In August 1615, the art-loving governor-couple of the Spanish Netherlands, Archduke Albert VII and his wife Isabella, visited the famous cabinet of curiosities of the wealthy spice merchant Cornelis van der Geest in Antwerp. Thirteen years later, painter Willem van Haecht, who also held the position of curator of the van der Geest art collection, captured the memorable event in a painting, prominently placing in it one of the collection's showpieces, Quentin Metsys' The Madonna of the Cherries. In the front left corner of the masterpiece, you can see Cornelis van der Geest presenting the masterpiece to the governor and his wife.
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Quentin Metsys (the surname is also recorded as Massys) painted The Madonna of the Cherries in the 1520s. It is considered a major work from his mature period and helped establish his fame as it was copied many times.
After Cornelis van der Geest's death, the painting was inherited by his nephew Cornelis de Licht and the Antwerp collector Peter Stevens. After Stevens' death in 1668, the painting was lost. It only resurfaced over 250 years later at an auction in Paris in 1920, but was not recognized as a work by Metsys. This was because the painting had undergone extensive changes since its disappearance, most notably the green curtain added by an unknown hand to cover the window opening.
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The painting was widely believed to be a version executed by one of Metsys' employees when it was offered at Christie's London in 2015 with an estimate of £60,000-£80,000. It was eventually sold for £254,500 (about $399,311).
An extensive restoration was then carried out, which brought to light the true glory of the painting, including its highly interesting provenance. On July 2, The Madonna of the Cherries will go under the hammer again at Christie's London as part of the "Old Masters Part I" auction. The estimate is now £8-£12 million (about $10.2-$15.3 million).
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"We are delighted to be offering this work by Quentin Metsys that has only recently been recognized as the prime version of his celebrated late masterpiece – The Madonna of the Cherries – which helped cement his reputation as the founder of the Antwerp School of painting," says Henry Pettifer, International Deputy Chairman of Old Master Paintings at Christie's.
If you are in London this summer, Quentin Metsys' The Madonna of the Cherries will be on display at Christie's at 8 King Street in St James's from June 28 to July 2.
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