Nicolas van Helt, dit Stocade

Ancienne collection du baron van Tuyll, château Zuylen, près d'Utrecht, d'après Louis Demonts (voir opus cité infra).

L. Demonts, "Helt-Stockade (Nicolas van). Nimègue 1614, enterré à Amsterdam le 26 novembre 1669", in Revue de l'art ancien et moderne, 1935, t. LXVIII, pp. 73-74.

The following condition report has been provided by Catherine Polnecq, 12 rue Saint-Sabin - 75011 Paris, Tel: 33 (0)1 48 05 30 53, Email: c.polnecq@hotmail.fr, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. Good overall condition. The canvas has been relined a long time ago. Under an old dirty yellow varnish which is oxidized and looks white in the dark areas. The painting has been enlarged, 1 cm on the right and in the lower part. The paint is beginning to lift with some paint losses visible to the naked eye and in the catalogue. Very old restorations are also visible to the naked eye and in the catalogue, of which one restored tear (3 cm diameter) in the chariot and a tear of the same dimensions in the foliage close to the spear. There is a vertical canvas seam in the centre to the right of the composition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Nicolas Van Helt commença très probablement sa formation dans l'atelier de David Ryckaert l'Ancien. Il quitta sa ville natale pour l'Italie en 1635 et devint membre de la société des artistes flamands et hollandais à Rome, les 'Bentvueghels' ('Oiseaux d'une volée'). C'est à cette époque qu'il reçut son surnom, 'L'estoc', surnom que l'on donnerait plutôt à un bretteur qu'à un artiste et qui évoque les dangers de la vie à Rome. La ville était alors le théâtre d'affrontements violents entre milices françaises et espagnoles pour le contrôle de la papauté.

Van Helt-Stocade partit pour la France en 1645. Il est mentionné deux ans plus tard comme membre de la prestigieuse Guilde de Saint-Luc d'Anvers et, selon Houbraken, il aurait également reçu des commandes de la reine Christine de Suède. En 1652, de retour à Nimègue, il participa à la décoration de l'Hôtel de Ville et se confirma comme peintre de portraits auprès de la bourgeoisie locale. Il n'y resta que quelques mois et partit pour Amsterdam où il termina sa vie en 1669, après s'être consacré à la grande décoration.

Signé et daté 1654, notre tableau nous renseigne sur la dernière partie de l'œuvre de Van Helt-Stocade et se présente comme une redécouverte significative pour cet artiste talentueux et reconnu par ses contemporains. Le tableau fut signalé chez le baron Van Tuyll, au château Zuylen, près d'Utrecht : Comment Vénus est descendue sur son char d'or et embrasse Adonis avec complaisance, signé N. V. Helt Stocade E. A., 1654 (voir L. Demonts, op. cit., p. 73-74).

Vénus et Adonis reflète fidèlement l'esthétique hollandaise de la peinture d'histoire de l'époque. Van Helt-Stocade traite ce sujet sensuel d'une manière monumentale et tout à fait spectaculaire. Les amoureux et leurs attributs s'entremêlent délicatement révélant toute la complexité de la composition et faisant place à un jeu graphique subtil. Notons également la spontanéité et la tendresse qui se dégagent de l'expression des chiens d'Adonis que l'on retrouve dans une autre œuvre de l'artiste, signée et datée 1655, Jacob réprimandant Joseph conservée dans une collection particulière en 2000 (toile, 112 x 88 cm ; voir fig. 1 ; voir aussi Dutch classicism in seventeenth century painting, cat. d'exp., Rotterdam, Frankfort, 2000, p. 104, reproduit fig. 10a).


VENUS AND ADONIS

Signed and dated lower right
Oil on canvas

Nicolas Van Helt almost certainly began his training in the studio of David Ryckaert the Elder. He left his native city for Italy in 1635 and there became a member of the 'Bentvueghels' ('Birds of a Feather'); a group of Dutch and Flemish artists working in Rome. It was around this time that his nickname was coined ('stocade') ; a nickname that would have been more appropriate for a swashbuckler than for an artist, and that evokes all the dangers of life in Rome. The city was at that time a place of violent confrontations between the French and Spanish militia who fought for control in the papal city.

Van Helt-Stocade left for France in 1645. His name is mentioned two years later as a member of the prestigious Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp and, according to Houbraken, he had also received commissions from Queen Christina of Sweden. In 1652, on his return to Nijmegen, he took part in the decoration of the town hall and also painted portraits of the local middle classes. He remained there for a few months but soon left for Amsterdam, where he settled until his death in 1669.

Signed and dated 1654, this painting is an important addition to Van Helt-Stocade's mature works and a significant discovery for this talented artist. The picture is listed in the collection of the Baron Van Tuyll, at the castle of Zuylen, near Utrecht : 'Comment Vénus est descendue sur son char d'or et embrasse Adonis avec complaisance, signé N. V. Helt Stocade E. A., 1654' (see L. Demonts, op. cit., pp. 73-74).

This painting of 'Venus and Adonis' successfully illustrates the Dutch aesthetic of history painting in the 17^th Century. The sensual subject matter is treated by Van Helt-Stocade with monumentality and theatricality. The lovers and their attributes mingle with ease within the rather complex composition. Particularly remarkable is the spontaneity and tenderness of Adonis' hounds, whom we find elsewhere in the artist's œuvre ; namely his signed and dated painting of 1655 showing 'Jacob reprimanding Joseph' in a private collection in 2000 (canvas, 112 by 88 cm ; see fig. 1 ; see also Dutch classicism in seventeenth century painting, exh. cat., Rotterdam & Frankfurt, 2000, p. 104, reproduced fig. 10a).


Fig. 1: Nicolas van Helt-Stocade, Jacob réprimandant Joseph, 1655
® Collection particulière