Lot 7: Peter Wtewael , Utrecht 1596 - 1660 Allegory of love oil on canvas

oil on canvas

measurements note 68.2 by 106 cm.

A.W. Lowenthal, Joachim Wtewael and Dutch Mannerism, Doornspijk 1986, pp. 177-8, cat. no. D-8, reproduced plate 169.

Possibly Johan Pater and Antonietta Pater-Wtewael, Utrecht, until 1655;
Possibly Johan van Nellesteyn and Hillegonda van Nellesteyn-Pater, Utrecht, from 1655;
Private collection, London, by 1971;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 26 May 1978, lot 107;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 23 February 1979, lot 97;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 5 July 1984, lot 342 (wrongly as on panel);
Offered, London, Bonhams, 7 December 2005, lot 48.

OTHER PROPERTIES
This painting is one of four recorded versions representing an Allegory of Love by Peter Wtewael.υ1 Although initially published in her dissertation as probable copies after Joachim Wtewael, Lowenthal lists the two versions known to her at the time as original compositions by Peter in her published monograph.υ2 While all the versions are indebted to the works of Joachim produced in the 1620s, the bulky human figures and the relatively simple draperies are typical of Peter's work. Compare, for example, his signed Adoration of the Shepherds, in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne (inv. no. 62)υ3 and the signed Caritas, in a private collection, Denmark.υ4 The fact that the three full versions differ in minor details, such as the patterned tile floor in the painting sold at Christie's (see note 1), and that the chamber pot has been rethought in the present work also suggest that this is a repetition of a primary composition, possibly a lost work by Joachim.υ5 The possibility that Joachim and Peter may have collaborated on works such as this should not be ruled out yet and deserves further attention.υ6 We are grateful to Dr. Anne Lowenthal for confirming the attribution on the basis of a photograph. 1. See Lowenthal under Literature, and the work sold, London, Christie's, 22 April 2005, lot 8. A fragmentary version of the left part of the composition was sold, London, Sotheby's, 10 December 2001, lot 315.
2. Lowenthal, op. cit., p. 177.
3. idem, p. 175, cat. no. D-2, reproduced plate 162.
4. idem, p. 181, cat. no. D-21, reproduced plate 183.
5. Written communication Dr. Anne Lowenthal, September 2008.
6. For the complex relationship between Peter and Joachim Wtewael see A. Lowenthal, 'Joachim/Peter Wtewael, Father/Son, Master/Pupil', in A. Golahny et.al., In His Milieu, Essays on Netherlandish art in Memory of John Michael Montias, Amsterdam 2006, pp. 279-86.