PSEUDO SIMON (active in Antwerp between 1650 and 1680) Still Life with Flowers, Fruit, Squirrel and Birds Oil on canvas, 64X128 cm Provenance: London, Christie's, 30 May 1980, lot 150 (as Joris van Son) London, Christie's, 17 December 2020, lot 212 (as Pseudo Simon) Milan, private collection Bibliography: https://rkd.nl/imageslite/589814 (as Pseudo Simon) Under the name Pseudo Simon, critics have collected more than a hundred still lifes depicting tables laid with flowers, fruit and animals, works that during the 20th century were generally referred to the painter Michiel Simons or, as in this case, to Joris Van Son (Antwerp, 1623-1667). According to the RKD, the artist is supposed to have been active in Antwerp during the second half of the 17th century, also recognising similarities with the production of Jan Pauwel Gillemans I (Antwerp, 1618-1675). Another interesting aspect is that not a few works referable to the artist are preserved in old English collections, thus suggesting a sojourn of the latter across the Channel. The quality of his creations is definitely higher than Gillemans', thus establishing a more effective analogy with Jan Davidsz de Heem (Antwerp, 1651 ; before 1704). Returning to the canvas presented here, attributed to Fred G. Meijer, it is in good condition.