F. Paquée, ‘Keuken’ Painted Sign 1932
€1200.00
Flemish kitchen sign featuring a humorous scene, signed F. Paquée, 1932.
A dapper man in a suit with a black bow tie, round glasses, and a black moustache is slicing into a dog's tail.
Distracted by his newspaper, open to the politics section, he assumes it is a sausage. Steaming potatoes and a pint of beer sit on the table before him.
Potatoes with sausages are considered a staple Flemish meal and furthermore carry meaning in the following expression:
From Het Vlaams Woordenboek (The Flemish Dictionary):
“Viva bomma, patatten met saucissen (expression),
literal: Viva grandma, potatoes with sausages,
Interjection used to put things in perspective or to ridicule
originally from an Antwerp song, but was in general use across Flanders
(see the TV show De Kampioenen: ‘Viva Boma, patatten met saucissen’)
Belgian politics, what can I say about it? ‘Viva bomma, patatten met saucissen,’ I suppose?”
The painting most likely adorned the kitchen door of a restaurant or bar in Antwerp or larger Flanders.
Two other paintings signed ‘F. Pacquée’ are known to exist. A view of the canal of Bruges and a still life on a table.
‘F. Paquée’ is possibly Franciscus Cornelius Paquée (1894–1944, Loenhout-Merksem).
Oil paint on wooden panel, 58 x 48 cm, 1932
One of those things you have seen hundreds of reproductions of, but never the original thing.
