Lot 138. Jacob van Hulsdonck (1582 Antwerp – 1647), Still life with basket. Oil on wood, 68.6 x 89 cm. Lot sold € 259.000 (Estimate € 250.000 - 350.000). © HAMPEL Fine Art Auctions Munich
Provenance: Benedict Collection.
Maurice Segoura, Paris, 1984.
Exhibition: Galerie de L'Elysée, Paris, December 1950, no. 14. (13515322) (13)
Note: A wicker basket stands on an implied tabletop, bulging with peaches, grapes and other fruits, some of which have found space on the tabletop because of the abundance. To the right is a Wanli bowl, which is also used as a filling vessel and as a compositional counterweight. The discreet presence of the Chinese porcelain bowl is also a social marker, revealing the cosmopolitanism of a wealthy Dutch bourgeoisie, prosperous thanks to the India Company's imports of products from the Far East.
Jacob van Hulsdonck (1582-1647) was a Flemish painter born in Antwerp. In Middleburg he learned to paint still lifes from Ambrosius Bosschaert (1573-1621), in which he would later specialize. Exotic goods and products abounded in this port city that rivaled Amsterdam, particularly Chinese porcelain, which became a recurring motif in his compositions. On his return to Antwerp, Jacob van Hulsdonck joined the painters' guild in 1608 and ran a flourishing studio from 1613 to 1623, known for his refined still lifes of flowers and fruit. His compositions, which he had taken over from Balthasar van der Alst (1593-1657), found great posthumous fame with his pupil Isaak Soreau (1604-1644) and later with Frans Snyders (1579-1657).
Hampel. OLD MASTER PAINTINGS - PART I, 30 March 2023
