Jan Havicksz. Steen

Dr. Johan Pieter Wierman, Leiden;

His sale, Amsterdam, van der Land, 18 August 1762, lot 47, for 31 florins;

Pieter de la Court;

His sale, Amsterdam, de Winter Cok, 17 September 1766, lot 57, for 41 florins;

With M. Meffre, Paris;

His sale, Paris, 25 February 1845, lot 88, for 538 Francs (as La petite Queteuse);

Baron E. de Beurnonville;

His sale, Paris, Pillet, 9 May 1881, lot 480, to Holbacher (as La Fête-Dieu);

Johannes Wesselhoeft (1816-1903), Hamburg (the Hudtwalcker-Wesselhoeft collection, started by Nikolaus Hudtwalcker (1794- 1863);

Acquired from the above by the Hamburg Kunsthalle in 1888,  until circa 1930;

With Karl Haberstock, Berlin by 1931;

With Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1956 - 1957;

H. Becker, Dortmund, by 1967;

With Hans M. Cramer, The Hague, by 1974, from whom acquired by the present owner. 

 

Hamburg, Kunsthalle, from 1888-1930, inv. no. 168;

Amsterdam, Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Wintertentoonstelling, Winter 1956 - 1957;

Delft, Stedelijk Musem Het Prinsenhof, Delft Masters.Vermeer's contemporaries, 1 March - 2 June 1996, unnumbered.

T. van Westrheene, Jan Steen: Étude sur l'Art en Hollande, The Hague 1856, no. 479;

G. Leithäuser, Hamburg Kunsthalle. Die Gemälde-Sammlung Hudtwalcker-Wesselhoeft, Hamburg 1889, p. 50;

C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the most eminent Dutch painters of the Seventeenth Century, vol. I, London 1907, pp. 84, 86, nos. 303 and 312;

Kunsthalle zu Hamburg: Übersicht der zurzeit ausgestellten Gemälde und Bildwerke, Hamburg 1907, p. 38 (as Kinderprozession);

Kunsthalle zu Hamburg: Katalog der alten Meister, Hamburg 1918 and 1921, cat. no. 168 in both;

E. Trautscholdt, in U. Thieme & F. Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, vol. XXXI, Leipzig 1937, p. 512;

R. Fritz (ed.), Sammlung Becker, vol. I, Gemälde Alter Meister, Dortmund 1967, (unpaginated), no. 85, reproduced in colour;

K. Braun, Alle tot nu bekende schilderijen van Jan Steen, Rotterdam 1980, p. 94, no. 71, reproduced p. 95;

M.C.C. Kersten & D.H.A.C. Lokin, Delft Masters. Vermeer's Contemporaries. Illusionism through the Conquest of Light and Space, Delft 1996, pp. 170, 224, reproduced p. 172, fig. 169 (as The May Queen).

This panel is cradled and very stable. There are two very minor horizontal splits on the left lower side, the second reaching about halfway up the panel. Otherwise the panel is in excellent condition. The paintsurface is even and well- preserved, and although a thick varnish makes examination under UV light difficult, however, there is some delicate reinforcement to the necks and faces of the old woman and two of the girls. There is a minor repair to the fine split in the panel on the left, and other well-executed reinforcements around the window frames in the upper half and on the left. Otherwise the paint is beautifully preserved, with areas of impasto remaining intact. This lot is sold unframed.
"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."

This charming scene gives a glimpse into the traditional Flemish celebration of Whitsuntide, the first day of Summer. Still observed in some parts of Flanders today, the festival centres around a girl chosen to be the Whitsun Bride. She wears a crown decorated with wild flowers in her hair, a pink apron over a white dress, and is adorned with jewellery. Leading a procession of youngsters singing traditional songs and playing instruments, the bride stops at each house to collect donations for the local parish. Two older girls, wearing white headresses, walk directly behind the bride carrying her train. A tall boy in the back proudly holds up the Whitsun flower flag. The scene captures the warm light of summer streaming into a home and the strong sense of community that such traditional celebrations underpin. Steen clearly also delighted in depicting the excitement felt by the young child in the foreground, as he drops a coin into the bride's chalice and is, for a moment, the centre of attention of both the lively ceremony and his onlooking parents.

Hofstede de Groot (see Literature) appears to have recorded this picture twice. His description of no. 312 is detailed and includes measurements which correspond closely with this work. The vaguer description of no. 303 also matches the present work, and although no measurements are given the provenance corresponds with the Hamburg Kunsthalle catalogues of 1907, 1918 and 1921.  In Hofstede de Groot the provenance for no. 312 ends with the de Beurnonville sale of 1881, whilst that of no. 303 begins with the Hudtwalcker/ Wesselhoef Collection, Hamburg. Nicolaes Hudtwalcker was a German insurance broker and art patron who assembled the "most important collection in Hamburg",¹ with a particular focus on Flemish masters. Although he died before the de Beurnonville sale in 1881, his stepson and heir Johannes Wesselhoeft "maintained and continued to add to the collection with zeal" up until 1888, at which point the group of 97 paintings was transferred to the Kunsthalle Hamburg as a joint collection under the name Die Gemälde-Sammlung Hudtwalcker-Wesselhoeft.²

This picture was certainly the one in the Becker collection in Dortmund. It is published in the collection catalogue of 1967 as no. 85, with full plate colour illustration (showing old cracks in the panel in the same places), where the earlier provenance is given as for Hofstede de Groot cat. no. 303. Much of the Becker collection was sold through Hans Cramer in the Hague, from whom the present owner's late husband acquired the picture. While the Becker catalogue lists the work as unsigned, noting that its signature disappeared after the 1921 Hamburg sale, the signature is visible in exactly its current form and place in the Becker catalogue reproduction. The signature lower left is also recorded in Hofstede de Groot no. 312.

1. See G. Leithäuser, Hamburg Kunsthalle. Die Gemälde-Sammlung Hudtwalcker-Wesselhoeft, Hamburg 1889, Introduction fol. V.

2. Ibid.