Frans van Mieris the Elder (Leiden 1635 - Leiden 1681) Workshop
Elegant company in an interior (or 'Self-portrait with his family')
Oil on canvas (50 x 41 cm - In a beautiful frame 80 x 72 cm)
Complete details of the work (click HERE)
The proposed painting embraces a genre much appreciated by collectors of Flemish painting of the "Golden Age", which sees the family intimacy created within the rich homes of the bourgeoisie of the time as the focus of the work, in settings overflowing with ornamental details.
The genius and success of these images lies in their ability to fix, like a snapshot, a particular moment of everyday domestic life, through a skillful pictorial rendering that leverages the great care of details and plays of light.
Our work, in particular, echoes a famous composition by the great Flemish painter Frans van Mieris (Leiden 1635 - Leiden 1681) who, in 1675, depicted himself in a sumptuous living room. The painting is now kept at the Palatine Gallery of the Uffizi in Florence (https://rkd.nl/images/251443) **.
Considered by ancient sources to be a masterpiece of the artist, the painting had a very long and interesting history: commissioned by Cosimo III de' Medici, a great patron and collector of Flemish works, in January 1674, after numerous solicitations from the client, it was completed by van Mieris only in the following year, and sold for the enormous sum of 2500 florins.
In the group of figures one can recognize the self-portrait of the painter: it is easy to identify his features in the gentleman in the background dressed in a black velvet cloak, while the other figures, according to many critics, could be part of his family, gathered for a concert inside a rich manor house.
In the two women in the foreground, with their sumptuous dresses in satin, velvets and precious furs, we could recognize the wife and a daughter: the first holds a lute in her hand, the second is sitting, savoring wine from a crystal goblet that a child, perhaps the son, has just brought to her.
In the typical style of the author, we are faced with a refined work, capable of creating a surprising atmosphere, immediately taking us back in time, to the golden age of the Netherlands.
It is the small details that make the difference, making each of his works unique, from the golden angel with bow and quiver hanging from the ceiling, to the little dog in the arms of the woman in the foreground, the column surmounted by a trabeation sculpted with a classic-themed relief. And again, the table on the right covered by a green velvet drape on which rests a tray with fruit, while a monkey is nibbling some pieces.
** Frans van Mieris the Elder, Elegant company in an interior
1635-1681, Oil on panel, 52x40
Uffizi Gallery, Rembrandt and Flemish Seventeenth-Century Room
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is sold complete with a pleasant wooden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic sheet.
We take care of and organize the transport of purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
It is also possible to see the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda, we will be happy to welcome you to show you our collection of works.
Contact us, without obligation, for any additional information.
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