Dutch masterpiece on show in UK for first time
A “dazzling” rare Dutch masterpiece that has always been held in private collections has gone on public display for the first time in its history.
‘Banquet Still Life’ by Jan Davidsz. de Heem will be on show at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge for the next two years.
The importance of the painting was underlined by a temporary export bar placed on the work by the government last year when it came up for sale, uncleaned, for the first time in two centuries, valued at £6.1m. An export bar gives time for a public gallery or institution to try to raise funds to buy the work, the Guardian reported.
At the time, Stephen Parkinson, the arts minister, said: “This captivating painting is magnificent not just in size but also in its exquisite detail. De Heem’s enormous talent is evident in this rare piece.”
In the event, it was sold privately. The painting has since been cleaned for the first time by Martin Wyld, former head of conservation at the National Gallery. It has now been lent to the Fitzwilliam so it can be seen by the public.
De Heem was one of the most important still-life painters of the 17th century. ‘Banquet Still Life’ is rare within his body of work because of its monumental size; he typically painted smaller works.
The artist completed four paintings on this scale between 1640 and 1643. Together they established De Heem as the pre-eminent still-life painter of the Dutch Golden Age and exemplified an emerging style of painting known as pronkstilleven, featuring ornate displays of sumptuous food and luxurious objects.