JACOB ROTIUS (Hoorn 1644 – Hoorn 1681)
A Still Life with Grapes, Peaches, Plums, Pears, Lemons, Apricots and other Fruit in a Wan Li Bowl along with Ham and Wine on a Draped Marble Table
Signed J Rotius. f with the two initials conjoined, on the table edge, in the lower left
oil on canvas
32 ½ x 41 inches (82 x 104 cm)
Sold to the Westfries Museum, Hoorn, The Netherlands
PROVENANCE
M. Courcause (?) to
Richard Leusier (?), February 1899, according to an old label on the reverse
Anonymous sale, Christie’s, Paris, June 22, 2005, lot 59, sold for €62,400 ($75,728)
Kunsthandel P. de Boer B.V., Amsterdam
EXHIBITED
Zomerse Stilleven & Tuinen: Hollandse Meesters Barok en Modern, Stadsmuseum
IJsselstein, IJsselstein, April 25, 2009 – September 30, 2009
It is believed that Jacob Rotius first studied with his father the still life and portrait painter Jan Albertsz. Rotius. Around 1668 the influence of Willem Kalf on his work is suggestive of a sojourn in Amsterdam. It is further known that during this period Rotius married a woman from Amsterdam. The rest of his life was spent in Hoorn.[1]
After his return to Hoorn his paintings would be more reflective of those of Jan Davidsz. de Heem. Our luxurious banquet scene, that Fred Meijer, the leading authority on Dutch seventeenth century still lifes, dates to between 1670 – 1681, is an outstanding example from this period. In this work Rotius presents the viewer with a virtual cornucopia of fruit. Displayed on a brown and blue streaked marble ledge that is partially covered by a dark brown velvet and gold tasseled cloth overlaid by a white napkin; a roll, chestnut, ham and wine complete the feast. Overhead is a heavy drape with a tasseled tie back, that recalls the dynastic tradition of the curtained structures under which royals sat on ceremonial occasions.[2]
This abundance of fruit, much of which had to be imported from warmer climates, is a testimony to the Netherlands place at the center of all trade in the seventeenth century.[3] By the time Rotius painted the Wan Li bowl in the center of the composition it would have been regarded as a collector’s item.[4] The white roll tucked beneath the bowl is another token of sumptuous living, as it was expensive in comparison with whole wheat or rye the standard fare.[5] The ham to its right was another costly delicacy.[6] The coiled lemon peel and lemon floating in a roemer filled with white wine was a popular compositional device of the period. The wine, like the lemon, was an imported commodity from France or Germany, and the Dutch profited by selling it throughout Europe.[7] A covered glass a la Façon de Venise (in the Venitian fashion) completes this rendering of riches. Such glasses, produced by master glassblowers, were in great demand among the upper classes of Dutch society.[8]
Although at first glance this work can be viewed as an emblematic study of wealth and power, painted at a time when Holland was the richest nation in the world, cautionary notes are struck. The edge of the marble table is chipped as is its supporting pedestal. A number of leaves display holes and have begun to turn brown. A lone chestnut is visible near the center of the composition. Chestnuts appeared in the marketplace in autumn and perhaps can be viewed as a metaphor for the coming of winter.[9] For the Dutch life was transitory. The present was to be enjoyed as the future was unknowable.
[1] Adriaan van der Willigen & Fred G. Meijer, “Jacob Rotius” in A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-Life Painters Working in Oils 1525 – 1725, Primavera Press, Leiden, 2003, p. 171.
[2] Lorne Campbell, Renaissance Portraits, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1990, pp. 109, 115.
[3] Julie Berger Hochstrasser, Still Life and Trade in the Dutch Golden Age, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2007, p. 70.
[4] Ibid., p. 141.
[5] Henry D. Gregory, “Narrative and Meaning in Pieter Claesz’s Still Life” in Pieter Claesz, Master of Haarlem Still Life, exhibition catalog, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, November 27, 2004 – April 4, 2005, p. 99.
[6] Ildikó Ember, Delights for the Senses, Dutch and Flemish Still-Life Paintings from Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts Budapest & Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, 1989, p. 80.
[7] Julie Berger Hochstrasser, op.cit., p. 86.
[8] Donna R. Barnes, “Abraham van Beyeren” in Matters of Taste, Food and Drink in Seventeenth Century Dutch Art and Life, Albany Institute of History & Art, 2002, p. 38.
[9] Donna R. Barnes, “Adriane Coorte, Chestnuts on a Ledge”, in Matters of Taste, op.cit., p. 70.