 1-45).υ2 This was an unusual choice of subject amongst the Dutch Caravaggesque artists, more favoured by Rembrandt and his followers. Sluijter has identified a Rembrandt school painting formerly attributed to Carel Fabritius as a possible inspiration and both paintings share the same contrast between the naked figure of the baker and the clothed Joseph.υ3 Comparison with Van Kuijl's earliest dated work Sertorius Demonstrating that Cunning Often Gets the Better of Force, Gorinchem Town Hall, 1638 has lead Jonathan Bikker to date the present picture later in his oeuvre to between 1640-45.υ4 1. E.J. Sluijter, under Literature, pp. 173-174.
2. M.R. Waddingham, under Literature, 1958, p. 71; and 1960, p. 45.
3. E.J. Sluijter, op. cit., p. 174.
4. J. Bikker, under Literature, p. 48.