Collection Earl of Haddington ;

Sa vente, Londres, Sotheby's, 3 février 1954, n° 137 (comme Frans Snijders) ;

Galerie De Jonckheere, Paris ;

Acquis auprès de cette dernière en 2004 par les parents des actuels propriétaires ;

Collection particulière, France

Edith Greindl, Les peintres flamands de nature morte au XVIIe siècle, Sterrebeek, 1983, p. 353, n° 238 (comme Jan Fyt)

Hella Robels, Frans Snyders, Stilleben- und Tiermaler Munich, 1989, p. 279-280, n° 159

L'Estampille-Objet d'art, avril 2004, repr. p. 93

On a wide studded armchair in crimson leather, bunches of white and red grapes and quinces have been placed on a large Wan-Li inspired dish. This profusion of fruit is coveted by two animals: a vervet monkey standing on the armchair, its chain broken, and an African Grey parrot standing opposite, its talons placed on the stem of a vine. In the lower left-hand corner of the painting, a dog is showing its head with great vigour, displaying its fangs to the parrot, which would make a fine meal for it. This composition is the quintessence of Snijders' art. In this large panel, the painter reveals himself not only as the great artist we know, but also as a consummate painter, mastering space, light, movement, the fruit as much as the animals, whose anatomy he details with almost scientific precision.

Hella Robbels, specialist for the artist, dates this work to the 1640s, and compares it to a work in the Stockholm National Museum (inv. no. 637) in which the parrot and dog appear in the same position (fig. 1). Another painting by the Antwerp master shows that he used this setting on several occasions. The dogs appear on the right-hand side of the painting; as if emerging nearby the food they are coveting (fig. 2). Snijders repeatedly depicted the theme of fruit-stealing monkeys, symbolising gluttony and intemperance. Three paintings on this theme alone are in the Musée du Louvre: Trois singes voleurs de fruits, avec échappée sur un paysage (inv. MI 981), Deux singes pillant une corbeille de fruits (inv. RF 3046) and Singes et perroquet auprès d'une corbeille de fruits (inv. MI 982). The plate of fruit acts as a vanity: these tempting grapes are alluding to the perishable nature of earthly things.

Frans Snijders entered the studio of Pieter Brueghel II in 1593, at the age of 14. After being made a master in 1602, he travelled to Italy, first to Rome and then to Milan, where he stayed for two years in 1608 and 1609. On his return to Antwerp, he specialised in still lifes and his reputation spread rapidly, to such an extent that Rubens called on him between 1611 and 1616 to collaborate on some of his works. Having married Marguerite de Vos, sister of Cornelis and Paul de Vos, in 1611, he had a considerable influence on the latter's animal subjects. A member of the Society of Romanists in Antwerp in 1619, he became its dean in 1628. He established himself as one of the most important and recognised painters of his time, receiving numerous prestigious commissions from the great princes and high dignitaries of the Habsburg Empire, from Madrid to Brussels, from Vienna to Milan.

Snijders invented this type of interior scene in which animals play a predominant role. No doubt devoting many hours to observing the animals he portrayed, be they dead or alive, he used drawing to explore the coats and plumage of a wide variety of species. A leading port from the 16th century onwards, Antwerp was one of the first cities to display both live and stuffed exotic animals. Many of the birds brought back from Brazil by Dutch ships as objects of curiosity were seen by the people of Antwerp. Snijders painted them enthusiastically, as can be seen in the painting in the Musée de Louvre depicting an assembly of various birds perched on branches (MI 980). The dog itself bears witness to the painter's interest in hunting scenes, such as those he painted for Philip IV's hunting lodge, the Torre de la Parada, and the Royal Palace in Madrid around 1639-1639. One of the most striking aspects of Snijders' work is his keen understanding of the anatomical structure of animals, particularly hunting dogs, whose energy and greed he shows here through the snarling muzzle and open mouth revealing their ferocious teeth. This painting captures the genius of Snijders, who offers us a painting that is not only dynamic but also sonorous, with the barking and growling of the dog and the cries of the parrot.