MATHIAS WITHOOS (Amersfoort 1627 – Hoorn 1703)
A Forest Still Life with an Otter and Two Fish
oil on unlined canvas
18 x 21 inches (45.72 x 53.34 cm.)
PROVENANCE
Possibly Charles II of England, inventory number 607, 1665 – 1667, and thus by descent to
Possibly James II of England, inventory number 454, and thus by descent to
Possibly Queen Anne of England, Somerset House, by 1714
Possibly Anonymous sale, Christie’s, London, June 4-5, 1830, lot 79a, (Withoes, Plants, an Otter and Fish, in a landscape) where bought by
Lake
Possibly Anonymous sale, Foster & Son, London, February 18, 1835, lot 111, (Withoos. A Landscape with Flowers and Shrubs, and an Otter devouring the Fish, in fine preservation and a capital specimen of the master)
Anonymous sale, Christie’s, London, July 17, 1964, lot 152 where purchased by
Kunsthandel B. Houthakker, Amsterdam
Estate sale, Sotheby’s, New York, March 25, 1982, lot 89
Anonymous sale, Sotheby’s London, July 5, 1984, lot 356
Private Collection, New Jersey until 2024
LITERATURE
Possibly The Pictures in the Store Rooms at Somerset House, October : 28 : 1714, folio 15 no. 313
Possibly George Vertue, A Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures Belonging to King James the Second. To which is added A Catalogue of the Pictures and Drawings In the Closet of the late Queen Caroline, W. Bathoe, London, 1768, no. 454, p. 39
Albert Boersma, Ander Licht Op Withoos; Drie generaties Withoos, Amersfoort, 2021, no. 10, p. 249, illustrated
Rieke van Leeuwen & Anna Preussinger, “Painting by Withoos from the British Royal Collection identified” on rkd.nl (RKD Explore) website., no. 2, illustrated
Mathias Withoos apprenticed with Jacob van Campen, and by 1647 was a Master in the Amersfoort guild. Along with Otto Marseus van Schrieck and others they traveled to Florence. In 1648 both Withoos and Schrieck were employed by the Grand Duke Ferdinando II de’ Medici in Florence. By 1652 they were in Rome where they joined the Bentvueghels, a group of Dutch and Flemish artists. Stopping en route in Lyon, Withoos circa 1652 – 1653 returned to Amersfoort. There he married Wendela (Weijntje) van Hoorn. He also took on a variety of official posts including a council member and director of the city orphanages in 1665, and alderman and regent of the Chapel of Our Lady in 1671. In 1672 fleeing the oncoming French forces, Withoos and his family along with his apprentice Caspar van Wittel moved to Hoorn. The artist had three sons and five daughters. Five of his children painted flower pieces: Pieter, Johannes, Alida, Maria and Frans all of whom emulated their father’s style.[1]
Like Otto Marseus van Schrieck, Mathias produced mainly forest floor pieces called sottobosco painting (after the Italian word for undergrowth) or in German Waldstilleben (forest still life).[2] In these types of works plants and animals are viewed in the forest. The animals are typically hedgehogs, lizards, snakes, mice, frogs and insects. Rarer is the inclusion of a weasel, marten, polecat or otter. All are meant as a “repulsive” contrast to the natural beauty of the rest of the composition.[3] At this time nature held a deep fascination for the general population. The upper classes in The Netherlands filled their homes with natural treasures retrieved from all over the world made possible by the far-flung voyages of the Dutch East India Company. Called cabinets of curiosities, such groupings could also be viewed by the general population as collections of “Naturalia” which were frequently attached to public gardens. Such interest on this grand a scale created a huge demand for paintings and drawings of flora and fauna.[4] Ingeniously Withoos took it a step further presenting these “specimens” in their natural environment. In this work the dense foliage of the forest floor with its meticulous execution pays homage to Van Schrieck’s influence. On the left side sunshine pours over the rolling hills of an Italianate landscape highlighting the otter and his prey. Such works were also intended as memento moris demonstrative of regeneration and the inescapable cycle of life and death.
Seven forest floor still lifes of known works by the artist include an otter. One acquired by Charles II is described in an inventory from 1666 – 1667 as “Withoos: A Landscape wherein are thistles, & flowers, an otter, and two fishes by it.” The dimensions are 1 feet 6 inch by 1 feet 9 inch. It is known that this work then descended in the Royal collection with James II until Queen Caroline at least until 1714.[5] As Withoos did not make exact replicas of his paintings[6], and this work fits the size and description of the one in the Royal inventory there is a strong likelihood that they are one and the same.
We would like to thank Albert Boersma for confirming this work as a painting by Mathias Withoos.
[1] Sam Segal & Klara Alen, “Matthias Withoos” in Dutch and Flemish Flower Pieces, volume I, Brill, Hes & De Groot, 2020, pp. 544-555.
[2] Iku, “Holland (17th century) Looking at the ground with sottobosco painting” on urbanplants.wordpress.com.
[3] Rieke van Leeuwen & Anna Preussinger, “Painting by Withoos from the British Royal Collection identified” on rkd.nl (RKD Explore) website.
[4] Catherine Powell – Warren, “A Strange Attraction” and Maria Holtrop & Julia van Leeuwen, “The World as Possession” in Crawly Creatures, Little Animals in Art and Science, p. 123, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2022
[5] Rieke van Leeuwen & Anna Preussinger, op.cit.
[6] Written correspondence with Albert Boersma dated October 10, 2024.