Attributed to Johann Liss

Van Cuyck (the name inscribed on the reverse of the copper; possibly the painter Frans Van Cuyck [1662-1690] or the painter Pieter Van Cuyck [1687-1765]).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting on copper has not been restored for a number of years and will respond well to cleaning and restoration. The copper panel is slightly bent and misshapen in the corners, yet the paint layer has not suffered in the way that many copper panels do, in that the paint layer becomes unstable. The paint layer is noticeably dirty and dull. There are old restorations in the corners and some recent losses along the bottom edge. During cleaning some other restorations may well be revealed in the sky, yet the figure group seems to be in healthy state, and this is a picture that will improve greatly with restoration.
"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."

This small oil on copper is a study for Liss's imposing oil on canvas of The Prodigal Son, now in the Germanische Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg (160.5 by 240 cm., Inv. No. Gm 1182).   The Prodigal Son was probably painted shortly after the artist's arrival in Rome around 1622/23 and, based on its considerable size and complexity, was most likely a commissioned work.¹

Differences between the study and finished painting are numerous and allow us to see how Liss developed the composition.  While the study appears to be set on a terrace with a landscape beyond, the painting in Nürnberg is set in an interior.  Other notable changes include the addition of the couple in the background to the right of the figure pouring wine and of the figure of the boy at far left, the removal of the still life at lower right, a change in the position of the dog in the foreground, and the replacement of the plumed hat on the right of the bench with a helmet.  A preparatory drawing by Liss, now in the Gabinetto dei Disegni degli Uffizi, Florence, shows many of these additions and changes, indicating that it was probably done at a later stage in the artist's working process than the present oil study.

 

1.  See R. Klessmann, Johann Liss, A Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné, Doornspijk 1999, p. 133.