Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne

Private collection, England;
Probably Alfred Brod, circa 1958.

London  Alfred Brod Gallery, Summer Exhibition, 1957;
Indianapolis, John Herron Art Museum and San Diego, The Fine Arts Gallery, The Young Rembrandt and His Times, 14 February –18 Mary 1958, no. 73;
Providence 1964, no. 25;
New York, Finch 1966, no. 41;
Birmingham 1995, no. 23;
Washington, National Gallery of Art, Dutch Cabinet Pictures, temporary loan, 1 April –15 September 1996;
New Orleans 1997, no. 58;
Baltimore 1999, no. 58.

M.-L. D'Otrange Mastai, "The Connoisseur in America," in The Connoisseur 156 (July 1964), p. 222, reproduced p. 221;
Tot Lering en Vermaak, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam 1976, p. 255, under cat. no. 67, reproduced;
L.K. Reinold, The Representation of the Beggar as Rogue in Dutch Seventeenth-Century Art, doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1981, p. 170, reproduced fig. 210;
A. Plokker, Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne (1589-1662), de grisailles met spreukbanden, Leuven and Amersfoort, 1984, pp. 28-30, cat. no. 3, reproduced;
M. Royalton-Kisch, Adriaen van de Venne's Album in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, London 1988, p. 122, note 100.

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 is in very good condition. The oak panel is flat and unreinforced. The painting seems to be quite dirty, with a yellowed varnish. If the picture is to be cleaned, retouches that are not clearly visible under ultraviolet light may become apparent. However, it is doubtful that any retouches of any significance would be required apart from those to expected slight thinness and texture from the wood panel.
"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."

A blind beggar carries another beggar with a wooden leg through a landscape. In helping each other to overcome their handicaps, they illustrate the commonly known  proverb "The lame leads the blind." However, here things may be going astray, since the lame beggar is pointing out directions with his hand, apparently forgetting that his companion cannot see him doing so. 

Unlike many of Van de Venne's grisailles showing low-life subjects, this painting does not bear a banderole with an inscription to explain the scene. However, an engraving by Cornelis Bloemaert after a design by Adriaen van de Venne depicts a very similar composition in reverse and bears the inscription Alle Baaten helpen, which can be translated as All gifts help, clearly referring to the two beggars 'helping' each other with their remaining abilities.¹ A variation on this proverb is used by Van de Venne on p. 198 in his book Tafereel van de Belacchende Werelt of 1635: Alle Baten helpen veel Mensche[n] veel Bate[n] helpe[n] alle Menschen (All gifts help many people, many gifts help all people).² 

An earlier depiction of a bearded blind man carrying a man with a wooden leg, which might have inspired Van de Venne, can be found in the left margins of a frontispiece by the monogrammist D.V.H.³  

We are grateful to Edwin Buijsen (Mauritshuis/RKD) for confirming the attribution to Van de Venne and for preparing this entry.  

1.  See M.G. Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons. Paintings and Prints, 2 vols., Doornspijk 1993, vol. 1, p. 523, cat. no. CB8, reproduced vol. 2, fig. CB8.
2.  See M. van Vaeck, Adriaen van de Vennes Tafereel van de Belacchende Werelt (Den Haag, 1635), Ghent 1994, vol. 2, p. 514.
3.  See J.S. Peters (ed.), The Illustrated Bartsch 18. Formerly volume 9 (part 1). German Masters of the Sixteenth Century, New York 1982, p. 45, cat. no. 17A. For other possible sources of inspiration, see Plokker under Literature, p. 29.