Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Jacob De Wit (Amsterdam, 1695 - 1754) attributable/ workshop
Pair of Cupids with Garland of Flowers
Oil on canvas
91 x 103 cm. - Framed 104 x 115 cm.
Provenance: Christie's (London, Old master Painting 12.12.1996) lot 82
This magnificent composition depicts two cupids holding a garland of flowers, placed on a fine architecture with bas-reliefs and masks, presumably the top of a fountain.
One of the two cupids sympathetically holds a part of it with his hands, while his head turns towards the viewer; the second cupid, on the other hand, must have clumsily broken the thread holding its end, and is sitting sullenly with a torch and a tear streaking his chubby cheek.
The work, given its stylistic features and compositional taste, can be attributed to the Flemish artist Jacob de Wit (Amsterdam, 1695 - 1754), or to an artist from his workshop, with his typical triumphal and opulent style, which reveals clear influences from Rubens and Van Dijck, but also from Gerard de Lairesse and of course Gasper Pieter II Verbruggen.
After his apprenticeship in the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob de Witt worked in Amsterdam, opening his own atelier there in 1716, where he obtained countless commissions, especially to decorate private homes and churches.
Pupils in his workshop include Jan de Groot, Elias van Nijmegen, Jan Punt, Pieter Tanjé and the brothers Franciscus and Jacob Xavery.
Our charming canvas allows us to better appreciate the decorative virtues of Jacob De Wit's painting: his art was particularly appreciated for the remarkable decorative verve he expressed by executing elegant compositions enlivened by putti and angels that became the most admired and sought-after pieces in his repertoire.
We can compare our canvas with a sketch drawn for a canvas, in a private collection (see fig. 1), made by de Wit's workshop, which resembles our painting in many details: we can see the same shape of the architectural construction and also the position of the little angels. It could therefore be identified as a preparatory drawing for the present painting.
fig.1
Preparatory drawing, Bottega J. De Wit, Private Collection
The elaborate composition with putti in various poses, the rich, warm colours and the use of trompe l'oeil effects achieved through the sculpture of the architecture are all characteristics for which De Wit's paintings became so famous and sought-after.
Delevery information :
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
We take great care We personally take care of the packaging, to which we devote a great deal of care: each work is carefully packed, first with arti- cle material, then with a custom-made wooden box.
Should you have the desire to see this or other works in person, we would be happy to welcome you to our gallery in Riva del Garda, Viale Giuseppe Canella 18, we are always open by appointment only.
