Lot 2091 D α

The Flemish still life painter Jacob van de Kerckhoven depicts a magnificent arrangement of animals and vegetables on a stepped plinth beside the base of a mighty column. Apart from the goat, the painter depicts all of the animals still living. We see a large turkey, chickens, and pigeons huddled in a basket or perching on the steps. Mushrooms and other vegetables such as celery, cauliflower, onions, and garlic frame and accentuate the composition.
This still life by Jacob van de Kerckhoven follows the tradition of his teacher, the painter Jan Fyt from Antwerp. It displays the same precision and perfectionism in the depiction of its subject, particularly evident in the onions in the upper left, the brilliant metallic sheen of the birds' plumage, and the turkey's vivid red neck. The artist moved to Italy in 1663 at the latest, where he changed his name to Giacomo da Castello and enjoyed a highly successful career in Venice and Vicenza. He soon learnt to combine the realism of the Flemish tradition with Neapolitan chiaroscuro à la G. Battista and N. M. Recco, whose influence is particularly evident in the present work.
In 2015, Fred G. Meijer, The Hague, convincingly attributed this still life to van de Kerckhoven's œuvre despite the fact that the work bears a presumably later inscription referring to the Habsburg court painter Philipp Ferdinand de Hamilton (1664-1750) beneath the head of the goat. The work is hence listed with the RKD in The Hague under the no. 262841 as an authentic work by van de Kerckhoven. The composition and brushwork display strong stylistic parallels to a slightly smaller piece in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.