Still Life with Parrots
Artist
Jan Davidsz de Heem
(Flemish, 1606 - 1684)
Datelate 1640s
CultureDutch
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
ProvenanceCollection of the Counts of Schönborn, Castle of Pommersfelden; (Schönborn Sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, May 17-18 and 22-24, 1867, no. 38); purchased by Comte de L*** [Lambertye or Lepine], Paris [1];(Comte de L***[Lambertye or Lepine] Sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, April 15, 1868, no. 27). (F. Kleinberger Galleries, Paris, sale date unknown); (F. Kleinberger Galleries, New York, on October 1, 1925); (Lucerne Fine Arts Co., Ltd., on May 3, 1926); sold to John Ringling on July 9, 1926[2]
[1] The name of the Comte who purchased SN289 from the Schönborn Sale is not named in the catalogue beyond "Comte de L***." The Brill Art Sales Catalogues archives suggests that this refers to either Comte de Lambertye or Comte de Lepine.
[2] It is likely that Ringling only purchased half a share of SN289. Henry Reinhardt & Sons, New York, is listed as a half owner of the painting on the Bohler Archives index card for SN289. The card notes, "Verkauft an Ringling $3520- 1/2 Anteil f[e/i]s 8800--." This could also suggest that Ringling purchased both shares of the painting at this time. It was common practice for Ringling to purchase shares of a painting before fully acquiring them or having Bohler sell them on his behalf. No records of Henry Reinhardt & Sons' partial or sole ownership of SN289 has yet been found beyond the Bohler Archives index card.
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN289
De Heem is celebrated for luxurious still lifes depicting tables over-laden with ornate glass and silverware, fruit, and crustaceans. Many items here were not indigenous to the Netherlands, including the African gray parrot, the scarlet macaw from Brazil, citrus fruits from southern Europe, and rare shells from the East and West Indies. Glasses of wine and a flagon of beer betoken indulgence, as do the oysters, thought to stimulate sexual appetites. Altogether, these delicacies represent the prosperity and global reach of the Dutch in the seventeenth century.
On View
On viewLocation
DimensionsFramed: 70 1/2 x 57 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (179.1 x 146.1 x 14 cm)- Museum of Art, Gallery 13, Wall North
Image: 59 1/4 x 46 1/4 in. (150.5 x 117.5 cm)
