NEW YORK, NY.- Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts will exhibit several rare paintings at Tefaf including a portrait of young Willem van der Muelen by Jan Cornelisz. van Lonen, a Rembrandt inspired portrait of a goldweigher by Karel van der Pluym and a beautiful cartouche still-life by Jan van Kessel and Jan van Balen. Tefaf runs from March 15th 24th at the MECC in Maastricht.
Known for discovering rare portraits of children, Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts will present the beautifully painted portrait of Willem van der Muelen, Age 3 by Jan Cornelisz. van Loenen. Remarkable in its beauty, condition, rarity and resurrected history, this portrait of a young boy defines the meaning of a masterpiece. In the same family since it was painted in 1634, it testifies to the familys position in society and embodies the timeless and universal feelings of pride, love and aspiration parents have for their children.
Paintings by Karel van der Pluym were often mistaken for his much better known cousin, Rembrandt. Our painting, The Goldweigher, dates from the 1650s and reflects Rembrandts rough manner style he employed between 1642 and 1654. In The Goldweigher the evocative use of light and shadow combined with passages of thick impasto with warm coloration define and serve to monumentalize the image. Given the scarcity of paintings by the artist we are delighted to bring The Goldweigher to market and feel a rare opportunity has been presented. Intended to be timeless, the relevancy of Karel van der Pluyms vanitas depiction of economic forces out of control necessitating the constant taking stock of personal assets and ones own life remains undiminished.
Finally, Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts will present a stunning cartouche still-life by Jan van Kessel and Jan van Balen. Originally part of an important collection of mainly Dutch and Flemish seventeenth century paintings belonging to Charles and Edith Neuman de Végvár, Romanian nationals living in Vienna, the painting along with the rest of their collection was seized during World War II. The Monuments Men recovered some of the collection in 1945 and by 1946 this painting was restituted back to the Neuman de Végvár family. Painted in 1648, Kessels delightful still-life of flowers and insects exemplifies the genre he is best known for, flower paintings. Van Balen painted the central image of two putti, most likely an allegory for vanity.
These three paintings along with approximately thirty other Dutch and Flemish works will be exhibited at Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts at Stand 363. Copies of our 2013 catalog are available upon request and all information on our current inventory is available on our website, www.steigrad.com.