Lot 1034. Juan van der Hamen Y Leon (1596 Madrid - 1631 Madrid), Apples, quinces, plums and cherries in a wicker basket. Oil on canvas (relined). 51 x 53.8 cm. Estimate: € 120,000 - € 160,000. © Lempertz

Certificate: William B. Jordan, March 1993. - Letter from William B. Jordan July 22, 2001 (both available in copy). - Fernando Lopez Sánchez, Madrid 2013.

Provenance: Christie's New York 19.7.1993, Lot 55. - Spanish Private Collection. - 1000th Lempertz Auction, Cologne 17.11.2012, Lot 1135. - European Private Collection.

Note: Juan van der Hamen y León was born in Madrid in 1596, the son of a Flemish bodyguard, King Philip II. He probably learned his trade with painters who worked at the Spanish court. In 1616 he had already established himself as an independent artist with his own workshop. Even before he was called to the court as a painter, King Philip III. already acquired one of his still lifes. With Juan Sánchez Cotán van der Hamen y León belongs to the most important still life painters of Spain at this time.

From his hand are today about 70 paintings known. Van der Hamen died at the age of only 35 years. The most important pieces are now in museums, especially in the Madrid Prado, where the works from the royal collection arrived. William B. Jordan had the intention to include our picture in the planned, but before his death unfinished list of works. For decades he has dealt with van der Hamen. In 2005 he was responsible for the exhibition of his works in the Prado and the Meadow Museum in Dallas. Jordan guessed that our painting could be a section of a larger composition.