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Lot Essay
At the time of publication of his 1982 catalogue raisonné (loc. cit.), Dr. Klaus Ertz, to whom we are very grateful for his assistance, had not been able to inspect the painting in the original, and therefore was able only tentatively to attribute the staffage to Van Balen; having now inspected the picture at first hand, he has confirmed that attribution, noting that the artist may have involved a studio assistant in some passages.
As noted in the literature, the staffage reprises the arrangement employed by Van Balen in the Festival of Bacchus, also painted in conjunction with Jan Breughel II, formerly in the Bachofen-Burckart collection, Basel (see ibid., p. 377, no. 211, pl. 45). That picture is datable to the late 1620s whilst the present painting is datable to circa 1630. Dr. Ertz also notes the similarity of the figural composition with that in the eponymous painting by Jan Breughel I and Van Balen in a French private collection (see K. Ertz, Jan Breughel der Ältere, Cologne, 1979, no. 303, fig. 462).
Sold with a certificate by Dr. Klaus Ertz, dated 14 October 2005, confirming the attribution to Jan Breughel II and Hendrik van Balen II.
As noted in the literature, the staffage reprises the arrangement employed by Van Balen in the Festival of Bacchus, also painted in conjunction with Jan Breughel II, formerly in the Bachofen-Burckart collection, Basel (see ibid., p. 377, no. 211, pl. 45). That picture is datable to the late 1620s whilst the present painting is datable to circa 1630. Dr. Ertz also notes the similarity of the figural composition with that in the eponymous painting by Jan Breughel I and Van Balen in a French private collection (see K. Ertz, Jan Breughel der Ältere, Cologne, 1979, no. 303, fig. 462).
Sold with a certificate by Dr. Klaus Ertz, dated 14 October 2005, confirming the attribution to Jan Breughel II and Hendrik van Balen II.