Studio of Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564-1638 Antwerp)
THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTOR (LOTS 103, 104, 117, 125 & 131)
Studio of Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564-1638 Antwerp)

A burgher handing an arrow to a lady

Details
Studio of Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564-1638 Antwerp)
A burgher handing an arrow to a lady
oil on panel
7 in. (17.8 cm.) diam.
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Christie's, Amsterdam, 20 May 1987, lot 28, as 'Attributed to Pieter Brueghel II' (32,000 Dutch guilders) to the present owner.
Literature
K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere (1564-1637/38), Lingen, 2000, I, pp. 182-3 and 218-9, no. A169 (abzuschreiben), illustrated.

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Alexis Ashot
Alexis Ashot

Lot Essay

Pieter Brueghel the Younger continued his father's penchant for illustrating Flemish proverbs. This subject has been described as 'geef je echtgenote niets dat tegen je gebruikt kan worden' (don't give your wife anything that can be used against you), however Ertz thinks it more likely warns against the acceptance of erotic propositions, alluded to here by the receiving of a sharp arrow. Ertz records three versions of this proverb and lists the prime as that sold at Koller, Zurich, on 19 March 1998 (op. cit., p. 218, no. E168).

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