Claes Bergoijs

oil on canvas

With Douwes, Amsterdam, 1962;
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby Mak van Waay, 22-23 April 1980, lot 76 (as Simon Luttichuys);
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Christie's, 2 December 1987, lot 220 (as Simon Luttichuys);
Private collection, New York.

B. Ebert, 'Simon und Isaack Luttichuys: Monographie mit kritischem Werkverzeichnis', Munich 2009, p. 462, cat. no. SIM. D44, reproduced (under rejected attribution). 

The canvas is lined. What appear to be stretcher bar marks are along the edges, specifically on the upper and left edge. There is some thinning to the paint, specifically on the darker hues as they are hard to read, though the food in the foreground is well preserved. There is some retouching visible along the left edge, with some inconsistency at center. Some minor loss, that is barely noticeable and possibly due to old frame rubbing, is on the bottom of the left edge, meanwhile two small dots of loss that are less than 2 in. are right below the ledge at center left. Both of these fluoresce under the inspection of UV light, along with some scratches at right of the wine glass and another at top center. There is some inconsistency to the varnish, specifically on the center quadrant at right. Further scattered thin lines of retouching are here and there. The painting is offered in dark ribbed frame with an inner gold liner.
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Little is known about the life of Claes Bergoijs, whose oeuvre has begun to be recognized during the last few decades. Many of his works have had erroneous attributions, such as a similar still life, which was signed and dated '1664', but offered in a sale, Stockholm, Bukowski, 1978, lot 225 as by Gillis Gillisz. de Bergh. In light of the number of paintings that can now be attributed to Bergoijs, he must have been quite successful as a still life painter during the Dutch Golden Age.

Bergoijs was inspired by the Dutch painter Willem Kalf (1619-1693), who depicted sumptuous and ornate still lives. Just like Kalf, Bergojis also emphasized opulence in his still lives as witnessed in the present painting. Notwithstanding, Bergojis developed his own style, which favored a sharper rendition of objects highlighted equally in the foreground. This breaks away from Kalf's spotlight technique as he dramatically chose to shine light on certain items.

In the present painting, Bergojis's precision can be admired in his detailed rendering of the Venetian-style wine glass, which stands majestically with its elaborately decorated handle. Such rendering is also extended to the exotic fruit he includes in this composition, which are all evenly lit, calling attention to their presence.

We are grateful to Dr. Fred Meijer for endorsing the attribution to Claes Bergoijs on the basis of photographs.