The present lot forms a noteworthy addition to the hitherto know oeuvre of the artist of whom only one signed and dated painting was recorded (Adoration of the Kings, signed and dated 1645, Anon. Sale, Philips London, 10 December 1991, lot 34, with col.ill.). On the basis of the style of this latter painting, four other works were convincingly attributed to Van Balen: the Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Szépmüvézseti Múseum, Budapest; the Crowning of the Virgin after P.P. Rubens, Sale, J. Unger Cannsatt, 21 March 1917; The Baptism of Christ, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp and The Virgin with Christ and Saint John the Baptist, Galleria Sabauda, Turin (photographs in the R.K.D., The Hague). Characteristics of his work are the strong contours notably to be seen in Christ child, the free handling of the straw and the faces of the putti having almost no volume

In a French Louix XV-style carved and gilt frame with scrolls

See illustration