Peter Jacob Horemans

This sensitively observed study of a young musician is remarkable for its clarity of vision and subtle rendering of the light. It was made by the painter, Peter Jacob Horemans from Antwerp, where he was apprenticed to his elder brother Jan Josef I (1682–1759) in 1716/17. Peter clearly did not obtain the rank of a master craftsman, setting out as a journeyman instead after completing his apprenticeship. In 1725 Horemans settled in Munich, where he married not long afterwards, and in 1727 was appointed court painter to the Elector Karl Albrecht. Peter Jacob enjoyed a successful career as an artist in the Bavarian royal seat. He distinguished himself with religious subjects and genre scenes, painted portraits and still lifes and was greatly esteemed for his small-scale depictions of court festivities. The present study probably arose in the latter context. A large number of works by the artist are now in the Amalienburg in Nymphenburg Palace Park. Recto with the stamp of the Münchner Künstlergenossenschaft (Lugt 3256).