David Teniers the Younger

Dr Cornelis Jan Luchtmans (1777–1860), Rotterdam;
His sale, Rotterdam, Mierop, 20 April 1816, lot 138, for 48 florins, to Woodijn;
Private collection, Belgium, by 1991.

Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, David Teniers the Younger. Paintings. Drawings, 11 May – 1 September 1991, no. 31.

M. Klinge (ed.), David Teniers the Younger. Paintings. Drawings, exhibition catalogue, Antwerp 1991, p. 108, cat. no. 31, reproduced in colour p. 109.

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: The panel is slightly bowed and is providing a stable structural support. The paint surface has an even varnish layer. There is a very thin hairline crack running vertically through the composition just to the right of centre. This appears stable at present. There is a small loss in the extreme upper right of the composition. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows an opaque and discoloured varnish layer and also shows very small spots and lines of retouching, most notably within the background and lower right and lower left of the composition. Overall the painting is in good condition. The work is framed.
"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 painting is known in several old copies, some perhaps produced in Teniers' own studio, which were considered to be autograph until the early 1990s.¹ The present work, however, is now known to be the signed original - the large number of replicas testament to both its immediate and enduring popularity as a quiet but powerful image. The figure of the protagonist is particularly striking, gazing out directly at the viewer, simultaneously alert and lost in thought, his expression revealing a feeling of age and weariness. The figures beyond are more stylised and less defined, making the minutely-rendered features of the old man stand out all the more.

A mount in the photo library of the RKD, The Hague, records that a photograph of this painting was given to the Rijksbureau by the Parisian dealer Jadwiga Vuyk in 1941, although it is unclear whether Vuyk owned and sold the painting or not.

1. Period copies in the Villa Borghese and the Galleria Corsini, Rome, reproduce the composition in its entirety, while a copy in the Mauritshuis, The Hague (on loan from the Rijskmuseum, Amsterdam), is reduced and omits certain details, such as the peasants standing by the fire and the glowing tobacco in the foreground; see Klinge 1991, p. 108, reproduced figs 31a and 31b.