Jacob Marrel

Anthony Boynton Wood Esq., Hollin Hall, North Yorkshire;
By whose Estate sold, London, Christie's, 10 July 1998, lot 175 (incorrectly as oil on canvas transferred from panel);
David Koetser, 1998.

Baltimore 1999, no. 29 (incorrectly as oil on panel).

Baltimore 1999, pp. x, 69, cat. no. 29, reproduced (incorrectly as oil on panel);
G. Bott, Die Stillebenmaler Soreau, Binoit, Codino und Marrell in Hanau und Frankfurt, Hanau 2001, p. 235, cat. no. WV.M.38, reproduced; p. 138, fig. 123, reproduced in color (incorrectly as oil on panel).

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 work on canvas has been restored but not recently. The canvas has been lined using wax as an adhesive. The original canvas is now stable and even. The painting seems to be dirty. Under strong light, one can see discolored retouches in the dark background all around the still life. The condition seems very good in the still life itself. The painting would brighten considerably if the work is cleaned, and the retouches would be applied more accurately and sparingly. Ideally one would change the wax lining to a non-acidic one, but the current lining supports the canvas well nonetheless.
"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 remarkable still life by Jacob Marrel depicts a glass vase with flowers that has just toppled over on a stone ledge.  The blooms – including two variegated tulips, narcissus, columbine, lily-of-the-valley, a carnation and a rose – are strewn on the ledge with the carnation and one of the tulips seeming to burst out of the picture plane.  Droplets of water spill over the side at center while a lizard rises up on its hind legs hoping to make a meal of a small moth that has alighted on the overturned vase.  All this gives a vivid sense of immediacy, as if the viewer has just witnessed the mishap. 

Although born in Frankenthal on the Rhine, Marrel is more closely associated with the two great centers of still life painting in northern Europe: Frankfurt and Utrecht.  Having initially trained under Georg Flegel in the former, he soon moved to Utrecht in the early 1630s where he worked with Jan Davidsz. De Heem.  He also came under the influence of the Bosschaert family of flower painters and Roelandt Savery, who had settled in Utrecht after working for Rudolf II in Prague.  Back in Frankfurt in 1650, Marrel  tutored the young Abraham Mignon and later arranged for him to further his training in Utrecht with de Heem.