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146

Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (Haarlem 1562 - 1638)

Currency:EUR Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:100,000.00 - 150,000.00 EUR
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (Haarlem 1562 - 1638)
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (Haarlem 1562 - 1638) Merry Company at a Feast, with cook, poulterer, elaborate kitchen still life, the edge of the table signed & dated "CH AO 1596", oil on canvas, 137 x 198 cm, w/ frame, (Wo).€ 100.000 - 150.000 US $ 99.000 - 148.500 In contrast to his idealised figures Cornelisz. van Haarlem renders inanimate objects with consummate realism so that in the above painting, masterly flowers, fruit, dishes, meat, and fish carry the same significance as the figures themselves. J. Brun, who published this painting, classifies it as a key work exemplifying the transition from the kitchen- and market scenes of Pieter Aertsen, Joachim de Bueckelaer, and the reviving interest in genre painting in the Netherlands around 1600. Mundane reality, acutely observed in the form of such kitchen scenes, became an important element in the development of still life painting in the early 17th century. The above painting furthermore contains a moral caution, portraying gluttony and carnality as among the worst forms of sensuality. This provides the picture's central theme: the feasting company listens to the seductive melodies of a flute while the cook is seen fondling a chicken - an activity with clear sexual connotations. At the time, fish and sliced salmon where also generally understood as a coded reference to male and female genitalia respectively. The tortoise on the other hand, according to Karel van Mander, offers a symbol of virtue and represents the concept that a woman's proper place is in her own home. Cornelis Cornelisz. was the most celebrated painter of his home town and is known to have influenced even Frans Hals. His exceptional talent found its expression in massive compositions, such as his Slaughter of the Innocents, painted for the government of Haarlem and today in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The present painting is not only distinguished by its exceptional quality and inventiveness but also represents a key image for the development of the still life from pure attribute towards becoming an autonomous art form. It is among the first, perhaps even the first, Dutch composition which assigns fruit, fish, dishes, in other words still life elements, the same significance as to the human figure. Provenance: coll. Rohke, Amsterdam; coll. Ulrich Deckers, Bremen, 1891; collection H. Fitzer, Bremen,1950; collection Frida Deiters, Verden/Aller, 1951; collection W. M. Swangard, Des Moines (Iowa),1959; private collection, Munich,1960; private collection Austria,1962 Exhibited: on loan from W. M. Swangard, Des Moines, Iowa, USA; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA;1994 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam,"Dawn of the Golden Age",1993-1994, Katalog p. 602,603, ill No. 274. Literature: J. Bruyn,"Een Keukenstuck van Cornelisz. Van Haarlem", Oud Holland 66,1951, p.45-50, ill. 2; Giorgio Faggin,"Il Manierismo di Haarlem, Fabbri Editori, Milano,1966, p.5, colour ill. 5; T. X. A. Blanckert, Dutch seventeenth century genre painting, Jahrbuch Preußischer Kulturbesitz 1987, p.9-32, colour ill. No.75; exhibition cat. Rijksmuseca. 1994; p.602,603, ill. No.274; Gemar-Koeltsch,1995, p.400, ill. 147/1, p.119,126,196; Pieter J. J. vom Thiel, "Cornelis van Haarlem, A Monograph and Catalogue Raisonne"(monograph and cat. of works), Davaco Publishes,1999; Jan Briels intends to publish the painting in his book "Die Holländische Malerei im frühen 17. Jahrhundert". For additional information please refer to this catalogue's preface!
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