Hans Bollongier

Acquired by the present owner in January 1987. 

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel is generally in a good condition, however, there is a repaired and restored horizontal split, 9cm long, upper left and a knot to the bottom right of the painting, through the melon, causing disruption of the paint layer here. Under Ultra-violet light minor restorations can be seen along the split, to the reds of the peaches, lower right and near the cucumbers, to the hazelnuts, lower right and here and there in the background. There is also the remains of an older varnish detected. Overall, the painting is in a good condition with well preserved paint texture and astonishingly well preserved impasto to the melon. Removing the varnish would improve the tonality. Offered in an ebonised frame, in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Little is known about the life of Hans Bollongier other than that he worked as a still-life painter in Haarlem from 1623 to 1642. From his known output, we can see that he specialised in floral pieces, and he appears to have had no rivals in Haarlem in this field. As the only known flower painter in Haarlem, he is a somewhat isolated figure in the history of Dutch painting. He chiefly painted still lifes of flowers arranged simply in a single vase, similar in composition to those of Ambrosius Bosschaert. Although some folkloric genre scenes have traditionally been ascribed to him, Fred Meijer has suggested that these are in fact by the artist's younger brother Horatio.¹

The present painting, with its sumptuously painted pumpkin surrounded by other vegetables and fruit, is therefore a rare treasure within Bollongier's oeuvre. In comparison to other contemporary painters of still-lifes, Bollongier employed a looser, more painterly technique and this can clearly be seen in his handling of the pumpkin. The creamy flesh is described with loose, vigorous brushstokes and the result is dynamic and realistic. The free and loose handling in this painting is typical of Bollongier's technique during his later years and contrasts with the carefully and thinly applied paint of his earlier pieces. We can compare, for example, the handling of the fruit in this comparatively late work with his Still Life with Flowers and Fruit of 1629 in the Nationalmuseum of Stockholm, inv. NM 348, the earliest dated work by the artist.²  By comparing these two works we can also see how Bollongier develops from using delicate nuances of light and shade to model the elements in his still lifes to using powerful contrasts between dark and light. In the present painting, the directional light source coming in from the left dramatically highlights the corresponding areas of the pumpkin and emphasizes the diagonal thrust of the composition.

1. See A. Willigen & F. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-Life Painters working in Oils, 1525-1725, Leiden 2003, p. 41.
2. G. Cavalli-Björkman, Dutch and Flemish Paintings, vol. II, exhibition catalogue, Stockholm 2005, p. 98, cat. no. 111, reproduced.