Kick, Cornelis Lot n° 12

Cornelis Kick 1634 Amsterdam - 1681 Amsterdam Still life with a Roemer, an Orange and Lemons Oil on panel. 43 x 31.5 cm. Signed centre right: Corn. Kick. Provenance Anonymous sale, Sotheby-Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 30 November 1981, lot 54. Exhibitions Holländische Malerei aus Berliner Privatbesitz, Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, 1984, no. 31. Literature Jan Kelch: Holländische Malerei aus Berliner Privatbesitz, Berlin 1984, exhib. cat., pp. 66-7, no. 31, reproduced; Susanne Rütten, in Ekkehard Mai (ed.): Das Kabinett des Sammlers, Cologne 1993, pp. 144-145, no. 56, reproduced. The Amsterdam still life painter Cornelis Kick presents exactly seven objects in front of a dark background, placed close together and towards the edge of a stone slab: a Roemer glass half filled with white wine, an orange, lemon, a lemon wedge, a thin slice of lemon, a small lemon pip and a knife with its ivory handle protruding slightly over the edge of the table. With these few objects, as well as a few drops of water, Cornelis Kick creates an exciting composition that is slightly off-centre, and attracts the observer especially through the strong contrast of the bright fruits against the dark stone slab and the deep dark background. The splendid Roemer glass stands out against the dark background particularly through the masterfully placed light reflections and mirroring: The upper half of the goblet is only noticeable by the linear light reflections on its edge as well as a flat mirroring on its side. In the lower part of the goblet, yellow reflections evoke the impression of white wine and countless tiny, dot-shaped points of light on the stem evoke the raspberry-shaped decorations. Arnold Houbraken had alre