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26 - Jan I van KESSEL (Antwerp, 1626 – 1679) and Adrien Van STALB…
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Estimate €400,000 - €600,000
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Description
Jan I van KESSEL (Antwerp, 1626 – 1679) and Adrien Van STALBEMPT (Antwerp, 1580 – 1662) Allegory of the Five Senses Panel Height: 74 cm Width: 107 cm Inscription on the harpsichord: ‘Andreas.Ruckers. Me. Fecet. Antwerpia Aø 1619’. On the reverse, a label specifies the painting’s provenance. Provenance: - Auction, Paris, Tajan auction house, 25 June 2003 (expert: Eric Turquin). Commissioned around 1650 by Angibert Van den Berg, born in 1608 in Antwerp. Brought to Orléans in 1652 by his son Georges (1633–1684). A prominent sugar merchant, Georges Van den Berg was a scholar and a great collector of Flemish furniture, books and works of art, hence the presence of the harpsichord, signed by Ruckers. The Van den Berg collection remained with his descendants in Orléans until the closure of the sugar trading house during the Continental Blockade of 1810. Our painting remained in the family until it was sold at public auction in 2003. The painting is a collaborative work: the still-life elements, the objects placed on the table, the furniture and the depiction of the paintings hanging on the wall are highly characteristic of the meticulous style of Jan van Kessel the Elder. The elegant female figures, with their porcelain complexions, are the work of Adriaen van Stalbempt, as evidenced by his work as a figure painter, although he was primarily a landscape artist (see D. Coeckelberghs, *Adriaen van Stalbempt als figurenschilder*, Oud-Holland, 1981, pp. 10–12). To the left of the painting, we can admire a double-manual harpsichord bearing the following inscription: ‘Andreas Ruckers me fecit Antverpiae 1619’. On the inner surfaces of the instrument, we find decorative paper with an arabesque pattern, used by Andreas Ruckers (a type 6 and a second type very similar to type 13 in Grant O’Brien’s book on the Ruckers). The outer surfaces of the harpsichord feature a marble-effect decoration typical of Flemish design, whilst the inner surface of the lid is adorned with a high-quality painting. A harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers dating from 1627, now in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, possesses similar characteristics. Donald Boalch’s book mentions a double-manual instrument by Andreas Ruckers dating from 1619, the current whereabouts are unknown. The Brussels Museum has in its collections a nameplate bearing the same inscription as that on our harpsichord. We can draw a connection with the instrument in Jan Brueghel’s ‘Allegory of Hearing’, which Mr O’Brien has identified as being one of Ruckers’ instruments. In the mid-16th century, Antwerp became the principal economic centre of the North, and international trade in artistic produce had become established there. Indeed, harpsichord makers, painters and sculptors were required to belong to the Guild of Saint Luke in order to practise their trade. It was not until an ordinance of 1579 that harpsichord makers were recognised as craftsmen and granted the right to make the cases for their harpsichords themselves, which explains why Flemish harpsichord makers belonged to the same guild as sculptors. In 1579, Hans Ruckers, one of the world’s most famous harpsichord makers, was admitted to the Guild of Saint Luke. Born in Mechelen, he settled in Antwerp around 1550. On 25 June 1575, he married Adriana Knaeps at Our Lady’s Church in Antwerp. He died between July 1597 and December 1598. Two of Hans Ruckers’ ten children took over his business and continued to build and teach the harpsichord in the Jodenstraat in Antwerp (a street situated 200 metres from the house of Peter Paul Rubens). Johann (baptised in Antwerp on 15 July 1578 and died in Antwerp on 19 September 1642) joined the Guild of Saint Luke in 1611. From 1615 onwards, he maintained the harpsichords and spinet pianos at the court in Brussels, as well as the organs at St James’s Church and the Jacobs’kerk. From 1616 until his death, he was the harpsichord and organ builder for the Archduke in Brussels. In 1623, along with Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Brueghel, Robrecht de Nole and Rombout Rasiers, he was exempted from guard duty on the city ramparts on account of his service at court. On the death of his mother in March 1604, as the eldest son, he inherited the workshop and the family home. He married Maria Waerlaent that same year, and they had two daughters, Maria and Elizabeth. In 1636, his daughter Maria received a substantial dowry upon her marriage to the painter Snayers. His studio was taken over by his nephew Johannes Couchet. Andreas I, known as the Elder (baptised in Antwerp on 30 August 1579 and died in Antwerp between June 1651 and March 1653), joined the Guild of Saint Luke in 1610. On 25 July 1605, he married Catharina de Vries, sister-in-law of the painter Jacob Jordaens. From this marriage came a son, Andreas II, and a daughter, Anna, who would become the second wife of Johann Davidz de Heem, one of Antwerp’s most famous painters of flowers and still lifes. Andreas worked with his brother in 1604, and in 1605 he began signing his own works. In 1616, he lived near the cathedral cemetery, on Huidevetterstraat (Tanners’ Street). The Ruckers’ instruments are characterised by a high-quality construction technique unique to them, as confirmed by the Encyclopédie: ‘The finest harpsichords we have had to date in terms of the beauty of their harmony are those of the three RUCKERS and of Jean COUCHET, who, all having been based in Antwerp in the past century, produced an immense number of harpsichords, of which there are a very large number of originals in Paris”. Among the royal harpsichords at Versailles (1780 Inventory), we note one harpsichord decorated with chinoiserie motifs and another featuring figures against a yellow background. Both are by the Ruckers family. We would like to thank Odile Vérot (musical instrument expert) for her collaboration (123, rue des Dames – 75017 Paris – tel.: 01 43 87 19 76) Expert: Stéphane Pinta, Turquin firm (viewing by appointment at the expert’s office)
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About the sale TREASURES OF THE LOIRE VALLEY: Mr X’s collection of antique paintings
Auction location
Auction time 11/22/2026 at 2:00 PM
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