Matthieu Van Helmont

Mattheus van Hellemont (Antwerp 1623-1679 Brussels) A larder still life indistinctly signed 'M V/Hell***nt' (lower centre) oil on canvas 34.5 x 27.2cm (13 9/16 x 10 11/16in). PROVENANCE: Sale, Bonhams, London, 4 December 1997, lot 66 Sale, Christie's, South Kensington, 8 July 1998, lot 343 Sale, Bonhams, London, 15 December 1998, lot 31

Anonymous sale, Cologne, Van Ham, 27 March 1999, lot 1224; Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Christie's, 6 November 2000, lot 75. CATALOGUE NOTE A similar signed picture by Van Helmont was offered in theseRooms, 12 May 1992, lot. 96. Van Helmont must have been familiarwith treatments of the same theme by his fellow countryman, DavidTeniers the Younger, of whom several depictions of the Temptationof Saint Anthony are known (see for example the one in Dresden,Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Gemäldegalerie, inv. no. 1079; and theone in Madrid, Museo del Prado, inv. no. 1822). From the end of the 15th Century, the Temptation of Saint Anthonyhad been a very popular theme among artists because of itsfantastical elements. Saint Anthony, here kneeling in front of ablock of stone resembling an altar on which several religiousobjects are placed, withstood any temptation or diabolical deceit,and therefore was considered a model for Christians toemulate. 1 In contrast to Teniers, who more or less humanized his witches,apparitions and skeleton animals, both in appearance and behaviour,Van Helmont's infernal monsters and bizarre demonic creaturesappear to remain in the 16th Century tradition. Moreover, thetemptation in the form of a handsome but decently dressed youngwoman as she is portrayed by Teniers, offering the ascetic Saint acup of wine, is replaced in Van Helmont's painting by a highlyseductive, brightly illuminated, bare breasted Venus figure who,together with the abundance of roaming apparitions, embodies theultimate temptation. 1. See for the subject of the Temptation of Saint Anthony M.Klinge, David Teniers, exhibition catalogue, Antwerp 1991,pp. 46, 134, 262, under cat. nos. 9, 41, 90.

A young fiddler making music accompanied by two peasants singing in an interior signed 'M.V Hellemont F' (lower left) oil on panel 15 x 12 1/8 in. (38.1 x 30.8 cm.) Provenance with Spink, London, by 1946, until Christie's, London, 27 May 1949, lot 87 (one of a pair), as 'M. van Helmont', The Concert; and Reading the Letter (10 gns. to Dent). Lot Notes View Lot Condition Report Mattheus van Helmont was the son of a master in the Antwerp guild of St. Luke, and in c.1645/46, he too became a master in the guild. A genre painter, van Helmont was stylistically influenced by Adriaen Brouwer, David Ryckaert III, and David Teniers II. He specialised in painting interior scenes with peasants, and craftsmen at their work, and sometimes contributed staffage to the landscapes of Jacques d'Arthois. In 1674 he was recorded in the local guild of painters in Brussels.

Mattheus van Helmont (Antwerp 1623-1679 Brussels)
The Liberation of Saint Peter
Add. Notes: oil on panel, stamped on the reverse with the coat-of-arms of the city of Antwerp and the panel maker's mark of François de Bout 24 3/8 x 32 in. (62 x 82.5 cm.) with inventory number '724' (painted on the reverse) Provenance
Notes: Philip Herbert was the second son of Philip, 5th Earl of Pembroke (1620-1669) and his second wife Catherine Villiers (c. 1634 - c. 1677). He was created a Knight of the Bath at Charles II's coronation in 1660 and later succeeded his elder brother as 7th Earl of Pembroke in 1674. In the same year, he married Henriette de Penancoet (d. 1728), daughter of Guilliaume de Penancoet, Comte de Keroualle, and younger sister of Louise de Keroualle, Countess of Portsmouth. Wright is known to have worked for the Herbert family at Powis Castle. The detail of a horse and equerry beyond the sitter was a favourite motif of Wright's. He used it in the background of A Portrait of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (c. 1660, private collection) and An unidentified woman with a riding crop (untraced; both are illustrated in S. Stevenson and D. Thomson, John Michael Wright: The King's Painter, Edinburgh, 1982, nos. 15 and 30).
Pre-lot Text: THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN (LOTs 134 AND 139)
Provenance: Valpinçon, Paris. Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 30 November 1983, lot 69. Anonymous sale [The Property of a European Collector]; Christie's, London, 4 July 1997, lot 21. Private collection.

Matheus van Helmont (Antwerp 1623-1679 Brussels) The Temptation of Saint Anthony signed 'M V Hellemont F' (lower left) oil on panel 25.1 x 18.6 cm. Lot Notes The same juxtaposition of Saint Anthony with a temptress behind him can be found in a painting by David Teniers II (see M. Klinge, David Teniers de Jonge. Schilderijen - Tekeningen, Antwerpen, 1991, p. 46, illustrated).