Jacob Ferdinand Saeys
(Antwerp 1658 - Vienna 1726)

Fantastic architectural caprice

oil on canvas,
57 x 83 cm. (22.4 x 32.6 in)
with frame 80 x 102 cm. (31.5 x 40 in)

The proposed painting, a fine example of architectural fantasy, is an excellent quality work by the late Baroque Flemish painter Jacob Ferdinand Saeys (Antwerp 1658-1725 Vienna).
The painting, full of charm and suggestions, shows us a group of characters dressed in oriental at an outdoor breakfast, while they feast on their gaming activities and offer us no doubt one of the most beautiful creations of the Saeys.
After studying architecture in Flanders, he began his pictorial activity as a pupil of the painter Wilhem Schubert van Ehrenberg. Despite his election to Mastro Della Gilda di San Luca in 1680, he decided to settle in Vienna, where he remained throughout his career.
In the imperial capital, alive from an artistic and cultural point of view, he became highly regarded as a painter of the court, challenged by aristocratic nobles who wanted to own his creations, appreciated for their extravagant inventiveness and attention to detail.
His ability to use perspective, the skillful rendering of building materials, such as the realistic column marbles that characterize each work, as well as the intense use of light, are the elements that made him extremely famous.
Our work, probably executed around the last decade of the seventeenth century, portrays an architectural whim with classic buildings, Italian-inspired, with a monumental appearance. Some of Saeys's scenes seem to represent subjects borrowed from mythology, the Bible or historical events, while others, such as the one in question, represent a company of aristocratic figures in costumes. Some paintings that can be compared to the one in question can be observed for comparison purposes.

For example, "Perspective view of an Italian palace animated with characters and gallant celebrations" (Valenciennes Museum of Fine Arts).
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jacobus_Ferdinandus_Saey_-_Perspective_view_of_a_Italian_palace_animated_with_figures_and_gallant_celebrations.jpg
In this we see re-proposed the same composition details of our whim. We find the same elegant silhouettes which, in front of a sumptuous building, observe a dancer holding a parrot with open wings. At his side, there are two dogs, who seem to jump to catch the animal. Finally, the musicians who play string instruments on the terrace on the right while the spectators are sitting under a balustrade on the right.

- https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/jacob-ferdinand-saeys-antwerp-1658-17256-vienna-a-5916353-de...
- https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot /jacob-ferdinand-saeys-antwerp-c-1658-17256-vienna-5521150-details.aspx

Stylistically, Saeys seems to be inspired by the works of the Italian painter of capricious architecture Viviano Codazzi, herself influenced by by the Flemish and Dutch painters active in Rome and known as Bamboccianti, who also painted architectural scenes with characters.

We conclude with the state of conservation of the painting, which is in excellent condition.
The pictorial material is preserved in an excellent way.

For more information, please contact us.
Paint with photographic certificate of authenticity according to the law.