The Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent announced its purchase of a fruit still life by Josina Margareta Weenix, which was listed under the name Maria Weenix in the 2023 auction catalogue.

The painting’s provenance research was significantly aided by a striking red wax seal on the back of the canvas. The seal is well preserved and contains, in addition to a crown and a family coat of arms, an inscription: ‘Königl. Sächs. Gemälde Galerie’. This nineteenth-century wax seal can be found on a number of paintings that were auctioned between 1859 and 1861 from the reserves of the former Königliche Sächsische Gemäldegalerie in Dresden (presently known as the Staatliche Gemäldegalerie Dresden).

The investigation led to an auction catalogue dated 16 April 1860, Verzeichniss der aus den Vorräthen der Kgl. Gemälde-Galerie zu Dresden … zu versteigernden Oel- und Pastell-Gemälde.  Listed as number 200 (fig. 8), this auction catalogue mentions a Fruchtstück, but not an artist. However, the material (‘Leinwand’, canvas) and the dimensions of the painting (in the old German measurements Ell and Zoll) are mentioned. Once converted, these measurements correspond perfectly with the dimensions of Still Life with Fruit and Vista, as the painting has since been renamed by the MSK.

The mention of a signature: “J.M.W.–z”. was the ultimate piece of evidence in the provenance investigation. During the cleaning of the painting in 2025, the complete signature “I.M. Weenix” came to light in the lower right corner of the work. The “– z” in the auction catalogue may refer to the last part of the signature, which was apparently already partially illegible at the time.

Margreta Weenix’s still-life will be displayed in the exhibition Unforgettable. Women artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600–1750, which opens 7 March 2026. For more information about the painting and the artist, see this essay on the museum’s website.

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