Willem van MIERIS the Younger (Leiden, 1662 - 1747) The vegetable seller Oil on oak panel, one plate Signed and dated 'W. van. Mieris. Fe An° 1723' lower centre The greengrocer, oil on oak panel, signed and dated, by W. van Mieris the Younger 20.86 x 17.32 in. 53.5 x 44 cm Provenance: Sir Samuel Scott Collection, according to RKD documentation; Ten Bos Collection, Almelo, according to RKD documentation; D. Katz, Dieren, circa 1933; Collection Dr. Cornelis Johannes Karel Van Aalst, Hoevlaken (1866-1939); Then collection of N. J. van Aalst, Hoevlaken, 1952-1953 ; By descent until 1990; Galerie Bob Haboldt, Paris, circa 1990-1991 (with incorrect dimensions); Anonymous sale; Paris, FL Auction, 29 June 2016, no. 13 ; Private collection, Belgium Exhibitions: Kunsttentoonstelling van 17e eeuwsche schilderijen, Zutphen, Gemeentelijk Museum, 12 July - 3 August 1933, according to a label on the reverse Kersttentoonstelling. Nederlandse meesters uit particulier bezit, Delft, Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, 21 December 1952 - 1 February 1953, no. 47, according to a label on the reverse Bibliography: Joachim Wolfang Von Moltke, Dutch and Flemish Masters in the Collection of Dr. C.J.K. van Aalst, Verona, 1939, p. 218, pl. LII Willem van Mieris belonged to one of the most important dynasties of Leiden painters. He was the son and pupil of Frans van Mieris (1635-1681), the father of Frans the Younger (1689-1763) and the brother of Jan (1660-1690). Following in the footsteps of Gerrit Dou, the style of Willem van Mieris, a fijnschilder (Dutch for "precious painter"), was characterised by an extremely meticulous rendering of detail and a smooth, delicate texture achieved through the use of glazes that masked the brushstrokes. The kitchen and grocery scenes offered Willem van Mieris the opportunity to demonstrate his many talents as a painter and the agility with which he was able to depict a variety of textures and materials. The various vegetables - cauliflowers, garlic cloves, carrots, artichokes, turnips, onions and potatoes - are depicted with infinite precision, as are the fabrics of the chair cushion in the background and the richly patterned curtain on the right. The works of Willem van Mieris were also highly sought-after and sold for large sums. Willem van Mieris owed his great reputation in part to his paintings of interior scenes flanked by stone pillars with a richly carved bas-relief of putti motifs at the bottom. This is true of the painting by Willem van Mieris in the Wallace Collection, painted in 1731 (no. P220, fig. 1). This is not the case with our panel, in which the painter has freed himself from this process, which he borrowed from his master Gerrit Dou. But make no mistake about it, the depiction of the vegetable seller placing an extra cauliflower in the young man's basket in exchange for the coin he hands her probably has an implicit content. A learned and cultured painter, Willem van Mieris seems to have had a large collection of books, which he bequeathed to his son Frans and which was sold at the latter's estate sale in 1764. He was undoubtedly familiar with the works of Jacob Cats, the moralist poet who inspired many Dutch painters of the 17th century. Willem van MIERIS the Younger (Leiden, 1662 - 1747) 53.5 x 44 cm