GRABADOS ARENBERG 19.10.2019

Dessins et peintures anciens – Oude tekeningen & schilderijen
59
59 [Flemish school]
Study of Hands. 17th c.
Drawing, pen in brown ink and grey wash, 17 x 21,8 cm, laid paper, unsigned,
ms. notes (torn at left side, sm. spots, repaired tear at upper edge). Stuck by corners
under passe-partout.
200 / 300 €
Charming study of two feminine hands with rings and a bracelet. A third hand is
sketched on the lower left section of the sheet. Ms. annotations at the the upper
right side: «2 (?) paer mauwen / 3 paer maustikke / scouders / hemden». Possibly
instructions either for a larger painting, or for a tailor.
60 [Flemish school]
After David II TENIERS - The Alchemist. Late 18th c.
Oil on silverly metal, 21 x 25,3 cm, unsigned (new varnish, some brown spots at
upper left corner sm. cracquelures under varnish layer). Unframed.
1.500 / 2.000 €
An alchemist distracted from his study, in a room filled with tools and scientific
objects. Ever since Pieter Bruegel’s depiction of the profession (see Lot 228),
the subject witnessed a growing popularity which peaked at the start of the
17th century. Compositions with alchemists in their studies were produced
throughout the following centuries. The present painting is a copy after a
composition by David II Teniers now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague (inv. 261).
Originally in the private collection of Willem V of Oranje-Nassau but confiscated
by the French and transported to Paris in 1795. At that time, both J.- L. Pérée and
J. Couché reproduced it in engravings (1804). Unlike the latter engravings, our
painting is mirrored vis-à-vis the original Teniers painting.
Testament to Dürer’s travels to the Netherlands
61 [Flemish school]
Follower of VAN CLEVE, Joos - St Jerome in his study.
[Antwerp], C. 1520-1600.
Oil on oak panel, 49 x 67,5 cm, unsigned (sm. damages lower left corner,
horizontal joint of two planks visible in image with slight cracks and losses in the
paint layer). Under gilt orn. frame.
6.000 / 8.000 €
St Jerome in a red cloak seated in his study, pointing at a skull. This depiction
of St Jerome is an innovative solution in the iconography and forms of pictorial
representation of the patron saint of Christian humanists. The Doctor of the
Church is represented here by the powerful, concentrated and synthetic image
of an old sage, melancholically meditating on death and the contingency of
the human condition. Elements such as the clock in the background and the
extinguished candle are reminders of the fragile nature of human existence. The
iconographic convention was introduced in the Low Countries with the visit of
Albrecht Dürer to Antwerp in 1520-1521. The archetype for the melancholic
St Jerome was presented as a gift by the German artist to the secretary of the
Portuguese merchants in Antwerp (Lisbon, Museu Nacional de arte Antiga).
Joos van Cleve’s workshop was the most prolific in producing copies of this
composition for the Antwerp art market. Throughout the sixteenth century the
theme and composition remained in high demand with upper-middle class art
collectors.
Ref. M.J. Friedländer, «Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. IX (part I)», Leiden
1972, pp. 31, 58, under no. 39. - J.O. Hand, «Saint Jerome in His Study» by Joos
van Cleve», in: A tribute to Robert A. Koch. Studies in the Northern Renaissance,
Princeton 1994, p. 53-67. - J.O. Hand, «Joos van Cleve. Complete Paintings»,
New Haven and London 2004, p. 161, no. 78.
ARENBERG AUCTIONS • 19.10.2019 • 25