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Lot Essay
Such groups of standing allegorical figures were extremely popular in the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries as works by Ludovicus - or Louis - Willemssens (Christie's, London, 12 June 2003, lot 1062), Pieter Scheemaekers (Brussels, op. cit., nos. 140-1), Jan Pieter van Baurscheit the Younger (Dusseldorf, loc. cit.) and Artus Quellinus the Younger (ibid., nos. 249-250, figs. 128-9) testify. Judging by their scale, condition and the fact that they all appear to be parts of larger series, these figures were almost certainly conceived as parts of large sculptural decorative programmes for a garden.
Perhaps the most closely comparable examples to the present figures are three marble allegories of the Seasons commissioned by the Duke of Buckingham from Artus Quellinus the Younger in 1680 and now conserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Leeuwenberg and Halsema-Kubes, loc. cit.). In general terms, their posture and physiognomy present strong common points with the present lot. Also notably similar are their small pursed lips, their finely carved curls, their short necks, rounded bellies, dimpled knees and slightly swaying postures. Equally comparable are Quellinus's winged angels in the Church of St Paul, Antwerp and the Bacchic Putti in the Notre Dame also in Antwerp (P. Philippot et al, loc. cit.) and dating from the 1670s.
The fact that Quellinus the Younger worked closely with other contemporary artists makes attributing unsigned works in his style particularly challenging. He collaborated with Ludovicus Willemsens - whose similar marble Allegories are mentioned above- and also Ignatius Van Logteren, whose allegories of Spring and Autumn in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, share numerous stylistic similarities with the present lot (Leeuwenberg and Halsema-Kubes, op. cit., nos. 365a-b). Thus, if it is not possible to prove on the basis of style that the present figures were carved by Quellinus (or his workshop), one can easily imagine how they may have been executed by someone from within his artistic entourage.
Perhaps the most closely comparable examples to the present figures are three marble allegories of the Seasons commissioned by the Duke of Buckingham from Artus Quellinus the Younger in 1680 and now conserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Leeuwenberg and Halsema-Kubes, loc. cit.). In general terms, their posture and physiognomy present strong common points with the present lot. Also notably similar are their small pursed lips, their finely carved curls, their short necks, rounded bellies, dimpled knees and slightly swaying postures. Equally comparable are Quellinus's winged angels in the Church of St Paul, Antwerp and the Bacchic Putti in the Notre Dame also in Antwerp (P. Philippot et al, loc. cit.) and dating from the 1670s.
The fact that Quellinus the Younger worked closely with other contemporary artists makes attributing unsigned works in his style particularly challenging. He collaborated with Ludovicus Willemsens - whose similar marble Allegories are mentioned above- and also Ignatius Van Logteren, whose allegories of Spring and Autumn in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, share numerous stylistic similarities with the present lot (Leeuwenberg and Halsema-Kubes, op. cit., nos. 365a-b). Thus, if it is not possible to prove on the basis of style that the present figures were carved by Quellinus (or his workshop), one can easily imagine how they may have been executed by someone from within his artistic entourage.