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Lot Essay
DAY AND NIGHT
Johannes Claudius de Cock was a successful sculptor, painter, printmaker and writer during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, working predominantly in Flanders and the Dutch Republic. He is recorded in Antwerp in the early 1680s as an apprentice in the workshop of Pieter Verbruggen the Elder, later collaborating with his son Pieter the Younger. De Cock quickly established himself as an exceptional independent sculptor, travelling to the Palace of Breda where he was in the service of the Stadtholder William III, Prince of Orange. Between 1692 and 1698 he worked on the sculptural decorations of the palace, including a series of portrait busts such as those of Prince Philip William and Prince Maurice, today in the Rijksmuseum (inv. nos. BK-AM-68 and BK-B-53). Upon his return to Antwerp in circa 1697, de Cock established a large and highly successful workshop producing an oeuvre that fused the stylistic influences of the Antwerp school and antique sculpture. The present pair of marbles are characteristic of de Cock’s artistic output; he became famous for his compositions of allegorical children or putti representing themes such as seasons, continents or elements. These sculptural works fast became de Cock’s most successful productions, celebrated for their delicate and innovative compositions, with the noted biographer, Johannes van der Sanden, repeatedly writing of the sculptor's wonderfully modelled 'kindekens'.
Representing Day and Night, as confirmed by the Latin inscriptions, this delightful pair of figures exemplify the array of compositional nuances de Cock implements in his allegorical inventions. ‘Die’ (Day) is depicted wide awake, holding a torch and accompanied by a cockerel, the zoomorphic symbol of morning risen. Conversely, ‘Nox’ (Night) is presented shroud in a blanket with a weary gaze and an owl, the symbol of nightfall, resting on his shoulder. Both figures are clothed in delicate drapery, the careful and masterful execution of which reflects de Cock’s earlier pencil designs for his antique models, preserved in preliminary drawings such as Designs for Venus and Cupid (Kupferstichkabinett Berlin, inv. no. KdZ 30115). In the presentation of the putti alongside their allegorical attributes we can observe ties with the sculptor’s terracotta pair Air and Fire (sold; Sotheby’s, New York, 4 June 2009, lot 79). His composition of juxtaposing pairs asserts to the contemporary 18th century fascination with the construction of human nature as a balancing act between apposing notions. Indeed, de Cock often explored the theme of contrasts, as seen in works including Summer and Winter, War and Peace and a now lost ‘Two Statues of Life and Death’, recorded in the 1728 inventory of the Dutch collector Anthony Grill.
The present pair ranks amongst the most impressive of de Cock’s oeuvre; a distinction confirmed by the artist himself in the rare inscription carved into the bases of the sculpted pair. Declaring ‘inv. Fec.’, shorthand for ‘invenit et fecit’, the signature confirms de Cock as not only the sculptor of the works but equally the inventor of the design. This proud signature is seen on many of De Cock’s drawings (see Christie’s, New York, 1 February 2024, lot 87) however rarely do we find sculptural examples to which the artist has asserted his creative ownership.
Johannes Claudius de Cock was a successful sculptor, painter, printmaker and writer during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, working predominantly in Flanders and the Dutch Republic. He is recorded in Antwerp in the early 1680s as an apprentice in the workshop of Pieter Verbruggen the Elder, later collaborating with his son Pieter the Younger. De Cock quickly established himself as an exceptional independent sculptor, travelling to the Palace of Breda where he was in the service of the Stadtholder William III, Prince of Orange. Between 1692 and 1698 he worked on the sculptural decorations of the palace, including a series of portrait busts such as those of Prince Philip William and Prince Maurice, today in the Rijksmuseum (inv. nos. BK-AM-68 and BK-B-53). Upon his return to Antwerp in circa 1697, de Cock established a large and highly successful workshop producing an oeuvre that fused the stylistic influences of the Antwerp school and antique sculpture. The present pair of marbles are characteristic of de Cock’s artistic output; he became famous for his compositions of allegorical children or putti representing themes such as seasons, continents or elements. These sculptural works fast became de Cock’s most successful productions, celebrated for their delicate and innovative compositions, with the noted biographer, Johannes van der Sanden, repeatedly writing of the sculptor's wonderfully modelled 'kindekens'.
Representing Day and Night, as confirmed by the Latin inscriptions, this delightful pair of figures exemplify the array of compositional nuances de Cock implements in his allegorical inventions. ‘Die’ (Day) is depicted wide awake, holding a torch and accompanied by a cockerel, the zoomorphic symbol of morning risen. Conversely, ‘Nox’ (Night) is presented shroud in a blanket with a weary gaze and an owl, the symbol of nightfall, resting on his shoulder. Both figures are clothed in delicate drapery, the careful and masterful execution of which reflects de Cock’s earlier pencil designs for his antique models, preserved in preliminary drawings such as Designs for Venus and Cupid (Kupferstichkabinett Berlin, inv. no. KdZ 30115). In the presentation of the putti alongside their allegorical attributes we can observe ties with the sculptor’s terracotta pair Air and Fire (sold; Sotheby’s, New York, 4 June 2009, lot 79). His composition of juxtaposing pairs asserts to the contemporary 18th century fascination with the construction of human nature as a balancing act between apposing notions. Indeed, de Cock often explored the theme of contrasts, as seen in works including Summer and Winter, War and Peace and a now lost ‘Two Statues of Life and Death’, recorded in the 1728 inventory of the Dutch collector Anthony Grill.
The present pair ranks amongst the most impressive of de Cock’s oeuvre; a distinction confirmed by the artist himself in the rare inscription carved into the bases of the sculpted pair. Declaring ‘inv. Fec.’, shorthand for ‘invenit et fecit’, the signature confirms de Cock as not only the sculptor of the works but equally the inventor of the design. This proud signature is seen on many of De Cock’s drawings (see Christie’s, New York, 1 February 2024, lot 87) however rarely do we find sculptural examples to which the artist has asserted his creative ownership.