A Dog with Dead Game
circa 1710

About the Item

Jan Weenix Canvas Size: 32 x 26" (82 x 66cm) Outside Frame Size: 40 x 34" (102 x 86cm) This beautiful painting is unsigned but this is not unusual with Jan Weenix who did not sign all of his work. It is for this reason that we have put it as an attribution. Dutch 1642 - 1719 Jan Weenix was born in Amsterdam in 1642, the son of the Italianate painter Jan Baptist Weenix (1621–1660/1661) and Josina de Hondecoeter. He spent his early childhood in Amsterdam without his father, who left for an artistic sojourn in Italy just fourteen months after Jan’s birth. Jan Baptist returned to Amsterdam in 1647, and shortly thereafter the family moved to Utrecht. By 1657 they had settled in a large house outside of the city, the “Huis ter Mey,” where the younger Jan became a pupil in his father’s studio. After Weenix joined the Utrecht painter’s guild in 1664, he painted Italianate genre scenes in the manner of his father. He probably moved to Amsterdam in the early 1670s, although the first official record of him in that city was not until October 1679, when he married.[ In Amsterdam Weenix abandoned the painting of Italianate scenes in favour of extravagant game pieces, a genre that had gained popularity since the 1650s, thanks in part to Weenix the elder's success in painting such scenes. Jan Weenix had only one known pupil, Dirk Valkenburg (1675–1721), who closely imitated his master’s style. Weenix’s paintings, which were sought after by wealthy Amsterdam burghers, typically depict dead game set against lush landscapes with dramatic views into the distance. He often combined these scenes with classical elements, including antique urns and statues. At the turn of the century, his reputation attracted the attention of Johann Wilhelm von der Pflaz, the German Elector Palatine in Düsseldorf, for whom he produced numerous game pieces and large still lifes from 1702 until about 1714. It is in its original Salvator Rosa frame, it was so called because it was first found on works by Carlo Maratta (1625–1713). In its enriched form, with up to five runs of decoration, it created an opulent setting for the jewels of a collection.

Creation Year:

circa 1710

Dimensions:

Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Width: 34 in (86.36 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)

Medium:

Oil

Movement & Style:

Italian School

Circle Of:

Jan Weenix (1642 - 1719, Dutch)

Period:

Mid-18th Century