Old master paintings

Panel, 80 x 65.5 cm
Signed: D.BLIECK – 1670 (bottom left)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Canvas, 74 x 97 cm
Signed: Faustino Bocchi (lower right)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Panel, 37 x 40.8 cm
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Canvas, 95 x 145 cm
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Panel, 37.5 x 28.7 cm
Painted circa 1630
Signed: IB (upper right)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Canvas, 48 x 40 cm
Painted circa 1680-1690
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Panel, 39 x 51 cm
Painted circa 1660
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Over-indulgence in alcohol and smoking leads to impotence. And this picture perfectly illustrates the saying: ‘Too much of ought is good for nought’. What immediately strikes one about this painting is the telling expressions of the two principal characters: the derision of the standing man and the dismay of the seated peasant. The interior is executed in shades of brown with the light falling on the principal elements: both the peasants, the pewter beer jugs the bunch of onions and the white cloth in the basket are all illuminated. Interestingly the picture contains no glasses or mugs. The smaller of the two jugs is in fact for drinking out of, a tankard, and was certainly used for beer. The larger is a pitcher that in turn would have been filled from the barrel. The presence of both vessels indicates that the humiliating scene is being played out in a tavern, not in a private home.

Pieter Duyfhuysen, who was known as a genre painter, was from Rotterdam. He may have studied with the painter Johannes Torrentius from Haarlem.

Signed EVHK (right, centre of door) c. 1690/1700
Canvas, 73 x 74 cm
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Under the watchful eye of the landlady the merry company are enjoying themselves drinking, dancing and making music. But the fun is disturbed by a dignified gentleman, who admonishes the group from the stairs: it might be an illustration of the present-day exhortation: ‘Enjoy, but drink in moderation’. Remarkably large quantities of wine are being consumed in this tavern. Next to the landlady stand two empty bulbous bottles which were usually used for brandy, or other strong, often medicinal, drink. Round wine jugs with lids covering the narrow necks are strewn around on the ground. A solitary tankard of beer is being fetched by the young lad from the cellar stores.

Painted circa 1650
Canvas, 100.6 x 83.2 cm
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

The sibyl is wearing a terracotta-red dress with the yellow sash draped over her left arm, gently waving. Her headscarf is also moving, giving the picture a further sense of urgency. Tarquin, with his exposed, muscular neck, is wrapped in a Roman toga that reveals a remarkable blue sleeve which only came to light after restoration. The palette employed for the figures reflects the colours used in the background.

Canvas, 40 x 32 cm
Signed: J. Horemans (lower right)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Canvas, 39 x 32.5 cm
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

The composition of this interior is based on the Greek cross pattern (X) dissected by a horizontal line. Below this line is the scene of figures drinking and making musjc. Above it, the round pewter plates echo the figures’ heads and lead into the upper section of the painting. Below left, with the dog, a diagonal line stretches from the man’s violin to the bird cage. Ingeniously, this same cage forms the top of a triangle with the three central figures in this genre piece forming the base line.

Horemans devoted particular attention to the rendering of texture. Each object, the woman’s dress, next to her the firepan, the dog, the candle on the wall, right – every detail is carefully depicted. Even the different qualities of these objects are successfully portrayed. The iron of the bird cage is hard and cold, the cage appears heavy; the stone slabs of the floor are uneven and the straw on the ground is mangled and depicted in shadow. The kitchenware shines with countless highlights.

Panel 59.4 x 48 cm
Signed: A. de Lelie/Ao 1795 (upper right)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Panel, 21.7 x 18.3 cm
Signed and dated: F.v.Mieris fecit 1738
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Panel, 39 x 30 cm
Painted circa 1750
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Signed JvNeck f (bottom left), c. 1700
Panel, 42.5 x 33 cm
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

According to Houbraken, Jan van Neck was a man who ‘was beyond reproach in his behaviour and a diligent member of the church’. Yet it seems that this upright gentleman had no compunction in painting pictures of lecherous putti. The horde of satyrs riding on the goat of Lust can also be seen in the same painter’s larger Dresden picture. The plump child astride the animal’s back holds a bunch of grapes in one hand, while the other figures adorn the animal with flower garlands. One of them also has cloven hoofs – a satyr in the making. All these details clearly identify this as a representation of the Bacchic cult. The scene illustrated in this picture takes place on the edge of a wood with the tree beautifully offset against a cloudy sky. The various green and brown hues are finely graded, forming a perfect foil for the playing children.

Canvas, 61 x 78 cm
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Panel, 25.5 x 20.5 cm
Painted circa 1660
Remains of signature: A (on table edge)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

(staffage by Anthonie Palamedesz)

Panel, 51.7 x 65.5 cm
Signed: I.v.Vucht (on base of second column from left)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Panel, 58 x 81.5 cm
Painted circa 1630
Signed: I.V.V(uc)ht (bottom right)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

On canvas
121,5 x 98 cm

Private Collection, courtesy Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague

Canvas, 76.6 x 60 cm
Signed : Adr.v.Werff.fec…(96?)
Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder, The Hague