Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl

Provenance

(Leonard Koetser, London), in 1963.[1] private collection, "the property of a lady"; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 25 November 1966, no. 44); (Leonard Koetser, London), until at least 1967. (Newhouse Galleries, New York); purchased 1974 by Robert H. Smith [1928-2009], Bethesda, Maryland; sold 1978 to (Essoldo Fine Arts Ltd., London).[2] (Galerie Julie Kraus, Paris). private collection, Germany, in 1983. (Charles Roelofsz, Amsterdam), in 1994.[3] (Bob P. Haboldt & Co., New York), in 1995. private collection; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 14 December 2000, no. 15); private collection, Germany; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 8 July 2009, no. 12); private collection, "property from a deceased's estate"; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 5 December 2012, no. 32); purchased by NGA with donated funds. [1] Koetser exhibited the painting in his 1963 autumn exhibition; see T.H. Crombie, "Autumn Offerings: Mr. Leonard Koetser," _Apollo_ 78, no. 20 (October 1963): 305, fig. 6. [2] In the published record of the painting, Mr. Smith's name is placed at various points in the ownership sequence: between the 1983 German private collection and Haboldt & Co. in the three Sotheby's sale catalogues, but before the 1966 Christie's sale in the catalogue of a 1995 exhibition at Haboldt & Co. in New York. The actual dates have been confirmed by Smith collection records that document the purchase from Newhouse Galleries and the sale to Essoldo Fine Arts (copies in NGA curatorial files). It is not yet certain whether Mr. Smith's ownership came before or after the ownership by Galerie Julie Kraus. [3] Roelofsz exhibited the painting at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) in Maastricht, The Netherlands, in 1994.

Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl

Hulsdonck, Jacob van

c. 1620

Accession Number

2013.1.1

Medium

oil on copper

Dimensions

overall (copper panel): 28.3 × 36.2 cm (11 1/8 × 14 1/4 in.) | overall (with wood strip edges): 29.6 × 37.3 cm (11 5/8 × 14 11/16 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

Credit Line

The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund

Tags

Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Copper Flemish

Background & Context

Background Story

Jacob van Hulsdonck (1582-1647) was a Flemish still life painter known for his fruit and flower still lifes in the precise, vivid manner that distinguishes the best Flemish still life painting of the early 17th century. Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl from c. 1620 depicts wild strawberries and a carnation in a Chinese Wan-Li porcelain bowl in the precise, vivid manner that distinguishes Hulsdonck's best work. The Chinese porcelain bowl demonstrates the global trade connections that made exotic luxury goods available to 17th-century Flemish painters.

Cultural Impact

Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl is important in the history of Flemish still life painting because it demonstrates the global trade connections that made exotic luxury goods available to 17th-century Flemish painters. The Chinese Wan-Li porcelain bowl—a luxury import from the Ming Dynasty—shows that Flemish still life painters had access to exotic goods from around the world, and the precise rendering of the strawberries and carnation demonstrates the vivid manner that distinguishes Flemish still life from the more austere Dutch tradition.

Why It Matters

Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl is Hulsdonck's global luxury on display: wild strawberries and a carnation in Chinese porcelain, demonstrating the exotic imports available to 17th-century Flemish painters through global trade. The c. 1620 still life combines vivid Flemish precision with global luxury goods.