Olaf Simony-Jensen - Monk Eating Oysters

Olaf Simony-Jensen (1864–1923) Denmark

Monk Eating Oysters

signed lower right Simony Jensen
oil on canvas
unframed 36.5 × 46.5 cm (14.4 × 18.3 in)
framed 55.5 × 65.5 cm (21.9 × 25.8 in)

Provenance:
Private collection, Sweden.

Condition Report:
The painting is in good condition with a well preserved paint surface and clear, attractive colours. Presented in an ornate gilt frame with minor flaws. 

Essay:
This humorous genre painting by the Danish artist Olaf Simony-Jensen depicts a solitary monk enjoying a plate of oysters in a richly furnished interior. Seated comfortably at a table, he has momentarily abandoned any suggestion of monastic austerity. A glass of wine stands beside the oysters, while bottles, pewter vessels and a large stoneware jug complete the scene. The contrast between the monk's religious habit and the pleasures laid out before him gives the composition its immediate charm.

The painting is based on Carl Gustaf Hellqvist's composition Monk Having Oysters, painted in 1884. Hellqvist's original, considerably larger in scale at 61.2 × 74.8 cm, is today in the collection of Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, inventory number NM 7355. Nationalmuseum itself describes Hellqvist's painting as an example of historical genre painting and notes the popularity of witty monastic subjects during the late nineteenth century.

Simony-Jensen's version follows Hellqvist's composition closely but is not simply a mechanical copy. Painted at a more intimate scale, it has the character of a cabinet picture intended to be enjoyed at close range. Particular attention has been given to the monk's face, the reflective surfaces of the tableware and the richly varied textures of his habit, the oysters and the surrounding objects.

The figure himself is the obvious centre of attention. Simony-Jensen captures the monk at the moment of tasting an oyster, his expression combining concentration and unmistakable satisfaction. The humour is understated rather than theatrical. It depends on the viewer understanding the gentle contradiction between a life supposedly devoted to restraint and the very worldly enjoyment of good food and wine.

Olaf Simony-Jensen was a Danish painter active around the turn of the twentieth century and is particularly associated with genre scenes and interiors. His surviving oeuvre includes numerous images of taverns, card players, fishermen and monks, often placed within carefully observed traditional interiors. Such subjects enjoyed considerable popularity with Scandinavian and continental collectors, combining technical craftsmanship with an accessible narrative. Auction records confirm that monks recur repeatedly within Simony-Jensen's production, making the present subject entirely characteristic of his artistic interests.