Jan van Noordt
Shepherd and Shepherdess with a Basket of Fruit (Allegory of Fertility)
Oil on canvas (relined). 76 x 63 cm.
This hitherto largely unknown painting of a shepherd and a shepherdess with a basket of fruit by Jan van Noordt has been kept in a Belgian aristocratic collection since the mid-19th century and is now appearing on the market for the first time. The painting was previously known only through a b/w photograph in the RKD and was included by Dr. David A. de Witt in his 2007 catalogue raisonné with the number 41. On the basis of digital colour photographs, Dr. de Witt has now reconfirmed the authenticity of this work, for which we would like to thank him. He sees in it "A charming painting and wonderful addition to the oeuvre".
This finely preserved work depicts a scene laden with eroticism, with a young shepherdess carrying a basket of fruit and a shepherd approaching her from behind, gripping her shoulder and upper arm. As the shepherdess turns towards her admirer with a smile, she reaches into the basket to pluck out an apple with her right hand. Jan van Noordt was born in Schagen in northern Holland but lived and worked in Amsterdam. Alongside history paintings and portraits, he also created a series of comparable amorous-pastoral genre scenes. One of the works that is perhaps thematically closest to the present painting is the depiction of a shepherd couple with a bird's nest (de Witt, ibid., 166f, no. 40) which was auctioned by Lempertz in 2015 (Lempertz auction 1049, 16.5.2015, lot 1086).
The present painting will be published by Dr. David A. de Witt in a forthcoming updated publication on Jan van Noordt in 2023.
Provenance
In the collection of Comte van der Steen since the mid-19th century. - In the collection of Marquis de Maillen since 1846. - In the collection of Comte Charles d’Aspremont Lynden. - Thence by descent to the present owner.
Literature
David A. de Witt: Jan van Noordt. Painter of History and Portraits in Amsterdam, Montreal 2007, p. 168f., no. 41 (b/w-ill.).