Pieter Claesz. (Berchem 1597/8 - 1660/1 Haarlem), Still-life with an oil lamp, a pocket watch, an open song book, an overturned Roemer, a gilded covered cup and sea shells, all arranged on a table draped with a green cloth, signed with monogram and dated lower right: PC/ A 1629, oil on panel, the reverse branded with the clover leaf maker's mark of Michael Claessens (active 1590–1637), 35.5 by 63 cm.; 14 by 24 3/4  in. Estimate 300,000 — 400,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

Provenance: Anonymous sale, Stockholm, Bukowski, 24–25 September 1931, no. 32;
With P. de Boer, Amsterdam;
Probably acquired from the above by an antecedent of the present owner;
Thence by descent.

Literature: N.R.A. Vroom, De Schilders van het Monochrome Banketje, Amsterdam 1945, pp. 40 and 198, no. 20, reproduced fig. 26 (as Pieter Claesz., datable to 1623);
N.R.A Vroom, A Modest Message as intimated by the painters of the 'Monochrome Banketje', Scheidam 1980, vol. I, pp. 25, 93 and 103, reproduced figs 17 and 146, vol. II, pp. 16 and 101, nos 42 and 505, (as Clara Peeters or Pieter Claesz., datable to 1623);
N.R.A. Vroom, A Modest Message as intimated by the painters of the 'Monochrome Banketje', Schiedam 1999, vol. III, supplement, D.M. Klinger (ed.), pp. 136 and 153, reproduced fig. 105 (as Clara Peeters or Pieter Claesz.).

Note: This hitherto little-known still life, bearing traces of a monogram at the lower right, is a key early work by the great Haarlem artist Pieter Claesz. This still life belongs to a transitionary period in the artist’s career in the late 1620s, linking the more colourful and crowded still lifes of the beginning and middle of the decade, such as the Vanitas still life with brass candlestick, writing materials and anemone in the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem,1 with the monochrome paintings introduced at its end, like the Still life with silver tazza in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.2 Although an increasingly muted palette is visible here, the composition is still enlivened with splashes of blue and red. This work of early maturity is closely related to several other vanitas themed still lifes executed towards the end of the decade, both in terms of style and subject matter. Strongest parallels can be drawn to the still life housed in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, dated 1630, which can be seen as the culmination of this period of transition.3 In both works the same oil lamp, pocket watch with blue ribbon and overturned roemer appear on a green cloth, all represented with a dazzling verisimilitude.

As in other still lifes from these years, in the present work Claesz. reduces the number of objects in the composition, pushing them to the corner of a table in a seemingly informal arrangement. This stylistic evolution, moving away from the brighter and more packed compositions of his earliest works, allowed for a greater sense of substance and space. Claesz.’s exceptional powers of observation are demonstrated by the superbly rendered surfaces, from the smooth and shiny gilt of the cup and pocket watch to the rougher textures of the stone and shells. Also in evidence is the masterful way in which Claesz. was able to provide subtle illumination to his objects with the addition of intelligent highlights. The fall of shadows and light, integral to works of this period, reinforce the three-dimensionality of the objects and suggest the larger space of a room.

The vanitas theme, extremely popular with the contemporary viewer for its moralising messages, is clearly evoked in this masterpiece. The ticking pocket watch, upturned roemer and near-extinguished candle wick, glowing with its final sparks, are all signs of the transitory nature of time and the brevity of life. The gilded cup and exotic sea shells symbolise the vanity that comes with wealth, whilst the set-aside books suggest the temporary nature of human learning, which ultimately comes to nothing. With the progression of Claesz.’s career, this type of symbolism became a less obvious element of his work, and the more monochrome and contemplative still lifes of the 1630s which this work anticipates, increasingly gave way to ebullient banqueting scenes.

The catalogue for the 1931 sale illustrates the present work with a skull and bone resting on the cushion at the left. Both of these have since been removed and an X-ray of the work confirms that these were much later additions. The painting then, in its current form, is as Claesz. intended it. The monogram, of which only traces remain, is mentioned on the RKD mounts of both the De Boer ownership and the Bukowski sale (see Provenance). 

We are grateful to Fred Meijer of the R.K.D. for endorsing the attribution to the young Pieter Claesz.

1 Inv. no. 68-158; Pieter Claesz: Master of Haarlem Still Life, exhibition catalogue, Haarlem, Zurich and Washington 2004, p. 116, cat. no. 9, reproduced.

2 Inv. no. PD 294; Haarlem, Zurich and Washington 2004, p. 121, cat. no. 21, reproduced.

3 Inv. no. 943. M. Brunner-Bulst, Pieter Claesz., Lingen 2002, p. 232, reproduced cat. no. 47. 

Sotheby's. Old Master & British Paintings Evening Sale. 08 JULY 2015 | 7:00 PM BST - LONDON