Lot 129: Pieter Claesz (Burgsteinfurt, Westaphalia c. 1597-1660 Haarlem)

Pieter Claesz (Burgsteinfurt, Westaphalia c. 1597-1660 Haarlem) A herring on a pewter platter, with a roll of bread, a knife, an upturned glass, a stoneware and pewter jug, a red earthenware brazier, a white clay pipe, a bundle of matches and a pewter tobacco tin, on a partially draped table signed with monogram and dated 'PC 1632?' (centre, on the pewter plate) oil on oak panel 23 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (60.6 x 50.5 cm.)

60.6 x 50.5 cm.

The Earl of Rothes, Leslie House, from whom acquired by the family of the present owners in the 1920s.

Prominently signed and dated ‘1632’ on the pewter plate, this previously unpublished still-life by Pieter Claesz falls at the beginning of what is traditionally known as his middle or mature period, which spanned the 1630s and 1640s. Its stark simplicity, monochrome palette and intimate arrangement of everyday objects in an apparently arbitrary manner is characteristic of his output during that time: an empty glass lies abandoned, a plate of herring rests on top of a rucked-up white table cloth and the handle of a knife protrudes precariously over the edge of the table. It is as if the diner has momentarily deserted the table, interrupted before they had a chance to break open the bread or even light their pipe. Martina Brunner-Bulst lists a total of six still-lifes dating to 1632 (M. Brunner-Bulst, Pieter Claesz. der Hauptmeister des Haarlemer Stillebens im 17. Jahrhundert, Lingen, 2004), one of which, currently in private hands, bears a considerable resemblance to the present picture in its inclusion of smoker’s requisites: a clay pipe, a tobacco tin and matches (op. cit., pp. 236-7, no. 57, illustrated). Warm browns, greys, whites and olive greens are only briefly interrupted by splashes of red and yellow glowing in the coals of the brazier. Claesz adapted his elegantly limited palette from early 17th century landscape painters. The ubiquity of the tonal palette in Dutch 17th century art can be regarded as symptomatic of a prevailing taste amongst middle-classed consumers for unadorned presentation and discreet simplicity, perhaps precipitated by the Dutch maritime economic recession following the Twelve Year’s Truce with Spain. The present picture combines two well-established genres in Claesz’s oevre: the toebackje, or still-life with smoking paraphernalia, and the ‘fish-still-life’. The artist’s fascination with light and texture is evident: the scales of the freshly salted herring gleam, while the white clay of the pipe glows dully and the brittle crust of the bread contrast with the softness of the table cloth. The inclusion of the bread roll and the fish can be interpreted as both a Eucharistic motif and as a celebration of the simple fare of the Dutch 17th century middle-classes. Likewise, the smoking requisites and the dying embers of the brazier are at once reminders of the earthy pleasures of drunkenness and gluttony, with which they go hand in hand, and vanitas symbols, inviting refection on the transience of life: ‘For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace’ (Psalm 102.3).