Lot 1055 Dα

This group of works is based on a series by the Haarlem based painter Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685) which is mentioned in an inventory of the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm from 1659. This series, the whereabouts of which are currently unknown, was repeated and copied numerous times, testifying to the apparent popularity of the motif and composition. Although numerous individual paintings from the series have survived to this day, it is exceedingly rare to find all five complete. One of these rare, full series was long in the possession of the New York Historical Society before being auctioned by Sotheby's of New York in 1995.

Like Ostade's lost prototypes, the present, complete series can be dated to around the mid 17th century. The works are probably the same pieces that were sold at auction by Heberle (H. Lempertz' Söhne) in 1884. This auction encompassed numerous fine paintings, three of which were purchased for the Wallraf-Richartz Museum. The text in the Heberle-Lempertz auction catalogue mentions a signature and date of “Co. Mahu 1646” on the allegory of smell, but this notation can no longer be found. Following closer examination, the attribution of the works to the Flemish painter Cornelis Mahu, who became a master in the Antwerp guild of Saint Luke in 1638, cannot be supported. The painter of these works has remained closer to Ostade's models in the rendering of the faces, which connotes that he may have been a closer member of the artist's circle. We would like to thank Ms Ellis Dullaart of the RKD in The Hague for her kind help in cataloguing these works.