Jacob van Loo

Pieter Locquet, Amsterdam;
By whose Executors Sold, Amsterdam, September 22, 1783, lot 207, for 145 florins, to Coclers (as  by Jan van Loo);
Georges Aubry, Paris;
His deceased sale, Paris, Drouot, February 13, 1939, lot 116 (as by A. van der Werff);
Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Maîtres Ader-Picard-Tajan, April 24, 1972, lot 163 (as by A. van der Werff);
Private collection, Paris, until 2012;
By whom anonymously sold, Paris, Sotheby’s, June 21, 2012, lot 22;
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

Connaissance des Arts, no. 242, April 1972, p. 36 (as  by A. van der Werff);
E.J. Sluijter, De “hedensche fabulen” in de Noordnederlandse Schilderkunst, circa 1590-1600. Een proeve van beschrijving en interpretative van schilderijen met verhalende onderwerpen uit de klassieke mythologie, La Haye, 1986, pp. 121-127, 240-241, reproduced p. 455, no. 178;
E.J. Sluijter, De “heydensche fabulen” in de schilderkunst van de Gouden Eeuw. Schilderijen metverhalende onderwerpen uit de klassieke mythologie in de noordelijke Nederlanden, Leyde, 2000, p. 75-77, 141 and 253 (notes 74 and 76), reproduced p. 253, no. 244;
D. Mandrella, Jacob van Loo (1614-1670), Paris 2011, p. 186, no. P.115, reproduced p. 187.

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 canvas has an older glue lining, but the surface is very attractive. There are hardly any retouches within the figures. There is one spot on the right breast of Venus, another on the right knee of Adonis and a few small retouches in the shadows of his ribcage and in his left hand. In the dark background on the left side, there are very few retouches except for a group in the upper left. There are also retouches in a line in the upper center of the background and retouches in the tree trunk on the right. The brown hound to the right of the figures shows a few spots of retouching. The cherub is very well preserved. There are only a few spots of retouching in the red fabric in the lower center. The work can be hung in its current state.
"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."

When the present work sold at auction in 1939 and in 1972 it was thought to be by Adriaen van der Werff because of the false signature. Today this painting is an undisputed work by Jacob van Loo and can be compared to another attested work by the artist Scene with Bacchantes, now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. SK-A-3483).

Jacob van Loo is known for his large scale history paintings. During his lifetime van Loo gained popularity with the exceptional quality of his female figures, particularly his nudes which were said to have rivaled Rembrandt’s. David Mandrella, the author of Jacob van Loo's catalog raisonné, dates the present picture to the late 1650s when van Loo shifts his focus to painting more precise works on a smaller scale.