Panel - 31.7 x 46.3 cm - SignedStill lifes
Provenance:
• P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1940;
• private collection, the Netherlands.
Through this still life, Jacob Savery the Elder offers us a spectacular portrayal of victuals, resulting...
read moreProvenance:
• P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1940;
• private collection, the Netherlands.
Through this still life, Jacob Savery the Elder offers us a spectacular portrayal of victuals, resulting from meticulous observation.
The concrete existence of each object, each motif, is reconstructed with an astonishing exactitude, in its texture and in its appearance. This still life illustrates the powerful evocation of life in the country, its benefits and the abundance of vegetables, fruit and other victuals produced by a well-run estate. The precise rendering of each subject and the subtle lighting effects give relief and presence to the arranged pieces of food.
By adding a group of figures to this abundance of food, Jacob Savery the Elder combines still life with a genre scene. Mainly sitting at a table, this handful of protagonists, clearly in a good mood, is preparing to enjoy a good meal. It is almost possible to discern what each person is saying and to feel the warm, family atmosphere.
Ode to the pleasures of eating, this still life reveals a talented artist, capable of combining different genres in the same painting and in an original way. Also known for being a talented landscape artist, the ease with which Jacob Savery the Elder moves from one genre to another is a continual source of surprise.
Literature : Literature:
J. Spicer, The Drawings of Roelandt Savery, 1576-1639, Yale University, 1979, p. 229, note 46, p. 347
Exhibitions : Exhibition:
Ghent, 1954, no. 3, attributed to Roelandt Savery
More informations
Ca. 1565 Kortrijk - Amsterdam 1603
Jacob Savery was the Elder brother of Roelandt Savery, the landscape and animal painter to whom he most probably gave his early training. He may have been a pupil...
read moreCa. 1565 Kortrijk - Amsterdam 1603
Jacob Savery was the Elder brother of Roelandt Savery, the landscape and animal painter to whom he most probably gave his early training. He may have been a pupil of Hans Bol or, at least, one of his followers.
Religious persecutions led him to seek sanctuary in the Northern Netherlands where he emigrated with his family between 1580 and 1585 (there to meet his presumed former master again). He was registered as a member of the Haarlem Guild of Painters in 1587 and was granted rights of citizenship in Amsterdam in 1591, at the same time as Bol. A miniature painter and draughtsman, he left a rather scarce painted production, generally dated 1590-1600. His Flemish kermises and landscapes, often anecdotal, indicate clearly a bruegelian tradition, although brighter colours and more variegated hues, larger brushstrokes in the treatment of figures distinguish him from both Bruegel's palette and stipple. These idiosyncratic features are found throughout his work, which thereby derives its extreme compositional rigour. It should furthermore be noted that his landscapes are not in the least akin to those of his brother Roelandt, although the latter had been his pupil.
The strong personality of Jacob Savery, his singular blend of virtuosity and freedom of expression was about to gain him favour and recognition when, in the year 1603, the epidemic of pest which was rampant in these days, swept him away. In spite of his early death, he left the mark of an original talent on his time.
