1233 - Carstian Luyckx, Umkreis

Carstian Luyckx, Umkreis Carstian Luyckx, circle of Still life with fruits oil on canvas. 79.5 x 95.5 cm. Provenance Kunsthandel Bertil Rapp, Stockholm, 1949 (as anonymous). – Sotheby's, London, 8.5.1974, lot 27 (as Barend van der Meer). – Stockholms Auktionsverk, Stockholm, 11–15.11.1975, lot 969 (as Juriaen van Streek). – Christie's, London, 10.12.1993, lot 281 (as Circle of Carstian Luyckx). – Private collection, Belgium. Citrus fruits and grapes dominate this still life, which is arranged over a massive wooden tabletop. On a heavy green cloth, a stoneware jug and an overturned tazza are also placed. Toward the left edge of the table stand a glass of wine, à la façon de Venise, and tobacco wrapped in paper, both allusions to indulgence and excess. The large-format painting has so far eluded a definitive attribution, as the history of its proposed attributions shows. It is probably of Flemish origin, was painted around 1650, and should be placed with an artist in the circle of Carstiaen Luyckx.