A still life attributed to Juriaen van Streeck

This still life was attributed to the Dutch painter Juriaen van Streeck following its restoration, although it had traditionally been associated with the work of Willem Kalf (1619–1693), a famous still-life painter of the Dutch Golden Age.

Although praised by the biographer Arnold Houbraken in his famous *De Groote Schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen* ( 1718), Juriaen van Streeck left behind very little biographical information, whilst numerous works—variations on this painting—can be found on the art market. Born in Amsterdam in 1632, he died there in 1687, by which time he had become an innkeeper.

Van Streeck’s paintings have often been confused with those of Willem Kalf, a painter who raised the genre of Dutch still life to a level of virtuosity and visual appeal equivalent to that achieved by Jan Davidsz De Heem (1606–1684) for the Flemish school.

Juriaen van Streeck’s works are representative of still-life painting in the second half of^{the 17th} century. The taste for ‘Chinoiserie’, and the promotion of Delft pottery – which specifically sought to imitate the Chinese style – can be seen in many of his paintings. His painting belongs to a period when Dutch art was beginning to shift towards a pursuit of elegance and luxury, symbolising a prosperous generation that succeeded the Calvinist austerity of the pioneers of independence. Thus, the symbolism of the objects, reminiscent of a cryptic Vanitas painting, is not at work here.

Aulteribe’s work features numerous formal elements present in his still lifes and arranged in the same way: a plate leaning against a heavy drape, a gold-fringed drape concealing the knife, a slice of orange, identical motifs on the jug and the plate (Munich, Alte Pinakothek; Sotheby’s auction, New York, 25 November 2017; and Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden auction, Germany, 13 May 2006).

Juriaen van Streeck’s style and formal vocabulary are quite distinct from those of Kalf, even in his smaller works, as demonstrated, for example, by the still lifes held at the Louvre or the Schwerin Museum. Kalf’s compositions are more expansive and complex, often creating dramatic effects of texture through the theatrical arrangement of fabrics. Kalf creates a more intense chiaroscuro, and the highlights appear more pronounced, particularly through his more systematic use of reflections in glass, than in van Streeck’s work. However, this assertion must be tempered in light of the ceremonial still life held in a private collection, which features powerful effects of light. As with Kalf, the brushwork can be very pointillist, as demonstrated by the gold fringe on the drapery in our painting.

Svetlana Alpers, *The Art of Depiction: Dutch Painting in the 17th Century*, Paris, Gallimard, 1990.

Guillaume Kientz, ‘A New Attribution for a Still Life, Château d’Aulteribe, Sermentizon, Puy-de-Dôme’, *Monumental*, 2011, p. 114.

Biography of Juriaan van Streek in *De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen* (1718) by Arnold Houbraken