- 41
Jan Davidsz. De Heem Utrecht 1606 - 1683/4 Antwerp
Description
- Jan Davidsz. de Heem
- a still life of a tazza, a peeled lemon on a pewter plate, a silver-gilt cup with cover and grapes, all on a table draped with a green cloth
- signed upper right: JDH (in compendium) eem
- oil on panel
Provenance
Private collection, Sweden;
Anonymous sale, Stockholm, Bukowskis, 30 November/3 December 2004, lot 375a (as by Simon Luttichuys).
Catalogue Note
Another version of this still life is in the Hamburger Kunsthalle (inv.nr. 72). That painting however, has a Roemer, a flute and several oysters added to the left of the composition by Simon Luttichuys (1610 - 1661) at a later date (see T. Ketelsen, Die Niederländischen Gemälde 1500-1800, Hamburg 2001, p. 117). According to technical research carried out by the Kunsthalle in 1996, the Roemer was painted over an almost exact silver-gilt columbine cup-and-cover as in the present painting, and which is still visible in raking light.
The present painting has a distinctive pentimento: originally the silver-gilt columbine was positioned more to the left, as can also be seen in raking light. De Heem made this alteration himself, with the result that the high tones on the gilt serve to camouflage any possible marks of the joint.
We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for confirming the attribution to Jan Davidsz. de Heem on the basis of first-hand inspection. The present painting will be included in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné.