Notes
De Claeuw usually painted colourful flower still lifes against a dark background, with small insects and shells. He was Jan van Goyen’s son-in-law and Jan Steen’s brother-in-law. The artist is best known under his alias De Claeuw, but his real name is Jacques de Grieff. The painter Adriean de Gryeff was his son and pupil. Jacques de Claeuw was active in Dordrecht from 1642 to 1646). here he co-founded the St-Lucas Guild. Later he worked in The Hague (1646 – 1651) and Leiden (1651 – 1666). He and Abraham van Beijeren had a strong mutual influence on each other.
Provenance
– Collection Günter Mayer, Tübingen;
– Anonymous sale, Paris, Gallièra, 7 December 1965, lot 146 (both the above as by Hans Bollongier).
– Sale Sotheby’s Amsterdam, 30 nov 2010, lot 94;
– with Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam;
– Private collection, The Netherlands.
Literature
– Weltkunst, 15 February 1965, p. 128, as by Hans Bollongier (advertisement).
Expertise
Mr F. Meijer, RKD, who points out the resemblance to RKD nos. 3967, 35146, 45923 and 106928 (written communication dd. 10 Feb. 2011).
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