Lot 1: WILLEM VAN AELST (Delft 1626-1683 Amsterdam)

A chameleon with a dragonfly on a thistle, in a landscape signed and dated 'Guill M. van Aelst. 1670.' (upper right) oil on canvas 181/4 x 131/2 in. (46.2 x 34.3 cm.) NOTES We are grateful to Mr. Fred Meijer of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorisches Documentatie, The Hague, for confirming the attribution on the basis of a transparency (private communication, 20 March 2001). While noting the rarity of nature works by van Aelst, Mr. Meijer makes reference to another composition featuring a chameleon painted by the artist the following year, which was sold at Lepke, Berlin, 3 December 1907.