Lot 27: Jan Jansz. de Heem (Antwerp 1650-after 1695)

A silver tazza and a basket laden with fruit, silver platters with fruit and a partly peeled lemon, an overturned silver flagon, a glass cup and cover, a flute, and a lobster on a chest on a draped table, before a window with a view of a farm signed 'J.de.Heem.f t.' (upper right) oil on canvas 325/8 x 421/2 in. (82.8 x 108 cm.) PROVENANCE Khokenko, Kiev, 1899, no. 326. Anon. Sale, Helbing, Munich, 28 April 1932, lot 196. Anon. Sale, Kende, Vienna, 9 November 1932, lot 37. Anon. Sale, Flechtheim, Helbing & Paffrath, Dusseldorf, 11 March 1933, lot 40. with Matthiessen Galerie, Gotenburg, 1939. Anon. Sale, Bulowski, Stockholm, 2 November 1976, lot 13. EXHIBITION Utrecht, Centraal Museum, Jan Davidsz de Heem en Zijn Kring, 1991, no. 34. NOTES This picture was for long regarded as a work by Jan Davidsz de Heem, and versions of it exist by his followers - including one in the Hamburger Kunsthalle in 1921, last sold in Paris 1969, and another in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem - until it was recognised as by the hand of his son, Jan Jansz. de Heem, and published as such by Sam Segal in the catalogue of the 1991 exhibition ( loc. cit.). Jan Jansz. de Heem was a pupil of his father's, and is known to have lived and worked with him in Utrecht between 1667-1672, greatly influenced by his father's work - indeed his father is recorded by Houbraken as having retouched his son's work. Although little is known about his subsequent career, recent scholarship has re-attributed several works formerly regarded as by Jan Davidsz. to Jan Jansz.'s hand, including the Banqueting scene in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 12.195; formerly regarded as a work by Jan Davidsz. of the 1640s), the Still life with a monkey in the Wallace Collection, London (inv. no. P76) and a Still Life in the Mauritshuis, The Hague. The composition is certainly typical of Jan Davidsz. de Heem's pronkstilleven, however certain details support the revised attribution, for example the handling of the leaves and the highlights of the metal objects, as well the signature, which is untypical for the father (the style of the 'j' and 'f' are unusual, and the flourish on the 'h' is bigger than might normally be expected). SALESROOM NOTICE Mr. Fred Meijer of the RKD, to whom we are very grateful, regards this as a characteristic work of Jan Davidsz. de Heem.