Lot 1027 Dα

This work was painted in circa 1625 and depicts the Holy Family in a landscape, surrounded by a copious garland of flowers, fruit and vegetables interspersed with various animals and birds. The piece is a variation of a painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder kept in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich (inv. no. 149; K. Ertz op. cit. p. 1025-1027), displaying similarities in the composition and many of the details. It is a fine example of the way Jan Brueghel's compositions were subsequently received by other Flemish artists. This work can be relatively surely located to Brueghel's immediate circle due to the quality of the painting and the strong similarities to the original. This type of work was usually a cooperative effort between two painters, and the same applies to this piece. Like those of the work in Munich, the figures in this painting are probably attributable to Pieter Avont.
Both works focus on the Holy Family surrounded by adoring putti in the centre, framed by a garland held by further putti. Apart from the fact that such opulent surrounds provided the artist with a chance to display his prowess, the swags also had a compositional function which Klaus Ertz has aptly described. He compares them to a door through which one views the holy scene and landscape in the centre in the knowledge that one is only an observer, but still able enter through the broad floral arbour and thus approach the saints.