JAN BRUEGHEL II (ANTWERP 1601-1678) AND STUDIO OF HENDRICK VAN BALEN I (ANTWERP 1573-1632)
JAN BRUEGHEL II (ANTWERP 1601-1678) AND STUDIO OF HENDRICK VAN BALEN I (ANTWERP 1573-1632)
JAN BRUEGHEL II (ANTWERP 1601-1678) AND STUDIO OF HENDRICK VAN BALEN I (ANTWERP 1573-1632)
JAN BRUEGHEL II (ANTWERP 1601-1678) AND STUDIO OF HENDRICK VAN BALEN I (ANTWERP 1573-1632)
3 More
JAN BRUEGHEL II (ANTWERP 1601-1678) AND STUDIO OF HENDRICK VAN BALEN I (ANTWERP 1573-1632)

Allegory of the Four Elements

Details
JAN BRUEGHEL II (ANTWERP 1601-1678) AND STUDIO OF HENDRICK VAN BALEN I (ANTWERP 1573-1632)
Allegory of the Four Elements
with signature and date ‘BRVEGHEL 1604’ (lower centre)
oil on panel
19 ¼ x 29 ¾ in. (48.9 x 75.6 cm.)
Provenance
James Whitney Barney (1878-1948), New York; his sale (†), Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 18 May 1948, lot 68, as 'Jan Brueghel I and Hendrick van Balen I'.
Anonymous sale [The Property of a Private Collector, New York]; Sotheby's, New York, 6 June 1985, lot 133, as 'Jan van Kessel'.
Anonymous sale [The Property of a Distinguished Private Collector]; Christie's, New York, 27 January 2010, lot 334, as 'Hendrick van Balen I', where acquired by the present owner.
Exhibited
Como, Villa Olmo; Tel Aviv, Museum of Art, La dinastia Brueghel, 24 March-20 November 2012, no. 19, as 'Jan Brueghel II and Hendrick van Balen'.
Rome, Chiostro del Bramante, Brueghel: Meraviglie dell'arte fiamminga, 18 December 2012-2 June 2013, no. 20, as 'Jan Brueghel II and Hendrick van Balen'.
Bologna, Palazzo Albergati, Brueghel: Capolavori dell'arte fiamminga, 2 October 2015-28 February 2016, no. V.2, as 'Jan Brueghel II and Hendrick van Balen'.

Brought to you by

Lucy Speelman
Lucy Speelman Junior Specialist, Head of Part II

Lot Essay


The Allegory of the Four Elements proved to be an immensely popular subject matter for the Brueghel family and their studio, and for the constellation of artists working in collaboration with them. Prior to the 2010 sale, Dr. Fred G. Meijer proposed on the basis of photographs that the landscape and still-life motifs in the present work could be given to the Brueghel studio, with the figures painted by Hendrick van Balen I (private communication, 16 November 2009). Following the sale, Dr. Klaus Ertz had the opportunity to study the painting in person, and put forward the opinion that the landscape elements were in fact by Jan Brueghel II, while the figures were in his opinion from the studio of Hendrick van Balen I (written communication and certificate, 3 December 2010). A copy of Dr. Ertz's certificate is available upon request.

More from Old Masters Part II: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings and Watercolours

View All
View All