No.24 -

Bartholomeus van Winghen (active in the Southern Netherlands 1664-1669)
A floral wreath of roses, tulips, violets, and other blossoms, oil on canvas, 109.4 x 77.4 cm, framed, (Wo)

This delicately executed composition and the great sense of detail in the rendering of the floral garland suggest that the artist had never intended to complete the central cartouche with a scene that would only have distracted the spectator’s attention. Moreover, the branches and leaves partly extend well into the centre, so that there would not have been room for such a composition anyway. Against the monochrome background, Winghen could thus display his great mastership in rendering nature and seems to have deliberately chosen the motif of the garland, a variant of still life. The painting’s provenance attests to its having been greatly appreciated: it used to be in the collection of the dukes of Arenberg, one of the most important dynasties of the Holy Roman Empire, whose members held numerous positions at the court of the governors of the Habsburg Netherlands. Their collection numbered among the most important ones in Europe and also included the famous Book of Hours of Anne of Cleve, today in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. Auguste-Marie-Raymond, Prince of Arenberg (1753-1833), compiled this significant collection of Dutch masters, which after his death was passed on to his cousin Prosper Louis, Duke of Arenberg.
Literature: Galerie Georges Giroux, Catalogue de la Très Belle Galerie de Tableaux Anciens Ayant Appartenu à la Princesse Charles d’Arenberg, Brussels 1926, cat. no. 19.
Comparative literature: Adriaan van der Willigen/Fred G. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Stilllife Painters Working in Oils, 1525-1725, Leyden 2003.
Provenance: Collection of the Dukes of Arenberg, Palais d’Arenberg-Egmont, Brussels; sale, Princesse Charles d’Arenberg, Georges Giroux, Brussels, 15 Nov. 1926, lot 19, as Ambrosius Bosschaert; Fischer, Lucerne, 17 July 1958, lot 3023, as Daniel Seghers; Lempertz, Cologne, 28 April 1965, lot 134, as Daniel Seghers; K. W. Gergs, Hamburg, 1972, as a work in the manner of Daniel Segher; Collection of Mrs T. Duson- Themans, The Hague, 1972
We are grateful to Fred Meijer, RKD, The Hague, for confirming the attribution of the present work to Bartholomeus van Winghen. Fred. Meijer has inspected the original painting and attributed it to Van Winghen (oral communication, 18 Sept. 2007).

estimate €16.000,- to €22.000,-

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