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Lot Essay
This newly rediscovered work was for long known only through its description in the catalogue of the Clemens sale of 1788, and through a preparatory sketch for the work in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Ghent (inv. no. 6). Professor Vlieghe in his 1972 monograph noted that the dimensions of the original are relatively restrained for an altarpiece of such detailed composition, and suggested that the painting sold in 1788 might have been a copy after the painting of the same subject recorded as being in the Carmelite convent in Brussels in 1727 (A. Sanderus, Chorographia sacra Brabantiae, II, 2nd edn., The Hague, 1727, p. 292). The reappearance of the Clemens picture has, however, enabled its authenticity to be confirmed.
As noted by Professor Vlieghe in his entry for the preparatory drawing (op. cit., pp. 239-40, no. A225, fig. 210), the position of the dog in the latter was altered by de Crayer in the composition of the finished painting, being moved from the lower centre to the lower right corner. He also suggested by comparison with the 1788 description, which reads '...du côté droit sont trois spectateurs...', that de Crayer added a third standing figure in the foreground; in fact, however, the third spectator is the figure behind the central group, only unclearly defined in the sketch.
As also noted by Vlieghe, the downwards bent of the head and neck of the grey horse, and the raised banner, recall the same elements in the William of Aquitaine converted by Saint Bernard in Louisville Cathedral, Kentucky, whilst the handling of the drawing can be compared with that of the sketch (Antwerp, Cabinet des Estampes, inv. no. AXXXIII.6) for the Virgin and Child adored by Saints of 1650 in the Church of Saint Paul, Opwijk.
As noted by Professor Vlieghe in his entry for the preparatory drawing (op. cit., pp. 239-40, no. A225, fig. 210), the position of the dog in the latter was altered by de Crayer in the composition of the finished painting, being moved from the lower centre to the lower right corner. He also suggested by comparison with the 1788 description, which reads '...du côté droit sont trois spectateurs...', that de Crayer added a third standing figure in the foreground; in fact, however, the third spectator is the figure behind the central group, only unclearly defined in the sketch.
As also noted by Vlieghe, the downwards bent of the head and neck of the grey horse, and the raised banner, recall the same elements in the William of Aquitaine converted by Saint Bernard in Louisville Cathedral, Kentucky, whilst the handling of the drawing can be compared with that of the sketch (Antwerp, Cabinet des Estampes, inv. no. AXXXIII.6) for the Virgin and Child adored by Saints of 1650 in the Church of Saint Paul, Opwijk.