Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/256

 232 JAN STEEN SECT. at the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition, London, 1881, No. 104. ; and at the South Kensington Museum, 1891, No n. Formerly in the collection of T. H. Hope ; and then in the collection of Lord Francis Pelham Clinton Hope, Deepdene, sold as a whole in 1898 to P. and D. Colnaghi and A. Wertheimer. Now in the Neumann collection, London. 855. THE OYSTER FEAST (or, An Oyster-shop). Sm. Suppl. 62 ; W. 146. In the foreground a man in black hands an oyster to a lady. She wears a red velvet jacket, a grey skirt, and a linen cap, and holds a glass of wine. In the middle distance is a table, at which an old woman is opening oysters ; a laughing man stands near her with a dish. Farther back a man is conversing with a maid-servant. There are various accessories. It is very finely and carefully painted. Signed in full in the upper left-hand corner j panel, 15 inches by 12 inches. Described by Waagen (Suppl. 442). Sales. R. de Neufville, Leyden, March 15, 1736, No. u (64 florins). J. van der Marck, Amsterdam, August 25, 1773 (186 florins, Wubbels) ; " A Girl asleep and a Man smoking " (762) was sold as a pendant to this, Amsterdam, 1804. J. Kleinenberg, Leyden, July 19, 1841, No. 213 (1071 florins, Lamme or Nieuwenhuys). In the collection of Sir Hugh Hume Campbell, Bart., Marchmont House, 1857 (Waagen) ; sold, London, June 16, 1894. Now in the collection of George Salting, London. 856. THE ARTIST EATING OYSTERS. Sm. 3 and Suppl. 5 ; W. 127. In a handsomely furnished room Jan Steen sits at a heavy oak table with an oyster in his hand. He looks with a smile at a young woman, dressed in a brown silk jacket trimmed with white fur and a white apron, who stands on the right ; she presses her left hand on her breast and offers Steen a glass of wine with the other hand. An old woman, standing to the left, is opening an oyster for him. To the left a comely lad in grey, holding a jug, looks out of the picture. On the table is a dish of oysters ; an Oriental carpet, spread on the table, is turned back ; over it on the right is a white cloth, upon which are a china dish, a loaf on a plate, a bottle, and other things. In the right foreground is a bench upon which are another dish of oysters, a lemon, and a knife. A dog sniffs at the lemon. In the left foreground is an arm-chair on which lies the artist's sword. Near it is a wine- cooler holding a jug and a bottle. Behind the group is a large stone chimney-piece, adorned with stucco reliefs and a figure of Fortune. Behind the figure a sea-piece in a frame with a shell pattern is let into the upper panel. To the left of it is a Gobelins tapestry ; a chandelier hangs from the ceiling. Through a doorway on the left is seen a staircase, down which come a couple of distinguished appearance. The picture is cool in colour ; the picture of the Neumann collection (854) is warmer and still finer. But this is one of the finest works of Steen. In the following year he borrowed for the Neumann picture individual details, such as the chimney-piece, the middle group, and the dog.