Old Masters Evening Auction
Old Masters Evening Auction
Property from the Grasset Collection
Peter Binoit
Still life of lemons and pomegranates in a basket with a blue tit and a dragonfly, together with grapes, figs and plums in a gilt tazza and a mouse eating chestnuts, all on a ledge
Auction Closed
December 7, 07:07 PM GMT
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from the Grasset Collection
Peter Binoit
Cologne circa 1590 - 1632 Hanau
Still life of lemons and pomegranates in a basket with a blue tit and a dragonfly, together with grapes, figs and plums in a gilt tazza and a mouse eating chestnuts, all on a ledge
oil on beechwood panel
46.5 x 65.9 cm.; 18¼ x 26 in.
---------------------------------------------------
格拉塞特典藏
彼得・比諾特
約1590年生於科隆，1632年卒於哈瑙
《靜物︰臺上籃子裡的檸檬、石榴、藍山雀和蜻蜓、鎏金高足淺盤上的葡萄、無花果和李子，在吃栗子的老鼠》
油彩山毛櫸木畫板
46.5 x 65.9 公分；18 ¼ x 26 英寸
From whom acquired for the Grasset Collection in 1975.
S. Thomas, A Feast for the Eyes, European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection, exh. cat., Saint Petersburg, Florida 2019, pp. 32–33 and 95, no. 10, reproduced in colour.
This charming still life is enlivened by a blue tit and a dragonfly resting within a large wicker basket filled with lemons and pomegranates set upon a stone ledge against a dark background. Beneath a splendid gilt tazza filled with grapes, plums and figs, a small mouse is depicted eating chestnuts. This well-preserved panel is a perfect example of Binoit’s charming style, bearing the influence of both German and Flemish models. For instance, the mouse found in the present work finds parallels in the works of several Flemish painters, such as Jan Brueghel the Elder, as well as those by German contemporaries such as Georg Flegel.1
Binoit often repeated motifs in different combinations in several of his works. For example, the ornate gilt tazza also recurs in Still life of a lemon, grapes, an apple and other fruits (lot 16), offered in this sale, while the large wicker basket appears in another work, signed and dated 1624, sold in 2019.2 Many of Binoit’s most popular compositions were also repeated by members of his studio and wider circle. A comparable version of our picture by Francesco Codino (also known as Franz Godin) hangs in the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.3
Although very few works by Binoit are either signed or dated, the similarities in style and handling between this and other detailed works by the artist, suggest a date of execution of about 1617.4
For further discussion of the artist and his career, see the Still life of a lemon, grapes, an apple and other fruits (lot 18), offered in the December Evening Sale.
1 https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/Dj4mBWPx5A
3 https://www.lacarrara.it/en/catalogo/06ac00931/
4 Meijer 2016, p. 21.