A Sculptor's Studio
Artist/Maker
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 49 x 60 cm h x w x d: Ram 61 x 72 x 9 cm
Inventory numberNM 339
Other titlesTitle (sv): Bildhuggarateljé Title (en): A Sculptor's Studio
DescriptionCatalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 98: Technical notes: The painting’s original support, now lined, is a single piece of medium-weight, loosely woven, plain weave, single-threaded fabric, with a weave count per cm of c. 10 horizontal and c. 12 vertical threads, of similar construction to that of no. 99. The tacking edges of the original fabric support have been cropped, and the painting is attached to a non-original stretcher at the tacking edges of the lining fabric. No cusping is visible, indicating that the painting may have been slightly cut down along all four edges. The ground layer, which appears to be light-coloured and is thinly and evenly applied, is covered by a semitransparent light brown imprimatura. Paint was applied thinly in opaque and semi-transparent layers, with minimal brushmarking and some slight impastos in the whites, such as the collars and the sheets of paper held by the seated cleric and the young boy drawing, and in the highlights on the sculptor’s tools in the foreground and the plate and tankard held by the female servant on the right. Areas of the background and the pavement in the foreground were possibly executed over a brown underpaint. Motifs such as the small “terracotta” bozzetto to the right of the central sculpture group and the background figure of a man with his back turned to the viewer, which were added at a late stage, are painted over the background architecture. The paint surface has suffered extensive mild abrasion overall, especially on high points of the fabric weave. The weave structure of the support has also become more pro- nounced in the surface of the image as a result of the lining process. A thin layer of slightly discoloured old varnish is present. There is a pronounced tendency to flaking paint and numerous small losses, especially along several vertical cracks through the paint and ground layers. Scattered small retouches are mainly concentrated to the figures of the two visitors at centre left and the architecture at the upper left. The painting underwent conservation treatment in 1983, 1984 and 1986. Provenance: Coll. Holterman-Wahrendorff; KM 1861, no. 1289; bequeathed by Martin von Wahrendorff in 1863. Exhibited: Stockholm, 1956, p. 11, no. 6 (as Balthasar van den Bossche); Stockholm 1991, no. 8; Stockholm 2010, no. 68. Bibliography: NM Cat. 1867, p. 23 (as Pieter van Bloemen); Sander IV, no. 89, p. 126 (as anonymous master); NM Cat. 1885, p. 24 (as Balthasar van den Bossche); Frimmel 1886, p 30; Göthe 1887, p. 23 (as Balthasar van den Bossche); Göthe 1893, p. 29 (as Balthasar van den Bossche); Göthe 1900, p. 30 (as Jan Josef Horemans); Bautier 1924, p. 136 (as Balthasar van den Bossche); NM Cat. 1958, p. 96 (as Jan Josef Horemans); NM Cat. 1990, p. 175. As in this and the following scene (no. 99) painters’ and sculptors’ studios were often painted as companion pieces. The scene here shows an open courtyard where a man, a potential buyer, stands with his back turned towards the viewer. A sculptor demonstrates his work, two naked putti entwined. In the background is a larger sculpture, The Rape of the Sabine. Another two men are sitting at the feet of the sculpture and a small boy in the foreground is sketching on a sketchblock. A woman is entering the scene with a plate and a tankard of ale in her hand. This painting has been attributed to different masters, among them Balthasar van den Bossche, who painted in a similar style. In his catalogue in 1900, however, Göthe already proposed an attribution to Jan Josef Horemans. Frimmel and later Gerson confirm this attribution.1 Comparison with a dated work depicting a company of musicians in Edinburgh indicates that the Nationalmuseum’s work could have been painted around 1718.2 There too a man is depicted with his back to the viewer. Many of the details in the Nationalmuseum’s painting can be found in other works by Horemans depicting sculptors’ workshops. One detail that recurs constantly is the small boy sketching. Similarly, the Rape of the Sabines is found in a number of compositions.3 GCB 1 See letter from H. Gerson. 9 June 1956. 2 See photo in the Rijksbureau neg. no. B/3781. 3 See a painting of a Sculptor’s studio sold at Sotheby’s, London, 11 December 1974 and 7 March 1980.[End}
Collection
TechniquePainting
Object category
Keyword
External links