Lot 1016 Dα

Karel van Mander records that Lucas Gassel was born in Helmond and moved to Brussels, where he died around 1568. Nothing is known about his training and career. His œuvre actually comprises around ten signed compositions dated between 1530 - 1560, which testify to his landscape ability. With Henri Bles and Cornelis Massys, he appears to have been a major follower of Joachim Patinir's panoramic views, using the same atmospheric perspective with a dotted brownish green foreground fading to a light blue grey background, and displaying the same high, distant horizon punctuated by rocky mountains and with a biblical scene in the foreground.
The present panel shows many compositional similarities with other signed works of his mature period, like the signature type visible in the Parable of Wheat and Tares dated 1540 (sold by Christie's, 16.12.1998, Lot 26) or the large tree on the left side and the long sinuous river seen in the Baptism of Christ dated 1542 (private collection). Typical of Gassel's style is also the subdivision of the landscape into different levels, interspersed with numerous small narrative scenes - some taken from daily life and others from the Bible.
Close examination reveals in several places the presence of a quick and sketchy underdrawing that can be seen with the naked eye due to slight pigmental transparency. Technical analysis has also revealed that the original subject represented an episode of the story of Tobias and the Angel and was later replaced by a group of figures depicting Christ Healing the Blind Man by Frans Francken II. The reason for this interesting historical amendment is unclear, but it is known that at that time, paintings executed by two masters were highly appreciated in Antwerp. The topic of Tobias and the Angel comes from the apocryphal Book of Tobit and the Healing of the Blind from the New Testament (Marc 8:22-29). Both themes refer to the spiritual blindness of mankind redeemed by Christ's Incarnation. Considering the large number of anonymous landscapes which display Gassels's style, the master must have exerted a considerable influence during at least three decades of the 16th century, showing how much he was appreciated by the contemporary art market.