Purchase Oil Painting Replica Simulated Sculpted Head of a Woman in a Cartouche Decorated with Swags of Fruit, Joris van Son, 1655 - 1665, 1665 by Joris Van Son (1542-1601, Belgium) | WahooArt.com

Joris Van Son (i) - Oil On Canvas (i) - 137 x 119 cm - 1665
Considering the degree of interference suffered by the present painting which had been cut up and acquired as nos. SK-763-766 and then transferred onto a single support, the still-life elements are well preserved although the paint of the cartouche surround has darkened and is barely visible and the feigned sculpted head is much repainted. The swags of fruit are evidently the work of Joris van Son (not Jan Frans van Son to whom last attributed in the 1976 museum catalogue), a designation confirmed by Meijer who dates their execution circa 1655-65.10 Erasmus Quellinus II (1607-1678) often introduced the figural element in the centre of cartouches embellished by Van Son;11 but the handling of the admittedly damaged sculpted bust in the present painting seems not to be by him. Comparable are the busts of the goddess Ceres set in garlands of fruit by Frans Snijders, but these latter features have been dated some two decades earlier.12 The socle in the example in Brussels is inscribed Ceres,13 thus permitting the possible identification of the bust in the present work, although there are no discernible attributes. Van Son, much influenced by Jan Davidsz de Heem, has here adopted a formula popularized by Daniel Seghers (1590-1661), who opted for a balanced composition of four swags decorating a cartouche on several occasions, for instance, in the painting of 1644 in the Museo Nacional del Prado.14 Seghers, however, portrayed flowers rather than, as here, fruit – more Van Son’s speciality. Dated examples of Van Son’s use of the decorated cartouche surround are of 1657,15 166216 and 1665.17 From the description in the 1882 sale catalogue it can be inferred that the original had been recently cut up – perhaps for the purpose of increasing the amount realized at the auction – as De Stuers was able to discern the feigned sculpted head centre, of which no mention was made. The practice of cutting up paintings for the purpose of adding value at sale has been the subject of a recent exhibition in the Museum Bredius, The Hague.18 Gregory Martin, 2022