The Raree-show (’t Fraay Curieus)

The Raree-show (’t Fraay Curieus)

SK-A-4941

signature and date: ‘W. Van Mieris Fec Ano 1718’

The old Dutch title (in parentheses) refers to the cries ‘beautiful!’ (fraai) and ‘extraordinary!’ (curieus) with which itinerant performers announced themselves. Here a performer shows a wooden triptych with characters from a chivalric romance, while undoubtedly recounting the tale to those gathered around. Willem van Mieris was a ‘fine painter’, meaning that he rendered the scene in a highly detailed and refined manner. The painting is actually also a kind of peepshow.

C.W. Fock, 'Willem van Mieris en zijn mecenas Pieter de la Court van der Voort', LKJ 2 (1983), p. 277.

painter: Willem van Mieris

1718

olieverf op paneel

height 58 cm x width 49 cm

Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt, with additional funding from the Prins Bernhard Fonds and the Rijksmuseum Fonds

purchase 1998-11-01

Public domain

Inv.; sale, Robert Hamilton(Norwood, Surrey), London (Christie's), 15 March 1832, no. 317, to Charles Heusch, London; his son, F. Heusch, London; from whom to Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1808-1879); ? by descent through the family to Baron Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918), Exbury, Hampshire; from whom to John Enrico Fattorini (1878-1949), Bradford, by 1944;…; collection Mrs J.E. Leacock, Amsterdam, before 1956;…; anonymous sale, Amsterdam (Christie's), 2 April 1976, no. 14;….; the Leger Galleries, London, 1977;…; private collection Engeland, 1989;…;{Provenance 1832-1998, reconstructed by Noortman 2007, cat. no. 11.} from the dealer R. Noortman, Maastricht, fl. 1,184.375, to the museum, with support from the Vereniging Rembrandt and the Rijksmuseum Fonds, 1998

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

• C.W. Fock, 'Willem van Mieris en zijn mecenas Pieter de la Court van der Voort', LKJ 2 (1983), p. 277.
• 'Recent acquisitions at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam', The Burlington Magazine (November 2000), p. 733 met afb. XI.
• G. Jansen, 'De rarekiek', Bulletin Vereniging Rembrandt 9 (1999) 1, p. 20-22 met afb. in kleur.

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200411629