Lot 2043 Dα

Mahu painted several versions of this composition, which was probably based on a work by the Haarlem based master Willem Claesz. Heda (1594-1680), the whereabouts of which is unknown. The model for this work was long thought to be a version of the composition in the Herzog-Anton-Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig which is dated 1642 and bears Heda's signature. However, this piece is painted on an Antwerp panel and shows a lemon, which otherwise does not appear in any of Heda's versions but is often found in Cornelis Mahu's still lifes. It has been suggested that the work was either painted by Mahu himself or that the lemon and his monogram are later additions. Another version of the composition can be found in the Museum vor Schone Kunsten in Gent. The present work, which Fred Meijer dates to the 1640s, was presumably trimmed slightly along the upper edge.