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Lot Essay
The composition derives from the painting by Jan Brueghel I, Hendrik van Balen and Frans Snyders in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich (inv. no. 1950). We are grateful to Dr. Klaus Ertz for confirming the attribution of the present painting, after examining it in the original; dating it to the late 1620s, shortly after Jan II had taken over his father's studio. Dr. Ertz notes that, as in the Munich picture, the foreground figures of Diana and her nymphs are painted by a second hand.
The Munich painting is one of a small number of variations on the theme of Diana and her nymphs by Jan I that began with a group painted in collaboration with Rubens (for example that in the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, inv. no. 68-3-2; and that also in the Alte Pinakothek, inv. no. 842), and were then followed by a pair of paintings painted in collaboration with Van Balen (Munich, Alte Pinakothek, inv. no. 850; and formerly Solingen, Galerie Müllenmeister). The prototype for the present composition would appear to be a further development from that pair. As noted by Klaus Ertz (Jan Brueghel der Ältere, Cologne, 1979, p. 405), this composition surpasses that of the Müllenmeister picture; Van Balen improving the dynamic between the figures, and Brueghel achieving an enhanced sense of balance by the introduction of the tree to the left, the deer complementing the Goddess' accoutrements.
Jan II turned to his father's theme on nine other known occasions (see K. Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Jüngere, Freren, 1984, pp. 402-9, nos. 240-8), including other versions of his father's depictions: for example one of the Paris painting (ibid., p. 404, no. 242, as with Galerie Waterman, Amsterdam, 1982) and of the latter Munich painting (ibid., p. 405, no. 243, as in a private collection, Germany). This is the only known version by Jan II of the present composition, although some of the animals recur in others of his works (e.g. in the Animals in a wooded landscape sold, Sotheby's, London, 8 April 1981, lot 174).
Sold with a certificate of authenticity by Dr. Klaus Ertz dated 8 October 2004.
The Munich painting is one of a small number of variations on the theme of Diana and her nymphs by Jan I that began with a group painted in collaboration with Rubens (for example that in the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, inv. no. 68-3-2; and that also in the Alte Pinakothek, inv. no. 842), and were then followed by a pair of paintings painted in collaboration with Van Balen (Munich, Alte Pinakothek, inv. no. 850; and formerly Solingen, Galerie Müllenmeister). The prototype for the present composition would appear to be a further development from that pair. As noted by Klaus Ertz (Jan Brueghel der Ältere, Cologne, 1979, p. 405), this composition surpasses that of the Müllenmeister picture; Van Balen improving the dynamic between the figures, and Brueghel achieving an enhanced sense of balance by the introduction of the tree to the left, the deer complementing the Goddess' accoutrements.
Jan II turned to his father's theme on nine other known occasions (see K. Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Jüngere, Freren, 1984, pp. 402-9, nos. 240-8), including other versions of his father's depictions: for example one of the Paris painting (ibid., p. 404, no. 242, as with Galerie Waterman, Amsterdam, 1982) and of the latter Munich painting (ibid., p. 405, no. 243, as in a private collection, Germany). This is the only known version by Jan II of the present composition, although some of the animals recur in others of his works (e.g. in the Animals in a wooded landscape sold, Sotheby's, London, 8 April 1981, lot 174).
Sold with a certificate of authenticity by Dr. Klaus Ertz dated 8 October 2004.