Still Life with Dead Partridge and Kingfisher
Simon Peeterz. Verelst
(Dutch (active in England), 1644–1721)
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions74.6 x 62.9 cm (29 3/8 x 24 3/4 in.)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds donated by contribution
Accession number90.202
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In his twenties, Verelst moved to London, where he established his reputation painting flower pictures and portraits for the court of King Charles II. His rare gamepieces usually focus on a partridge, an expensive delicacy that he painted with great sensitivity to detail, texture, and color. Although dead animals were routinely hung on the walls in Dutch kitchens and markets, Verelst avoided any reference to a domestic or commercial context, silhouetting his dramatically lit birds before a neutral, shadowy background.
InscriptionsLower left, on stone ledge: S. verelst F.Provenance1880, Paul Pavlovich Demidoff, 2nd Prince of San Donato (b. 1839 - d. 1885), San Donato, Italy; March 15 - April 10, 1880, Demidoff sale, San Donato Palace, lot 1043, to Stanton Blake (b. 1837 - d. 1889), Boston; 1889, purchased under the will of Stanton Blake. (Accession Date: December 24, 1889)
William Verelst
Lucien Simon
Jacob Adriaensz. Backer
Unidentified artist, Belgian, fourth quarter 18th century