JACOBUS BILTIUS | A trompe l'œil with a willow ptarmigan hanging from a nail

Arthur Block (according to an inscription on the stretcher);

Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 30 January 2015, lot 448.

Jacobus Biltius was born in The Hague, where he worked as an apprentice under the still life painter Carel Hardy. His own œuvre consisted primarily of still lifes, evidently much influenced by his master. Among these he is best known for his game paintings, as well as his remarkable trompe l'œil pictures. Examples of the artist's work can be found in museums including Abbeville, Berlin, Brunswick, Copenhagen, Dresden, The Hague and Leeuwarden.