Hendrick Bogaert

With Burg-Berger, Vienna, by 1939;
With Noortman Gallery, London/Hulsberg, by 1976;
With Alberts van Smirren, Amsterdam, by 1990; 
Private collection, The Netherlands.

Paris, VIII^e Biennale Internationale des Antiquaires au Grand Palais, 1976, no. 15, as by François Rijckhals (with Robert Noortman, London/Hulsberg, according to a label on the reverse).

The actual painting is softer, a lot less red and more green in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests. The panel consists of two planks, joined horizontally, and is bevelled on all sides. There's a thin horizontal restored crack of approx. 3.5 cm. in the upper left corner. The paint surface has grown slightly thin in the background, but, otherwise, seems to be in good condition. Some minor strengthening can be observed in the cooking utensils centre right, in the utensils hanging from the wall upper right, and along the right edge. The paint surface is under a thick layer of varnish. Inspection under ultra violet light confirms the strengthening as mentioned above, and reveals additional strengthening throughout, as well as a few tiny retouchings centre right. Offered in a decorative carved gilt wood frame with a few losses and some tiny pinholes, but, otherwise, in fair condition. (MW)
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Although little is known about the life and work of Hendrick Bogaert, a number of paintings which traditionally had been attributed to the Delft painter Egbert van der Poel (1621-1664), have recently been added to Bogaert's oeuvre, such as the one sold Vienna, Dorotheum, 29 September 2004, lot 212 (as by Bogaert, with a Van der Poel signature). 

Bogaert primarily painted barn interiors. This type of painting, standing midway between interior and still life painting, became increasingly popular in the 17th Century among artists such as François Rijckhals (1609-1647), Herman (1609-1685) and Cornelis (1607/8-1681) Saftleven, and Van der Poel, who all shared stylistic similarities. A larger horizontal composition similar to the present painting was sold Munich, Helbing, 1903 (date unknown), lot 12 (as by Willem Kalf) and has had attributions to Kalf, Cornelis Saftleven, and most recently to Egbert van der Poel. As the present work shows, Bogaert fits well into the group of artists that contributed to the development of this specific subject.

We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for suggesting the attribution to Hendrick Bogaert on the basis of photographs.