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Lot Essay
This charming winter scene by Pieter Gysels exudes the energy and variety of village life. In the picture, townsfolk celebrate a winter carnival, evoking the tradition of kermis scenes developed by Flemish master Pieter Bruegel I and his prolific family. Gysels would have been well acquainted with this tradition, having joined the Antwerp guild of Saint Luke around 1650. Many of his works recall the earlier landscapes of Jan Breughel I, while biographer Arnold Houbraken states that he trained with Jan Breughel II (A. Houbraken, De groote schouburgh, Amsterdam, 1718-1721, III, p. 53).
In the present copper panel, much of the appeal stems from the unexpected contrast between elements: despite the gray sky and snowy conditions, figures in festive costume dance and make music, while children frolic in the town square. Not everyone participates, however, as several men attempt to lead a bull though the crowd, and well-dressed figures stand apart from the festivities as onlookers. In the bakery at right, a woman sells enormous decorated cookies; these treats resemble those sold at the feast of Saint Nicholas on 5 December and likely indicate the festival depicted (Liedtke, op. cit., p. 103). The scene also presents a fascinating glimpse of secular architecture in Flemish villages, as it includes the stepped gable of the inn at right as well as the curved gable, circular window and sculpture of the building at center, presumably the town hall.
This painting belonged to sculptor Isabel Neilson, who became Countess of Ostheim after her marriage to Count Hermann van Ostheim in 1932. Subsequently, the painting was owned by her father, Francis Neilson, an actor and playwright who served as a member of the British Parliament from 1910 to 1916. He donated the work to the Metropolitan Museum in 1945.
In the present copper panel, much of the appeal stems from the unexpected contrast between elements: despite the gray sky and snowy conditions, figures in festive costume dance and make music, while children frolic in the town square. Not everyone participates, however, as several men attempt to lead a bull though the crowd, and well-dressed figures stand apart from the festivities as onlookers. In the bakery at right, a woman sells enormous decorated cookies; these treats resemble those sold at the feast of Saint Nicholas on 5 December and likely indicate the festival depicted (Liedtke, op. cit., p. 103). The scene also presents a fascinating glimpse of secular architecture in Flemish villages, as it includes the stepped gable of the inn at right as well as the curved gable, circular window and sculpture of the building at center, presumably the town hall.
This painting belonged to sculptor Isabel Neilson, who became Countess of Ostheim after her marriage to Count Hermann van Ostheim in 1932. Subsequently, the painting was owned by her father, Francis Neilson, an actor and playwright who served as a member of the British Parliament from 1910 to 1916. He donated the work to the Metropolitan Museum in 1945.