Lot 9: Peter Binoit (Cologne 1590/3-Hanau 1632)

Tulips, roses, a cornflower, lily of the valley, primroses, a snowdrop and other flowers in a roemer, with a snail, two beetles, a ladybird and a caterpillar on a ledge; and An iris, narcissi, and other flowers in a roemer, with a butterfly and other insects on a ledge each signed with monogram and dated 'PB.1623.' (lower right) oil on copper 91/2 x 71/2 in. (24.1 x 19 cm.) a pair (2) PROVENANCE Claus Kramer. EXHIBITION Zurich, Kunsthaus, 1971. NOTES The present pictures confirm Binoit's place as one of the foremost first generation German painters of still lifes. Remarkable both for the fact that they remain together and that they are in such good condition, this pair dates from relatively late in the artist's career, revealing him at the height of his powers. The treatment is comparable with Binoit's last known dated picture, a large copper of 1627, in a private collection (see P. Mitchell, European Flower Painters, London, 1973, p. 26, pl. 26), both of which reveal the influence of Jan Brueghel I whose work must have been known to Binoit. Born in Cologne, the son of Jacques Binoit from Tournai, the artist was apprenticed to Daniel Soreau in Hanau sometime after 1600. He trained there alongside Sebastian Stoskopff and his master's twin sons, Peter and Isaac Soreau. He worked in Frankfurt around 1620 returning to Hanau in 1627, the year of his marriage to Daniel Soreau's niece, where he remained until his death. These pictures are sold with a photocopy of a certificate from Dr. Walther Bernt, dated 6 May 1968, confirming the attribution to Binoit.