Galerie Dreyfus
25
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FRANKFURT SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY
Crayfish, lemons and a vase o…
See original version (French)
25
-
FRANKFURT SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY
Crayfish, lemons and a vase o…
See original version (French)
Estimate €14,000 - €18,000
Voluntary lot
Description
FRANKFURT SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY
Crayfish, lemons and a vase of flowers on an entablature
First half of the 17th century
Oil on canvas
61 x 76 cm
Provenance
Anonymous sale; New York, Sotheby’s, 7 April 1989, lot 77
(attributed to the 17th-century French School);
At David Koetser, Zurich, 1989–90, catalogue no. 22 (attributed to J. van Winghen);
Anonymous sale; Paris, Ader, Picard, Tajan, 5 December 1990, lot 30 (attributed to J. van Winghen);
Acquired at this sale by the current owner;
Private collection, Doubs
Everything here works in tandem. Whether facing each other or side by side, objects and food appear in
pairs. Two crayfish are thus neatly lined up in their silver dish under the watchful eye
of two half-lemons observing them like a pair of eyes. Further to the right are two
pieces of cutlery, a fork and a knife, which cross blades in a mock duel. Finally,
dominating the composition—the summit meeting, as it were—is that of two vessels that are
polar opposites in every respect. Starting with their material—finely blown crystal versus sturdy ceramic—
their shape—slender versus stocky—but also their purpose: a glass and a jug. The transparency
of the former, revealing a white wine with golden hues, is countered by the glazed opacity of the latter, an
improvised vase in which a bouquet of roses is in the final stages of wilting, scattering its petals
one by one onto the tablecloth. Here, the precious vies with the modest, refinement with the rustic, and the baroque
with simplicity. Symbolism emerges to remind us of the vanity of earthly possessions. Luxury
and simplicity stand on equal footing here. Time passes, sweeping everything away in its wake, corrupting,
corroding and withering. The only sign of life in this still life, the fluttering butterfly, adds to the
theme through the transience of its existence, which is even shorter than that of the
bouquet.
In the early 17th century, Frankfurt am Main and its surrounding region saw the emergence of a refined school of
still-life painting, in which the painter Georg Flegel (1566–1638) was a leading figure. Of Moravian origin,
this pupil of the Flemish artist Lucas Van Valckenborch (1535–1597) belonged to a small group of
painters who would develop this genre—imported from Flanders
and the United Provinces—with particular refinement. His compatriots and colleagues were Daniel Soreau (c. 1560–
1619) and Pieter Binoit (1590–1632); the former was the son of a Protestant family from Tournai who had taken
refuge in Cologne to escape religious persecution in Wallonia. Along with other artists,
he taught in the town of Hanau, attracting pupils such as Binoît, who was also of Walloon origin
and was destined to become one of the leading masters in this field, as well as the Alsatian Sébastien
Stoskopff (1597–1657). In all of them, one can detect Flemish and Dutch influences which
are also evident in this composition.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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