(Amsterdam 1628–1675 Haarlem)
Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist,
oil on canvas, shaped top, 125 x 108 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Georges Antoine Louvrier (1886–1967), Brussels;
Private European collection;
sale, Pierre Bergé, Paris, 20 May 2008, lot 24 (Bolognese School, circa 1680);
where acquired by the present owner

We are grateful to Paul Huys Janssen for confirming the attribution after examining the present painting in the original. His written report accompanies this lot.

The present painting is a significant addition to the small oeuvre of Reyer van Blommendael and displays several characteristic elements of his art production. The group of figures in the present composition are placed closely together in a manner typical for the artist, as are the round faces with chubby cheeks and sometimes little snub noses. There are distinctive shadows, and the draperies are in general painted broadly with soft colours. Both the Christ Child and the Infant Saint John the Baptist have the same curly and wavy blond hair that appears in several of Blommendael’s paintings, such as the Socrates in Strasbourg. The subject of the painting is Catholic in taste and the offering of fruit refers to the Eucharist. The position of the elderly Saint Joseph, standing more or less aside from the other figures, is an indication of his secondary importance.

Reyer Jacobsz. van Blommendael was born in Amsterdam in 1628. His father Jacob was a successful entrepreneur who owned several properties around Bloemendaal, a small town close to Haarlem (hence the family name). He owned a linen bleachery that provided him and his family with a healthy income. The scant information about Reyer confirms his position as a well-to-do citizen. In the earliest records, that all date from around 1660, he is referred to as an art dealer. By then he was living in Haarlem where he had bought a large house in 1658, showing that he was already financially independent. Later on, he would receive a large sum of money from the estate of his deceased father. (see I. van Thiel-Stroman, Painting in Haarlem 1500–1850. The collection of the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem/Ghent 2006, p. 111 with an outline of the artist’s biography.) In 1663 Reyer entered the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem and from then on he officially worked as a painter and art dealer. Nothing is known about Reyer’s artistic training. No more than about fifteen paintings by him are known to date. Only a few are signed, and none is dated. Apparently, he could afford to live and work as a recluse and no commissions are documented. Blommendael remained in Haarlem until the end of his life when he moved to The Hague and probably died there. He was buried on 23 November 1675 in the family grave in the Grote Kerk in Haarlem.