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Lot Essay
This panel and the three following originally formed part of a set of the Twelve Months of the Year to which, as Reine de Bertier de Sauvigny suggests four separate pairs, including those representing June and July in the Musée de Nancy, also probably belonged (loc. cit., pp. 94 and 100, nos. 4, 6, 7 and 8). As she points out, the contemporary frames for the present panels are identical to those on the pictures in Nancy and the pair formerly with Galerie de Jonckheere.
Described (ibid., p. 100) as being of 'une qualité extraordinaire', these remarkably well-preserved panels have been rendered with extraordinary delicacy and attention to detail. Each month is identifiable by its sign of the zodiac depicted in the sky and the landscapes are populated by countryfolk going about their day-to-day life and involved in simple actions appropriate to the time of year. Grimmer thus establishes the cyclical rhythm of the calendar year. He went to great lengths to produce faithful depictions of nature in these works, seen, for instance, in the rendition of falling snow in the Month of February and the inclusion of a view of the city of Antwerp on the horizon in the Month of December.
Described (ibid., p. 100) as being of 'une qualité extraordinaire', these remarkably well-preserved panels have been rendered with extraordinary delicacy and attention to detail. Each month is identifiable by its sign of the zodiac depicted in the sky and the landscapes are populated by countryfolk going about their day-to-day life and involved in simple actions appropriate to the time of year. Grimmer thus establishes the cyclical rhythm of the calendar year. He went to great lengths to produce faithful depictions of nature in these works, seen, for instance, in the rendition of falling snow in the Month of February and the inclusion of a view of the city of Antwerp on the horizon in the Month of December.