Lot 45: Willem van Aelst (Delft 1627-1686 Amsterdam)

Grapes, a pocketwatch, a roemer, a silver ewer and a plate, on a partly draped marble ledge, the artist at work at his easel reflected in the roemer signed and dated 'W.V.aelst.1659' (lower left) oil on canvas 275/8 x 177/8 in. (70.1 x 45.4 cm.) PROVENANCE Acquired by the family of the present owner in Vienna, 1916. NOTES The silver ewer in the auricular style of Adriaen van Vianen is identical to that in the still life signed and dated 'W.v.aelst 1657' in the Statens Museum, Copenhagen. We are grateful to Mr. Fred Meijer of the RKD for pointing out (letter, 15 August 2000) that this previously unrecorded picture postdates the still life in the Rijksmuseum (dated 1658) that had formerly been regarded as the latest example in which the artist signs 'W.V.aelst'. After this date his pictures are signed 'Guill m o van Aelst', as for example the picture, signed and dated 1659, in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp. This canvas is also of special interest as it includes a self-portrait of the artist at work, seen in the reflection of the roemer.