Johannes, Jan Tilius

Jan Tilius (Geffen 1653-after 1694 ?London) A libertine and a sleeping lady signed 'Tielius.p t :' (lower right) oil on panel 16 5/8 x 13 in. (42.2 x 33 cm.) Provenance Nikolaus II, Prince Esterházy de Galántha (1765-1833), collectorand patron of Haydn and Beethoven, Schloss Esterházy,Eisenstadt. with Samuel Hartveld, Antwerp, 1936. Literature J. Fischer, Catalog der Gemählde-Gallerie des durchlauchtigenFürsten Nicolaus Esterházy von Galantha zu Wien, Eisenstadt, 1815,p. 188. A. von Wurzbach, Niederländisches Künstler-Lexikon, Amsterdam, 1963(reprint of 1906-1911 edition), I, p. 533, under 'Fielius[Tilus]'.

JAN TILIUS 'SHERTOGENBOSCH CIRCA 1660 - 1719 PORTRAIT OF ISABELLA DE SAVORNIN (1666-1728) AS MINERVA, STANDINGTHREE-QUARTER LENGTH, WEARING A WHITE SATIN DRESS WITH A RED SASHAND A PLUMED HAT 10,000—15,000 EUR measurements measurements note 78 by 62.2 cm. oil on canvas Jhr. Mr. W.M. de Brauw, Middelburg, by 1905;Thence by descent. E.W. Moes, Iconographia Batava, vol. II, Amsterdam 1905, p. 329,no. 6792 (as anonymous). Isabella de Savornin was the daughter of Maurits de Savornin,commander of Bergen op Zoom. In 1685 she married Cornelis de Brauw(1664-1728), bailif and supreme dijkgraaf of the cities ofDreischor, Zonnemaire and Noordgouwe, in the province ofZeeland.We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer of the R.K.D., The Hague, forconfirming the attribution to Tilius, on the basis ofphotographs.

signed and dated lower centre : I. Tilius pinxit. Anno. 1681. oil on panel PROVENANCE Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 21 June 1957, lot 95 for £150 to Vanderkar; Private Collection, Europe; Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 25 February 1994, lot 59, for £30,000; With Richard Green, London, 1994; Private Collection, USA. CATALOGUE NOTE Jan Tilius was a pupil of Pieter van Slingelandt (1640-1691) and Caspar Netscher (1635/6-1684). In 1683 he is known to have joined The Hague's artists' society, Confreri Pictura. The pinched facial expression of the central figure, with his toothy smile, is stylistically close to A Young Boy Holding a Hen , sold London, Sotheby's, 13 December 2001, lot 126. The central figure can also be compared to A Young Man with Bagpipes who also displays his distinctive smile which was sold New York, Sotheby's, 12 January 1995, lot 97.

measurements 51.2 by 39 cm.; 20 by 15¼ in. description oil on canvas, arched top this lot contains 1 item(s). the subject of a hennetaster, or man who fumbles with a hen, was current in netherlandish art since the 16th century, chiefly through herman muller's print of circa 1595 (hollstein, i, no. 88), and was painted, for example, by hendrick bloemaert and joachim wtewael. the term described a man who checked chickens to see if an egg was forthcoming, but through a play on the colloquial meaning of the words vogelen and kip, developed into a mocking reference to the subject's physical abilities. works by tilius, who was a pupil of pieter van slingeland (1640-91) and possibly also of caspar netscher, are now rare, and are characterised by the facial expressions of their subjects. compare, for example, the boy playing a bagpipe sold new york, sothebys, 12 january 1995, lot 97.

Jan Tilius ('sHertogenbosch c. 1660-1719) A hurdy-gurdy player with an old woman singing and a mocking youth at a casement signed and dated 'I. Tilius pinxit. Anno. i68i.' (lower centre) oil on panel 13¾ x 11½ in. (34.9 x 29.2 cm.)