A still life featuring a magnificent vase decorated in relief and a nautilus goblet, oil on canvas, 103 x 91 cm

Literature:
K. Bastian, Georg Hinz und sein Stilllebenwerk (doctoral thesis), Hamburg 1984, presumably cat. no. 47.

We are grateful to Dr Karin Bastian for identifying the present painting as an autograph work by the artist. The painting is accompanied by a certificate written by Dr Bastian (June 2012). She dates it to the artist’s late period, between 1670 and 1688.

The present painting can be compared to a still life depicting an elaborately decorated vase that was exhibited at Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts, New York, in 2002, as well as to a still life featuring a nautilus goblet that was sold at Christie’s, London, on 6 July 1990 as lot 48. Johann Georg Hinz ranks among the few German still life painters of significance. The present work relies on a compositional scheme frequently employed by Hinz: a tabletop is covered by a rug or, like in the present picture, by velvety fabric; a large basket filled with fruit is placed in front of a magnificent jug in the right half of the painting, while a tall object that dominates the composition appears at centre. Hinz repeatedly used this scheme from 1660 onwards, so that it is difficult to date his works made after this date. In the present painting, Hinz displays a preference for precious objects. In 1668, Hinz became a citizen of the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, where he ran a flourishing workshop. Ernst Stuven, who was to become a successful painter of still lifes himself, was one of his pupils and workshop collaborators. In 1675, Joachim von Sandrart described Hinz in his Teutsche Accademie: “Hinz also has a place among the famous painters and is also very good at rendering still objects…”