Property from an Important Swiss Private Collection
Christiaen van Pol
A bouquet of roses in a glass vase with a butterfly, moth and beetle, all upon a marble ledge
Auction Closed
July 5, 07:17 PM GMT
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from an Important Swiss Private Collection
Christiaen van Pol
Haarlem 1752–1813 Paris
A bouquet of roses in a glass vase with a butterfly, moth and beetle, all upon a marble ledge
signed lower left: Van Pol
oil on marble
35.5 x 25.3 cm.; 14 x 10 in.
Possibly his sale, Paris, Paillet & Delaroche, 11–19 July 1803, lot 260, for 150 francs to Paillet (‘Deux tableaux sur marbre, sujets de roses et de pêches, avec mouches, papillons et autres insectes’).
L. Desmarthod, 'Des cabinets de curiosités et de la Biennale', in L'Œil, 466, November 1994, p. 59, reproduced in colour;
N. Hostyn and W. Rappard, Dictionnaire des peintres de fleurs belges et hollandais nés entre 1750 et 1880, Brussels 1995, pp. 302–3, reproduced in colour.
Painted directly onto a white marble support, this and the two following lots are exceptional still lifes by Christiaen van Pol, exemplifying his ability to capture with remarkable realism the subtle nuances of the natural world. The contrast between the organic forms of nature and solidity of the marble creates a visually captivating dynamic, enhancing the elegance of these compositions. As evidenced by these works, van Pol’s style typically follows the conventions of the still-life genre from the Dutch golden age, infused with a sense of decorative refinement inherited from his eighteenth-century contemporaries.
Following a short apprenticeship in Antwerp, Christiaen van Pol established himself in Paris in 1782 and joined the studio of Jan Frans Van Dael, with whom he developed a long-lasting friendship. Known for his meticulously rendered still-life compositions, he made designs for the Gobelins Manufactory and contributed to the decorative programs at the châteaux of St Cloud, Bellevue and Chantilly.
A comparable work on panel, dated 1786 and featuring the same variety of rose was sold at Sotheby’s in 1997.1 Another, also on panel and of similar format, is in a private collection.2
Note on Provenance
Possibly sharing the same early provenance, these three works were likely to have been executed at the very end of the eighteenth century (before 1796), forming part of the significant collection of Auguste-Louis-César-Hippolyte-Théodore de Lespinasse de Langeac, Comte d'Arlet (1759–1814). Governor of Carcassonne and captain in the Royal-Roussillon regiment, he is perhaps more well-known for having offered to the Louvre in 1796 the celebrated full-length pastel of Mme de Pompadour by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour (1704–1788).3 Famously, and rather surprisingly, the museum rejected the picture only later changing their mind and acquiring the work at auction in 1803.
1 Oil on panel, 34.3 x 24 cm.; anonymous sale, London, Sotheby’s, 3 December 1997, lot 229; https://rkd.nl/en/explore/images/record?filters%5Bkunstenaar%5D=Pol%2C+Christiaan+van&query=&start=0
2 Oil on panel, 32.6 x 24 cm.; S. Segal and K. Alen, Dutch and Flemish Flower Pieces, Amersfoort 2020, vol. II, p. 725, fig. 9.54, reproduced in colour.
3 N. Jeffares, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, London 2022, p. 193, reproduced in colour; https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl020213445