Monogrammist PW Active in Holland in the 17th... Lot 31

Monogrammist PW Active in Holland in the 17th century The arrest of Joseph at the request of Putiphar's wife... Oil on oak panel, three planks Signed with initials and dated 'PW 16(?)' in the lower left corner. The arrest of Joseph, accused by Potifar's wife, oil on oak panel, signed with monogram and dated, by the Monogrammist PW 75 x 119 cm (29.53 x 46.85 in.) Provenance : Anonymous sale ; London, Sotheby's, 5-6 July 2017, n° 130 ; Acquired at this sale by the current owner. Comment: The identity of the author of our painting, signing his works with the two letters P and W, is yet to be determined. It could be the Amsterdam painter Pieter Willemsz, whose several "perspectives", most certainly architectural, are mentioned in 17th century inventories. In any case, it is this ability to represent palace interiors with great precision and richness of detail that characterizes our monogrammist. Columns, arcades, coffered ceilings, black and white marble tiles and vast lateral openings that let in light define the rooms into which he takes the viewer. Perspective is perfectly mastered in a composition such as the one we present, where the succession of rooms guides the gaze far away. Sheltered by this architecture, various characters inhabit these vast spaces. Here, an episode from the Old Testament is proposed to us, the arrest of Joseph, transposed in this classical palace with some details such as men's turbans to remind us of the East. Sometimes our artist would give the brush to another to represent the figures, as for example to Cornelisz. Duyster, in a painting whose architecture is very close to the one we are presenting (anonymous sale; Paris, Sotheby's, 27 June 2013, n°17, sold 205 500€).