Lot 58: Jacobus Biltius (The Hague 1633-1681 Bergen op Zoom)

Trompe l'oeil of a partridge suspended from a nail; and Trompe l'oeil of a snipe suspended from a nail the first signed, dated and inscribed 'J: Bilti—s fecit. fuech [?]/1668....' (lower right); the second signed, dated and inscribed J: Bilti—s fecit-..../1668 ao Alosu..' (lower right) oil on canvas 261/2 x 18 7/8 in. (67.3 x 47.9 cm.) a pair (2) PROVENANCE with Slatter, London. Private collection, England. with Otto Wertheimer, Paris, from whom acquired in 1958 by the family of the present owner and thence by descent. EXHIBITION Basel, Kunstmuseum, Im Lichte Hollands. Holl„ndische Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts aus den Sammlungen des Frsten von Lichtenstein und aus Schweizer Besitz, 14 June-27 September 1987, nos. 16 and 17. NOTES Probably related to the still life artist Cornelis Biltius, Jacobus was born in the Hague, where he remained until 1660. After living in Maastricht, he became a member of the Antwerp guild of painters in 1672. He died in Bergen-op-Zoom in 1681. Throughout his career, Biltius specialised in the execution of still lifes, often depicting dead game, with, as here, a trompe l'oeil effect of showing the subject hanging from a nail against a pale or neutral background, thus emphasising their three-dimensionality. In this pair, he uses the added witty conceit of painting frames into the compositions.