Frans Snyders

There are a few small nicks in the sheet at the upper margin. There is a small tear at the lower right hand corner of the sheet. There are a number of small light brown stains on the sheet, barely visible. There is a small area of abrasion located at the lower margin towards the inscription at the left hand side. A few very small holes, only visible when sheet is lifted up to the light. Overall the pen and ink remains fresh and image still strong, the sheet has suffered more at the margins where one can see that it is a little more tired and worn.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This lively and animated sheet relates to Snyders' painting, Cock Fight in a Poultry Yard, c. 1630-50 in the Musée de Brou, Bourg-en-Bresse (fig. 1).¹  The drawing is extremely close to the final composition, with only minor differences, and Fred Meijer has kindly suggested that it may in fact be a ricordo rather than a preliminary design.  Stylistically, it is comparable to Snyders' pen and brown ink preparatory drawing, in the British Museum², for a Cock Fight in a private collection.

A recurrent theme, the cock fight appears in a number of Snyders compositions and as Susan Koslow points out, the earliest we see its inclusion is in the Game Market in Chicago.³  From starting as a small element within a predominantly still-life painting it later becomes the main subject, in the Berlin Cock Fight of 1615.⁴  Koslow has analysed at some length the significance of Snyders' poultry yard scenes and their moral revelance in the 17th Century.⁵

1.  S. Koslow, Frans Snyders: The Noble Estate, Seventeenth-Century Still-life and Animal Painting in The Southern Netherlands, Antwerp 1995, p. 288, fig. 389
2.  Koslow, op.cit., p. 286, fig. 385
3.  Koslow, op.cit., p. 67, fig. 73
4.  Koslow, op.cit., p. 103, fig. 117
5.  Koslow, op. cit., chapter IX, Poultry Yards and Bird Concerts