Paintings Department: Dutch master gilded frame
Senior Paintings Conservator Stephanie in treatment.
For the formal dining room at Filoli Historic House & Garden, the Bourne family chose a Dutch masterpiece by Jan Weenix, Still Life of Dead Game and Implements of the Hunt, painted in 1703. This same painting has hung over the fireplace for more than 100 years through all occupants of the estate, and is thought to symbolize the bounty of the Filoli estate with its vast orchards, agricultural fields, and large garden. Game paintings were popular in many northern European countries in the 18th century as decoration for dining rooms, gun rooms, and studies in country homes.
Weenix, a Dutch painter (1640-1719), devoted his work to a variety of subjects but was most noted for his depictions of dead game and hunting scenes, featuring classical urns, statues, and views of lush formal gardens. His highly skilled depictions of birds, use of light, and acute draftsmanship was recognized by Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz, a Duke from Germany, who commissioned him to produce numerous game paintings and still lifes from 1702 to 1714.
The masterpiece at Filoli features a freshly dead hare and pheasants surrounded by hunting gear typical of the period. The large canvas is framed in an oil gilded Louis XIV revival style frame. The molding is an ogee shaped profile with an inner running ornament, followed by a sanded frieze, and an outer running ornament of flowers and leaves on an incised, hatched background. The frame has been gessoed and oil gilded over a red-orange colored bole layer. When the piece came into the Preservation Arts studio for conservation, the frame was overall in very good condition with minor losses to the corners, frieze, and ornamentation. The frame was surface cleaned, areas of the lifting gesso and gilding were consolidated, and losses were filled, toned, and inpainted.
Jan Weenix, Dead Game and the Implements of the Chase, 1703.
Preservation Arts staff during installation.
Detail of before, during, and after frame conservation.