Lotto 3027* - A210 Dipinti antichi - venerdì, 20. settembre 2024, 14h00
CLARA PEETERS
(circa 1590 Antwerp circa 1659)
Still Life with a Peregrine Falcon and Birds.
Oil on panel.
Signed below left: CLARA. P.
33.8 × 55 cm.
Certificate:
Provenance:
- By marriage with Baron Huyssens van Kattendijke's daughter Ida Jacqueline Juliette (1832–1897) to Jean Dollfus, Jean Dollfus Collection (1823–1911).
- Adrien Dollfus Collection (1858–1921).
- By descent, Jean Dollfus Collection (1891–1983).
- By donation, private collection, Germany.
This powerful painting by Clara Peeters represents a majestic juvenile peregrine falcon with its prey arranged on a tabletop. The dark background highlights the falcon’s lighter plumage and the glittering reflection in its eye as it stares at the viewer. The raptor is proudly standing on the breast of a grey partridge, defeated by the predator’s strong talons. A kingfisher, a common snipe, two bullfinches, four chaffinches and three skylarks are among the birds depicted, their soft feathers displayed in a colourful palette typical of Peeters. The twelve other birds lying in the basket and on the tabletop emphasise the strength of the predator. The correct anatomy and proportions of the birds allows their identification (see ornithological report by Prof. Dr. Martin Kraft, 2016, available in copy), which clearly reflects Peeters’ meticulous, first-hand observation of creatures.
Clara Peeters was a significant artist of the first quarter of the seventeenth century in Antwerp. She is now known to have innovated the field of traditional Flemish still lifes in many ways. Here, she is a pioneer in a category of paintings representing a specific type of hunt: falconry. Whereas this hunting technique was well known in Europe since the Middle Ages in royal and aristocratic contexts, Peeters’ work is an early occurrence of this subject in oil painting.
Recent dendrochronological analysis made by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein (2014, available in copy) confirms that this oil on panel can be dated around 1615, which places its production in the middle of her career. The dated artworks from her corpus begin in 1607–09 and her last known dated painting bears the date 1621 next to her signature. The appearance of the present artwork on the Antwerp market may be related to an interesting event: in 1613, the archdukes Isabel Clara Eugenia (1566–1633) and Albert of Austria (1559–1621), who ruled Flanders at that time, adopted a law establishing the right of noble men and women to practice hunting exclusively "fur with fur and feather with feather" (see exhib. cat. The Art of Clara Peeters, ed. by Alejandro Vergara, Madrid/Antwerp 2016, S. 38). This means that dogs were trained to hunt mammals, whereas birds, raptors in particular, were domesticated to capture other birds. Knowing that Isabel Clara Eugenia was passionate about falconry, Clara Peeters might have chosen this subject to establish her artistic authority in the mercantile capital of Flanders.
Prof. Hibbs-Decoteau, who studied this painting intensively in her expert opinion of 2009 and again in 2017, is clearly convinced of its authorship. The masterful detail and virtuosity of the painting speak in favour of this. She also mentions in her expert opinion that this painting is highly probably the prototype by Clara Peeters (see Decoteau 2009, p. 3–4), which served as the model for later versions. "Still life with a peregrine falcon and its prey", now in a private collection (see fig. 1, from exhib. cat. The Art of Clara Peeters, ed by Alejandro Vergara, Madrid/Antwerp 2016, p. 91) by the Antwerp artist Nicolaes Cave (active 1619-1651) is clearly based on our composition. Cave was listed as a master in the Antwerp Painters' Guild in 1619. Dr. Fred G. Meijer also confirms this observation as well as the authenticity of our work, for which we thank him (written communication, July 2024).
Cave was not the only artist to benefit from the commercial success of this iconography on the Antwerp market. At least twelve versions are known today with variations in their compositions (written communication of Prof. Hibbs-Decoteau, 2018). Many are signed by Peeters, such as the "Still Life with Peregrine Falcon and its Prey" (Salomon Lilian: Old Masters, Geneva/Amsterdam 2015, pp. 44–45, cat. no. 9), "Still Life with Game" (Tallin Art Museum, inv. no. VM878), and "Still Life with Sparrow Hawk, Fowl, Porcelain and Shells" (Prado Museum, inv. no. P1619).
In addition to the exclusivity of this bird splendour, which is appearing on the auction market for the first time, the provenance of this painting is particularly interesting. The still life was in the collection of His Excellency Johann Willem Baron Huyssen van Kattendijke (1782–1854), Foreign Minister of the Netherlands and a personal confidant of King William II. Through the marriage of his daughter Ida Jacqueline Juliette (1832–1897) to the industrial magnate Jean Dollfus (1823–1911), the painting became part of the Dollfus collection. Their common passion for art resulted in the formation of a large collection of paintings, which continued to grow throughout their lifetimes. The painting remained in the family over several generations, including that of Jean Dollfus’ great granddaughter, who bequeathed it to her children. The painting now comes to auction as part of this same family’s inheritance.
"Still Life with a Peregrine Falcon and Birds" is an excellent example of the work of the clever and talented Clara Peeters. Not only did she master painting techniques based on her own empirical observations of nature, but she also developed a strategy to market her works. This painting is witness to Peeter’s role as one of the most influential female artists of her time.
The painting is archived in the RKD, The Hague, as an authentic artwork by Clara Peeters under the number 313805.
Clara Peeters was a significant artist of the first quarter of the seventeenth century in Antwerp. She is now known to have innovated the field of traditional Flemish still lifes in many ways. Here, she is a pioneer in a category of paintings representing a specific type of hunt: falconry. Whereas this hunting technique was well known in Europe since the Middle Ages in royal and aristocratic contexts, Peeters’ work is an early occurrence of this subject in oil painting.
Recent dendrochronological analysis made by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein (2014, available in copy) confirms that this oil on panel can be dated around 1615, which places its production in the middle of her career. The dated artworks from her corpus begin in 1607–09 and her last known dated painting bears the date 1621 next to her signature. The appearance of the present artwork on the Antwerp market may be related to an interesting event: in 1613, the archdukes Isabel Clara Eugenia (1566–1633) and Albert of Austria (1559–1621), who ruled Flanders at that time, adopted a law establishing the right of noble men and women to practice hunting exclusively "fur with fur and feather with feather" (see exhib. cat. The Art of Clara Peeters, ed. by Alejandro Vergara, Madrid/Antwerp 2016, S. 38). This means that dogs were trained to hunt mammals, whereas birds, raptors in particular, were domesticated to capture other birds. Knowing that Isabel Clara Eugenia was passionate about falconry, Clara Peeters might have chosen this subject to establish her artistic authority in the mercantile capital of Flanders.
Prof. Hibbs-Decoteau, who studied this painting intensively in her expert opinion of 2009 and again in 2017, is clearly convinced of its authorship. The masterful detail and virtuosity of the painting speak in favour of this. She also mentions in her expert opinion that this painting is highly probably the prototype by Clara Peeters (see Decoteau 2009, p. 3–4), which served as the model for later versions. "Still life with a peregrine falcon and its prey", now in a private collection (see fig. 1, from exhib. cat. The Art of Clara Peeters, ed by Alejandro Vergara, Madrid/Antwerp 2016, p. 91) by the Antwerp artist Nicolaes Cave (active 1619-1651) is clearly based on our composition. Cave was listed as a master in the Antwerp Painters' Guild in 1619. Dr. Fred G. Meijer also confirms this observation as well as the authenticity of our work, for which we thank him (written communication, July 2024).
Cave was not the only artist to benefit from the commercial success of this iconography on the Antwerp market. At least twelve versions are known today with variations in their compositions (written communication of Prof. Hibbs-Decoteau, 2018). Many are signed by Peeters, such as the "Still Life with Peregrine Falcon and its Prey" (Salomon Lilian: Old Masters, Geneva/Amsterdam 2015, pp. 44–45, cat. no. 9), "Still Life with Game" (Tallin Art Museum, inv. no. VM878), and "Still Life with Sparrow Hawk, Fowl, Porcelain and Shells" (Prado Museum, inv. no. P1619).
In addition to the exclusivity of this bird splendour, which is appearing on the auction market for the first time, the provenance of this painting is particularly interesting. The still life was in the collection of His Excellency Johann Willem Baron Huyssen van Kattendijke (1782–1854), Foreign Minister of the Netherlands and a personal confidant of King William II. Through the marriage of his daughter Ida Jacqueline Juliette (1832–1897) to the industrial magnate Jean Dollfus (1823–1911), the painting became part of the Dollfus collection. Their common passion for art resulted in the formation of a large collection of paintings, which continued to grow throughout their lifetimes. The painting remained in the family over several generations, including that of Jean Dollfus’ great granddaughter, who bequeathed it to her children. The painting now comes to auction as part of this same family’s inheritance.
"Still Life with a Peregrine Falcon and Birds" is an excellent example of the work of the clever and talented Clara Peeters. Not only did she master painting techniques based on her own empirical observations of nature, but she also developed a strategy to market her works. This painting is witness to Peeter’s role as one of the most influential female artists of her time.
The painting is archived in the RKD, The Hague, as an authentic artwork by Clara Peeters under the number 313805.
CHF 300 000 / 500 000 | (€ 309 280 / 515 460)
Venduto per CHF 622 000 (incl. premio dell'acquirente)
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