The Dilemma of the DiscardSigned with monogram lower centre on the stoneOil on canvas, 44.3 x 40.1 cmProvenance:- Auction Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 23 February 1934, lot 68- Auction Christie's, London, 20 May 1938, lot 52- Auction Wiener Kunst Auktionen, Vienna, 2 & 3 December 1993, lot 18- Auction Dorotheum, Vienna, 24 March 1999, lot 127- Private collection, the NetherlandsNote:Registered at the RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History in The Hague under number 59355.The Dutch painter Barend Graat was an Amsterdam painter of genre, historical scenes, and portraits. His rare early works are Italianate landscapes in the style of P. de Laer, who was also called ‘Il Bamboccio’ which means "ugly doll" or "puppet". This was an allusion to Van Laer's ungainly proportions. Van Laer’s work, which consisted of scenes from Italian folk life, gave rise to an entirely new genre of painting: the Bamboccianti. Although Graat never appears to have visited Italy himself, the current lot clearly falls under the Bamboccianti school.* Condition report available upon request