Abel Grimmer (Antwerp circa 1570-before 1619)

Like his father Jacob Grimmer, Abel is mostly known for his small paintings of country scenes with simplified figures and landscapes. With this type of subject, the Grimmers carried on a tradition started in the 16th century with Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Often their pictures originally were part of a series representing the Twelve Months or the Four Seasons. This was probably also the case with the present picture, which most likely represents Autumn. The painting resembles a signed and dated work by Abel Grimmer from 1606 in a private collection in Belgium (see R. de Bertier de Sauvigny, op. cit., p. 225, no. LI).