A wooded landscape with an amorous couple seated by a tree and elegant company strolling on a path near a river

Denijs van Alsloot entered the service of Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella as painter to the royal court in Brussels in 1600. Most of the pictures that he painted in this capacity, including the present one, bear signatures that allude to his position, 'S.A.Pic' (Serenissorum Archiducum Pictor) and many include topographically accurate views of the royal estates at Mariemont, Tervuren and Groenendael (see, for example, a Winter landscape with the Abbey of Groenendael, dated 1621, sold Sotheby's, London, 14 December 2000, lot 16). It is likely that the present landscape is also based on an actual view; the building seen in the distance at the end of the lake seems to be recognisable and it is not inconceivable that this is also Groenendael seen from a different angle. The inhabitants of the landscape are unusually elegant, making it tempting to assume that Alsloot is here showing the royal entourage promenading in their estate on a summer's day.

In an old expertise, Walter Bernt noted that the picture was dated 1606 although this can no longer be detected. The date seems perfectly plausible though and consistent with the date of the copper plate. Alsloot's other dated works from this period, however, lack the veracity of the present work and seem more indebted to late 16th century style of painting. These include a Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1606; sold in these Rooms, 16 November 1973, lot 130), and a Cephalus and Procris (1608; Kunsthisorisches Museum, Vienna).