.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This luminous and animated copper, painted at the height of the artist’s career in circa 1610-15, depicts one of Francken’s most inventive compositions. The Triumph of Amphitrite and Neptune was a favoured subject to which the artist returned many times over 30 years, allowing him to display his refined technique and pay tribute to his birthplace, Antwerp.
Several ancient texts explain that Amphitrite initially refused Neptune’s marriage proposal and fled to Atlas, where she was found by a Dolphin sent by Neptune that convinced her to marry him. In this picture, beams of light from the clouds illuminate a chariot carrying Neptune, holding a trident, and Amphitrite, pulled by four sea-horses. The couple are surrounded by Nereids, adorned with coral, pearls and shells, and Tritons holding fish and sea creatures. On the far right, a group of gods, including Diana and Jupiter, feast at a table, awaiting the arrival of the couple. Although elements of this narrative are included in classical mythology, there is no specific reference to such an elaborately staged triumph, which was presumably a figment of Francken’s imagination.
A drawing in the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden (fig. 1) gives an insight into the artist’s development of the composition: he mapped out the arrangement of the central figures of Amphitrite and Neptune in their carriage, surrounded by an energetic array of Nereids and Tritons, some with elaborate details of their costumes established and other secondary figures indicated with a swift and simple rendering of anatomy. Although Francken’s first known treatment of the triumph is dated 1607 (Manchester, NH, Currier Museum of Art), Härting suggests that other undated versions were probably painted in preceding years (op. cit., pp. 97 and 311, no. 282), and he continued producing variations until the 1630s. Härting cites the bright blue-green colouring of the present work as a reason to date it to the early seventeenth century, probably around 1610-15, differentiating it from later variations in the 1620s and '30s, which become almost monochromatic (op. cit., p. 323). This dating is also supported by the signature: Francken includes ‘D·j’ for ‘de jonge’ or ‘the younger’, a form he stopped using in 1616 after the death of his father, Frans Francken the Elder.
Over twenty variations of this subject by Francken are known, indicating not only the artist’s appreciation for the composition, but also its popularity amongst collectors in seventeenth-century Antwerp. The wealth of the city depended on the extensive trade made possible by the River Scheldt. Neptune was frequently associated with Antwerp as a symbol of the city’s maritime strength, and he often appeared atop ceremonial floats during civic parades and adorned public buildings. The marriage of Neptune and Amphitrite also featured in displays of civic identity, symbolising the union of the city and its seafaring trade. As a result, the subject was also painted by many of Francken’s Antwerp contemporaries, including Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Jacob Jordaens.
A note on the provenance:
While the precise date of sale is not known, the Friedenstein Stiftung Gotha established that the Francken was sold by the Herzogliche Gemäldegalerie Gotha in the early 1930s, a period during which a significant number of artworks, including part of the collection of Netherlandish paintings, were sold.
According to the 1989 catalogue raisonné, the Francken was with Galerie Stern in Düsseldorf in 1935. The German Jewish art dealer and collector Max Stern (1904-1987) joined the gallery business of his parents, Julius and Selma Stern, in 1928 and took over the Düsseldorf gallery in 1934, a year after the Nazis came to power. In 1935, the Nazi authorities ordered the closure of the business, a process that culminated in the liquidation sale of the gallery stock in 1937. Max Stern was able to emigrate, eventually settling in Canada, where he established a second gallery after the war. The Dr. & Mrs. Max Stern Foundation – the beneficiaries of which are three universities: Concordia and McGill in Montreal, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem – is active in researching and seeking artworks sold under duress by Max Stern during the Nazi era.
Several ancient texts explain that Amphitrite initially refused Neptune’s marriage proposal and fled to Atlas, where she was found by a Dolphin sent by Neptune that convinced her to marry him. In this picture, beams of light from the clouds illuminate a chariot carrying Neptune, holding a trident, and Amphitrite, pulled by four sea-horses. The couple are surrounded by Nereids, adorned with coral, pearls and shells, and Tritons holding fish and sea creatures. On the far right, a group of gods, including Diana and Jupiter, feast at a table, awaiting the arrival of the couple. Although elements of this narrative are included in classical mythology, there is no specific reference to such an elaborately staged triumph, which was presumably a figment of Francken’s imagination.
A drawing in the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden (fig. 1) gives an insight into the artist’s development of the composition: he mapped out the arrangement of the central figures of Amphitrite and Neptune in their carriage, surrounded by an energetic array of Nereids and Tritons, some with elaborate details of their costumes established and other secondary figures indicated with a swift and simple rendering of anatomy. Although Francken’s first known treatment of the triumph is dated 1607 (Manchester, NH, Currier Museum of Art), Härting suggests that other undated versions were probably painted in preceding years (op. cit., pp. 97 and 311, no. 282), and he continued producing variations until the 1630s. Härting cites the bright blue-green colouring of the present work as a reason to date it to the early seventeenth century, probably around 1610-15, differentiating it from later variations in the 1620s and '30s, which become almost monochromatic (op. cit., p. 323). This dating is also supported by the signature: Francken includes ‘D·j’ for ‘de jonge’ or ‘the younger’, a form he stopped using in 1616 after the death of his father, Frans Francken the Elder.
Over twenty variations of this subject by Francken are known, indicating not only the artist’s appreciation for the composition, but also its popularity amongst collectors in seventeenth-century Antwerp. The wealth of the city depended on the extensive trade made possible by the River Scheldt. Neptune was frequently associated with Antwerp as a symbol of the city’s maritime strength, and he often appeared atop ceremonial floats during civic parades and adorned public buildings. The marriage of Neptune and Amphitrite also featured in displays of civic identity, symbolising the union of the city and its seafaring trade. As a result, the subject was also painted by many of Francken’s Antwerp contemporaries, including Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Jacob Jordaens.
A note on the provenance:
While the precise date of sale is not known, the Friedenstein Stiftung Gotha established that the Francken was sold by the Herzogliche Gemäldegalerie Gotha in the early 1930s, a period during which a significant number of artworks, including part of the collection of Netherlandish paintings, were sold.
According to the 1989 catalogue raisonné, the Francken was with Galerie Stern in Düsseldorf in 1935. The German Jewish art dealer and collector Max Stern (1904-1987) joined the gallery business of his parents, Julius and Selma Stern, in 1928 and took over the Düsseldorf gallery in 1934, a year after the Nazis came to power. In 1935, the Nazi authorities ordered the closure of the business, a process that culminated in the liquidation sale of the gallery stock in 1937. Max Stern was able to emigrate, eventually settling in Canada, where he established a second gallery after the war. The Dr. & Mrs. Max Stern Foundation – the beneficiaries of which are three universities: Concordia and McGill in Montreal, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem – is active in researching and seeking artworks sold under duress by Max Stern during the Nazi era.