拍品专文
We are grateful to Mr. Fred Meijer of the RKD, The Hague, for confirming the attribution of this hithero unknown still life to Jan Davidsz. de Heem (written communication, 15 March 2012).
He dates this painting to late 1641 or early 1642, when De Heem worked in Antwerp, and compares it to several similar compositions by the artist from the early 1940s. In these years De Heem's still-life arrangements became more complex and in circa 1641-2 he introduced the sharp linear accent of a clay pipe, a device he also used in his larger paintings, although the result is much more effective on a small scale, such as in the present lot. The reflections in metal and glass play an important role in most of his compositions of the early 1640s. In combination with the colourful accents of the crayfish and the bright yellow lemon, these provide the necessary brilliance to the composition.
A 17th(?) Century anonymous liberal copy of the present painting, with an additional silver-gilt cup-and-cover to the left (oil on panel, 38 x 45.5 cm.), from the collection of Sir John Ellerman Bart. was sold with Sotheby's, London, 19 November 1975, lot 63, as by C. de Heem.
The painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonnée on Jan Davidsz. de Heem by Fred Meijer.
He dates this painting to late 1641 or early 1642, when De Heem worked in Antwerp, and compares it to several similar compositions by the artist from the early 1940s. In these years De Heem's still-life arrangements became more complex and in circa 1641-2 he introduced the sharp linear accent of a clay pipe, a device he also used in his larger paintings, although the result is much more effective on a small scale, such as in the present lot. The reflections in metal and glass play an important role in most of his compositions of the early 1640s. In combination with the colourful accents of the crayfish and the bright yellow lemon, these provide the necessary brilliance to the composition.
A 17th(?) Century anonymous liberal copy of the present painting, with an additional silver-gilt cup-and-cover to the left (oil on panel, 38 x 45.5 cm.), from the collection of Sir John Ellerman Bart. was sold with Sotheby's, London, 19 November 1975, lot 63, as by C. de Heem.
The painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonnée on Jan Davidsz. de Heem by Fred Meijer.