An Allegory of the Month of May

This composition may once have been part of a series depicting the Twelve Months or the Four Seasons, now untraced. An Allegory of the Month of August (or of Summer) on panel (76.2 x 123.2 cm.), inscribed 'AUGUSTUS' and attributed to Stalbemt was sold in these Rooms, 13 April 2011, lot 10. Both works also relate to Stalbemt's so-called Triumph of Melancholy, known in three autograph versions datable to circa 1620-1630, including one which was in the collection of the celebrated art historian Sir William Stirling-Maxwell of Keir, 9th Baronet (1818-1878). The group is discussed by Ursula Härting in her article 'Adriaen Stalbemt als Figurenmaler', Oud Holland, 1981, no. 95, pp. 9-10.