Circle of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen, Westphalia 1577-1640 Antwerp)

'Sine Baccho et Cerere friget Venus' (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus would freeze)

Details

Circle of Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen, Westphalia 1577-1640 Antwerp)
'Sine Baccho et Cerere friget Venus' (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus would freeze)
oil on panel
14 3/8 x 17 1/8 in. (36.5 x 43.5 cm.)

Provenance

General Dancelot, as Sir Peter Paul Rubens (according to an inscription on the reverse of the frame).
Earl Cowley.
Anonymous sale; Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, 21 June 1960, lot 2349, as Peter Paul Rubens.
Anonymous sale; Koller, Zürich, 30 March 2011, lot 6474, as After Sir Peter Paul Rubens, where acquired by the present owner.

Exhibited

Belgrade, Cvijeta Zuzoric Art Pavilion, Exposition de cent tableaux maîtres anciens de cinq siècles, 16 December 1931-5 January 1932, no. 101a, as Sir Peter Paul Rubens.

Lot Essay

This painting reproduces in its original form a large composition by Sir Peter Paul Rubens dating to circa 1616-1618. In the 18th century, Rubens' painting was divided by an enterprising Antwerp art dealer. The left portion is today in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The right part, which is today in the Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels, was reworked, potentially in the 18th century, and transformed into a depiction of Venus and Cupid at Vulcan's forge.

A large-scale version of this composition from Rubens' circle is on long-term loan to Paleis Het Loo, Apeldoorn from the Mauritshuis, The Hague.

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