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A Cavalier at his Toilet
Adriaen van de Venne (Dutch, 1589–1662)
1631
Medium/Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
40.6 x 33 cm (16 x 13 in.)
Framed: 57.2 x 49.5 x 7 cm (22 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.)
Framed: 57.2 x 49.5 x 7 cm (22 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession Number2021.711
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
In a humorous reversal of gender roles, Adriaen van de Venne depicts a man in the process of dressing and fixing his hair in front of a mirror. Cuffs, a brazier, tongs, and a ring are scattered on the floor. These worldly motifs, along with the mirror, call attention to the man’s vanity. Van de Venne executed the painting in grisaille; that is, in monochromatic shades of grey or brown. While earlier artists used grisaille to mimic the appearance of stone sculpture, Van de Venne was one of the first to use it for genre paintings, perhaps in an attempt to develop a personal, clearly recognizable style.
Inscriptionssigned, dated and inscribed lower right: 1631/ADri:v:Venne/Haga comit:(AD in ligature)
Provenance1710, possibly Catharina Sloot, (widow of Hieronymus Ranst), The Hague [see note 1]. September 23, 1765, possibly Gerard van Oostrum and others sale, The Hague, lot 72, to Van der Wal [see note 2]. Possibly Geertriuda van de Polder; October 2, 1769, van de Polder (Mrs. Gerard Cocq) sale, Rietmulder, The Hague, lot 41. Nikolay Illarionovich Kozlov (b. 1813 – d. 1889), St. Petersburg; about 1863 or later, sold by Kozlov to Ferdinando Meazza (b. 1837 - d. 1913), Milan [see note 3]; April 17, 1884, Meazza sale, Jules Sambon, Milan, lot 89. Possibly Cereda and Noseda collections, Milan [see note 4]. Heinrich Gustav Winckler, Hamburg; October 1-3, 1888, Winckler sale, Heberle, Cologne, lot 92. Prince Paul Troubetzkoy (b. 1866 – d. 1938), Moscow, Paris and New York; May 3, 1892, Troubetzkoy sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 43. Possibly Baroness Mathilde von Rothschild (b. 1832 – d. 1924), Schloss Grüneberg, Frankfurt; by 1925, her granddaughter, Lili Jeannette von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (b. 1883 - d. 1925), Frankfurt [see note 5]. 1939, I. Rosenbaum (dealer), Amsterdam (stock no. 1932); before December 1940, consigned by Rosenbaum to Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker (dealer), Amsterdam (stock no. CB 603) [see note 6]. Private collection, The Netherlands [see note 7]. May 13, 2003, anonymous sale, Sotheby's, Amsterdam, lot 20. 2003, Johnny Van Haeften Ltd., London. By 2008, Otto Naumann (dealer), New York [see note 8]. January 27, 2011, anonymous sale, Sotheby's, New York, lot 139. Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA; 2021, gift of Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 15, 2021)
NOTES:
[1] In Künstlerinventare: Urkunden zur Geschichte der holländischen Kunst des XVIten, XVIIten und XVIIIten Jahrhunderts (The Hague, 1916, part 2), p. 392, Abraham Bredius lists the paintings “Een haarsnyder met een haarkapster van van de Venne” as being in the 1710 inventory of the widow of Hieronymous Ranst in The Hague.
[2] van Oostrum sale information from Frederik J. Duparc, Dutch and Flemish Masterworks: From the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (Boston, 2020) p. 121.
[3] Information regarding the Kozlov-Meazza sale is from Irina Sokolova, The Russian Passion for Dutch Painting of the Golden Age (Leiden, 2015), p.385, no. 32.
[4] According to the 2003 Sotheby’s catalogue, Cornelis Hofstede de Groot stated this painting was in both the “Cereda” and “Noseda” collections. Bredius 1916 (see above, note 1), stated that Meazza’s painting went to the Noseda collection in Milan.
[5] Lili Jeannette von Goldschmidt-Rothschild married Baron Philipp Schey von Koromla in 1921. She lent the painting to the Ausstellung von Meisterwerken alter Malerei aus Privatbesitz (Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, 1925), no. 226, as Lili Freifrau Schey von Koromla.
[6] Both stock numbers (no. 1932 and no. CB 603), are in Goudstikker’s inventory book, according Duparc 2020 (see above, note 2), p. 121.
[7] Provenance from 1939 to 2003 is taken from the 2011 Sotheby’s catalogue.
[8] Naumann showed the painting at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair), Maastricht in March 2008.
NOTES:
[1] In Künstlerinventare: Urkunden zur Geschichte der holländischen Kunst des XVIten, XVIIten und XVIIIten Jahrhunderts (The Hague, 1916, part 2), p. 392, Abraham Bredius lists the paintings “Een haarsnyder met een haarkapster van van de Venne” as being in the 1710 inventory of the widow of Hieronymous Ranst in The Hague.
[2] van Oostrum sale information from Frederik J. Duparc, Dutch and Flemish Masterworks: From the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (Boston, 2020) p. 121.
[3] Information regarding the Kozlov-Meazza sale is from Irina Sokolova, The Russian Passion for Dutch Painting of the Golden Age (Leiden, 2015), p.385, no. 32.
[4] According to the 2003 Sotheby’s catalogue, Cornelis Hofstede de Groot stated this painting was in both the “Cereda” and “Noseda” collections. Bredius 1916 (see above, note 1), stated that Meazza’s painting went to the Noseda collection in Milan.
[5] Lili Jeannette von Goldschmidt-Rothschild married Baron Philipp Schey von Koromla in 1921. She lent the painting to the Ausstellung von Meisterwerken alter Malerei aus Privatbesitz (Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, 1925), no. 226, as Lili Freifrau Schey von Koromla.
[6] Both stock numbers (no. 1932 and no. CB 603), are in Goudstikker’s inventory book, according Duparc 2020 (see above, note 2), p. 121.
[7] Provenance from 1939 to 2003 is taken from the 2011 Sotheby’s catalogue.
[8] Naumann showed the painting at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair), Maastricht in March 2008.