Attributed to Johannes Bouman

Still life of pears, plums, and cherries in a wicker basket

Guaranteed Property

Auction Closed

January 27, 09:38 PM GMT

Estimate

8,000 - 12,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property from the Grasset Collection

Attributed to Johannes Bouman

Strasbourg 1601 - 1658 Utrecht

Still life of pears, plums, and cherries in a wicker basket

dated faintly lower right: 1642

oil on oak panel

panel: 16¼ by 17½ in.; 41.3 by 44.5 cm.

framed: 20⅞ by 22¼ in.; 53 by 56.2 cm.

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 10 October 1958, lot 126, (as Stoskopff);
Mrs. Cecil Buckley;
By whose estate sold, London, Christie's, 29 November 1974, lot 25 (as Bouman);
Where acquired for the Grasset Collection.

F.G. Meijer, Brueghel to Canaletto, European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection, exhibition catalogue, San Diego 2016, p. 22, reproduced in color;
S. Thomas, A Feast for the Eyes, European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection, exhibition catalogue, Saint Petersburg, Florida 2019, p. 40, cat. no. 14, reproduced in colour.

San Diego, San Diego Museum of Art, Brueghel to Canaletto, European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection, 2 April – 2 August 2016;
Saint Petersburg, Florida, Museum of Fine Arts, A Feast for the Eyes, European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection, 23 March – 2 September 2019, no. 14.

Despite his remarkable talent, the French-born Johannes Bouman remains a relatively elusive artist. Documented in Utrecht by 1639, he absorbed the influence of the city's artists, including Balthasar van der Ast. At the same time, Bouman maintained a unique artistic identity evident in his sparse compositions, robustly molded fruit, and softly tenebrist atmosphere. His relatively small oeuvre consists mainly of fruit still lifes, though a small number of more elaborate compositions are known. The present painting is faintly inscribed with the date "1642," by which time the artist had moved to Utrecht. In this charming still life, Bouman focuses on local goods, celebrating with patriotic vigor the prosperity of his adopted homeland. A finely-woven wicker basket overflows with domestic fruits including pears, plums, apricots, and cherries, together emblematic of the nation's agricultural fecundity. The distinctive wicker basket, which speaks to the tradition of Dutch craftsmanship, appears in at least one other still life by Bouman.