Galerie Dreyfus
73
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ISAAK SOREAU (FRANKFURT, 1604 – FRANKFURT, 1644)
Still Life …
See original version (French)
73
-
ISAAK SOREAU (FRANKFURT, 1604 – FRANKFURT, 1644)
Still Life …
See original version (French)
Estimate €110,000 - €138,000
Voluntary lot
Description
ISAAK SOREAU
(FRANKFURT, 1604 – FRANKFURT, 1644)
Still Life with Grapes
c. 1640
Oil on panel
47 x 63 cm.
Expert Opinion
We would like to thank Dr Fred G. Meijer for confirming the authenticity of this work.
Provenance
In the same family for over 40 years.
This composition of fruit stands out
against a dark, plain background, painted with broad brushstrokes. Bunches of white and black grapes, a few peaches and a branch of damson plums
are contained within a wicker basket with an openwork design. Some of the fruit still have their
leaves attached, which adds to the impression of abundance. Placed on a simple wooden table,
the basket is accompanied, on the left, by a pair of cherries and a cut carnation which
clearly do not come from the basket, unlike the bunch of grapes on the right,
which has just fallen from it. The coexistence and arrangement of these different fruits is therefore not
coincidental but carries symbolic significance. Thus, in the basket, peaches – symbols of
kindness and truth – are combined with black plums – symbols of humility – and grapes,
which represent the nourishment of lovers and the slow ripening of feelings. Further down, the two
cherries evoke sensuality, whilst the carnation symbolises marriage... Like an exercise in
style, the arrangement here is emblematic of Isaak Soreau’s works, in which one can appreciate
his meticulous execution, his smooth brushwork and his static composition.
Isaak Soreau (1604–1644) was a German painter who specialised in still lifes. His family,
originally from Flanders, settled in Frankfurt, Germany, to join the supporters of
the Reformation. His father, Daniel, initially worked for the family’s wool business, then as
a painter and architect. Trained in his father’s workshop—which was taken over in 1619 upon his father’s death by Sé-
bastien Stoskopff (1597–1657), who completed his apprenticeship—Isaak moved to Antwerp in 1626, where
he was probably a pupil of Jacob Van Hulsdonck (1582–1647). A keen observer of flowers
and fruit, he displayed exceptional technique and rare precision. From one work to
the next, whilst repeating the same composition, he would include details or omit certain fruits to
distinguish them. Whilst the painting, held at the Petit Palais, features a more horizontal arrangement,
in which a basket filled with bunches of grapes is flanked on the left by a deep plate of
blue-and-white Chinese porcelain and on the right by a pewter dish containing plums, here
here the carnation in place of the anemone. Soreau was influenced by Stoskopff in his choices,
which emphasised the natural beauty of objects and the bounty of nature, but also the opulence
of Flemish still lifes through his exposure to Van Hulsdonck. Little known to art historians
until the mid-20th century, Isaak Soreau is now sought after by art lovers and his
paintings feature in the
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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