David Joseph Bles (1821-1899) - Een gezelschap in de salon

Beautiful and finely painted oil painting from c. 1860-1870 in good condition. David Joseph (1821-1899) Bles was born in 1821 in The Hague as the son of a merchant. At thirteen he was admitted to the Hague Academy, where he studied from 1834 to 1837 and from 1838 to 1841. He was a pupil of Cornelis Kruseman and his cousin Jan Adam Kruseman. Afterwards he studied in Paris with Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury and remained there until 1843, after which he settled in The Hague. From 1845 to 1899 he was a member of the Royal Academy in Amsterdam. Bles is especially known for his portraits and genre scenes, and he also painted scenes from the history of Dutch painting. In most of his paintings and prints he managed to place a humorous note. A contemporary wrote in Elsevier’s Maandschrift (1891) that connoisseurs valued him for his fine tone and refined drawing, while the public loved his ever-new angles. His painting “Zo de ouden zongen, piepen de jongen” hangs in the Rijksmuseum. His work was very popular in his own time. His anecdotal salon- and genre scenes, in which elegant gatherings are depicted with a wink, suit well the presentation of this work. On the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1891, a marble bust of him was created by Bart van Hove, now in the Rijksmuseum. The attribution comes from the anecdotal setup (the bowing gentleman, the lady with raised skirts, the young man picking up a handkerchief), the fine rendering of the fabrics and the salon setting, which align with Bles’s genre works from the 1860s. A strong but not definitive attribution. See also the works “Huiskamer Concert” and “Nobel Vermaak” from the same period and compare different compositions via the RKD (Dutch Institute for Art History) such as “Directeur des Femmes” (1849-1866) and “Armoede en Weelde” (1848). Dimensions (framed): 32.5 cm wide 27.0 cm high Bottom right are initials, readable as “o.g.” or “o.s.”. On the reverse (card) there is a pencil inscription, poorly legible. Probably refers to a previous owner (Mr. Günther). Technique: Oil on 19th-century paper mounted on cardboard. The painting will be carefully shipped and will be insured with appropriate coverage.

Estimate:$2,094.47

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