Sebastien Stoskopff

Sebastien Stoskopff Strasbourg 1597-1657 Idstein
Still life with pies on a pewter plate
Add. Notes: oil on canvas 16 7/8 x 22 7/8 in. 42.8 x 58.1 cm. Provenance
Notes: was painted after 1640 during Stoskopff's Strasburg period when he worked primarily for Graf Johann von Nassau-Idstein. Paintings from this period are characterized by a radically reduced palette and uniformly dark background that highlights the contours and emphasises the textures of the objects depicted. In this scene a candle at the right has just been snuffed out - the wick is still glowing with heat - as a taper hanging off the edge of the table at the left still burns. A clay pipe lies on the table parallel to it and the tobacco has been prepared. An untouched plate of tarts appears on the left and a roemer of white wine almost fades into the background. Each of the objects in the painting inhabits its own space within the composition, giving it a somewhat abstracted additive feel, and the light coming in from the left casts stylized shadows. Stoskopff's oeuvre is generally divided into two phases, works painted in Paris between 1621 and 1640 and those painted after he settled in Strasbourg in 1641. His development is generally described as moving from more complex compositions inclusive of narrative and heavy on overt symbolism to simpler subjects with subtler iconography. His Vanitas (Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, Halle), painted between 1620 and 1630, reflects this definition of his early works with its skull marked by a bullet hole in the center of the composition next to a religious text illustrating the Last Supper. Other early works, however, are as visually spare and iconographically subtle as . Still life with books and an etching by Rembrandt (Institute of Arts, Detroit), circa 1631-5, has the same dramatically reduced palette and any suggestion of the passage of time is left to the sitter in Rembrandt's print - his aged mother. Stoskopff's incorporation of prints by artists such as Rembrandt, Teniers, Callot, and Vouet into his compositions demonstrates a consciousness about the artistic tradition in which he worked and it is, perhaps, no surprise that among his pupils was Joachim von Sandrart, who is most famous as a biographer of the artists of his time. Other works from his Paris period include kitchen scenes with game or fish, market scenes with figures representing the four seasons, and vanitas still lifes with globes, books, and emblems of earthly power. The majority of his Strasbourg compositions are simpler than those of his earlier works but, as in his Paris period, there are exceptions. He continues to include contemporary books and prints and introduces the multi-levelled setting of the cabinet interior. The paintings that most closely resemble are the series of broken glasses from 1644. The palette of Basket of glasses (Fondation de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, Strasbourg) for example, is even more dramatically reduced and his primary interest is similarly in the textures and surfaces of the various glasses as they overlap. The composition of the present work is comparable to Breakfast with rolled wafers in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, which is dated by Birgit Hahn-Woernle from the artist's first sojourn in Paris, and painted circa 1625-30 (B. Hahn-Woernle, op. cit., p. 238). However, the purer and more economical style of the present work suggests a later date of circa 1640, shortly after his return to Strasbourg from his second stay in Paris. Hahn-Woernle notes the painting's deliberately refined simplicity and its drier application of color, setting it apart from his earlier style.
Pre-lot Text: THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
Provenance: Alfred Ritleng, 1906. G. Bernier, Paris. with Agnew's, London, 1980. with E.V. Thaw, New York. Anonymous sale; Christies, New York, 31 January 1997, lot 67.
Exhibited: Vic-sure-seille, Musée Départemental Georges de la Tour, Un cabinet imaginaire, natures mortes et vanités du XVIIème siècle, 10 May-4 September 2005.
Literature: R. Forrer, Les Antiquités, les tableaux et les objets d'art de la collection Alfred Ritleng a Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 1906, no. 1018, note 27. M. Faré, Le Grand Siècle de la Nature Morte en France: Le XVIIe Siècle, 1974, p. 130. B. Hahn-Woernle, Sebastian Stoskopff, Stuttgart, 1996, pp. 238-9, no. 56, illustrated p. 239. Un cabinet imaginaire, natures mortes et vanités du XVIIème si©ecle, exhibition catalogue, Vic sur Seille, 2005.

measurements measurements note 42 by 57.5 cm.; 16 1/2 by 22 1/4 in. description oil on canvas provenance alfred ritleng, strasbourg, 1906; g. bernier, paris; with thomas agnew & sons ltd.,, london, 1980; with e. v. thaw, new york; private collection, united states, until sold, new york, christie's, 31 january 1997, lot 67, for $63,000 to the present owner. literature and references r. forrer, les antiquités, les tableaux et les objets d'art de la collection alfred ritleng à strasbourg, strasbourg 1906, no. 1018, note 27; m. faré, le grand siècle de la nature morte en france, paris 1974, p. 130, reproduced; b. hahn-woernle, sebastian stoskopff, stuttgart 1996, pp. 238-9, cat. no. 56, reproduced. catalogue note though similar in composition to some of stoskopff's earlier works, such as the breakfast piece with rolled wafers in cologne, wallraf-richartz-museum, of about 1625-30, this picture, painted in a more economical and refined style, with a drier application of colour, is typical of his later works, and was probably painted circa 1640, shortly after he returned from his second stay in paris to his native strasbourg, where this picture first came to light in 1906. alfred ritleng was president of the société des amis des arts de strasbourg, whose collection, published in 1906, contained three works by stoskopff.

material/medium oil on canvas catalogue note stoskopff treated this subject several times. the present painting relates in composition to a work by stoskopff in the musée d'art et d'histoire romain, clamécy. in fact, there are at least five versions of this subject (see b. hahn-woernle, sebastian stoskopff, stuttgart 1996, cat. nos. 50-55).