Pedro de Camprobín

Canvas is unlined and on original stretcher. Picture is in fresh condition and likely has not been restored in some time. Clouds in the background as well as the flowers have retained their detail, coloration, and impasto. It is apparent that there is some dirt on the surface. UV light reveals a few scattered and isolated retouches in the white flower in lower left and in the pink flower at upper center. Picture would respond well to a light cleaning. Sold in gilded frame, possibly the original.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Pedro de Camprobín underwent his artistic training in Toledo, the birthplace of Spanish still-life painting, where in 1624 (at the age of 14) he was apprenticed to the religious painter, Luis Tristán, until the latter’s death in 1628. By the end of the third decade of the 17th century, Toledo had relinquished its status as one of the pre-eminent artistic centers in Spain and by November 1628 Camprobín had moved to Seville where his presence is recorded on his marriage to Maria de Encalada, the daughter of the painter Antonio de Arnos. Two years later, he became an independent master, entering into the painter’s guild of Seville on 3 June 1630. Relatively little is known about his early output, although the existence of only one known religious work, a painting of The Magdalene (signed and dated 1634) in the Iglesia de San Salvador, Seville, suggests that he turned to still-life painting at an early stage. The majority of his dated still lifes seem to date from the 1650s onwards though many undated works almost certainly pertain to earlier in his career.

Unlined and on its original stretcher -- and still in what may have been its original frame -- the painting is in unusually fresh condition.  Its small scale suggests that it may have been part of a pair or series of such works and, while unsigned, one of the others could have been. 

We are grateful to William B. Jordan for suggesting the attribution to Camprobín, based on photographic assessment.