Carstian Luyckx (1627-1675 approx.)
Still life with parrot, monkey and figure behind the window
Oil on canvas, 121 x 92 cm
With frame, 145 x 115 cm
This magnificent canvas represents a Flemish still life production to be configured within the 17th century and, in particular, in the subgenre, which initially developed in Antwerp but later expanded throughout the Netherlands, of the Pronkstilleven. The latter consists of a type of sumptuous still life, rich in objects, animals, human figures, plants and flowers that give the work a greater level of complexity and variety both in tones and in the subjects themselves; furthermore, these works often wanted to have a moralizing meaning showing the vacuity and temporality of material things precisely through their overflowing and opulent representation. Leaving aside the contrast between the underlying message and the figures, the latter cannot fail to be admired for their lenticular rendering in every detail, for the luminous triumph of colors and for the skillful use of soft and harmonious chiaroscuro between the parts in light and those in shadow. Focusing on the city of origin of the Pronkstilleven, namely Antwerp, we identify the name of the author of this work: Carstian Luyckx, also known as the Monogrammist KL, and famous for his still lifes that he developed in other subgenres such as vanitas, hunts or paintings of garlands. The coincidences with the production of this artist, who was apprenticed to a specialist in the genre such as Philips de Marlier and also studied with Frans Franken III, are found in several works such as the two still lifes, one in Ohio and the other in Montreal, where we find the lobster, the lemon peel in the glass, the purple curtain and the golden cup decorated with set stones. Continuing, even more similar ones are found: in one with the same vertical cut and with the addition of the dog, part of a private collection, both the parrot and a human figure at the window appeared following an important cleaning, while in another, also in a private collection, we find all the elements, including the monkey on the table, except for the man who looks out from the bars of the window in the background. As if these subject and style tangencies were not enough, a canvas by our artist had already appeared on the market in the past that identifies in all respects with our own, suggesting that it may even be the same one, and confirming with extreme certainty the paternity of the canvas. This should not suggest an artist settled on a few repeated compositions, on the contrary he tried his hand, as already mentioned, on several types of still life, obtaining enormous success both in his homeland and in France, where he worked for several years. Among the works of different genres, the following can be mentioned, among the most famous: the Memento mori from a private collection, close to the themes of vanitas, or the Poultry attacked by a fox, as regards scenes with live animals and of hunting, and finally the Cartouche with flowers, to be framed in paintings of garlands or with floral subjects as protagonists.