Lot 1524 D α

Anton Goubau, a distant relative of Rubens, was made a free master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1636/37. The artist is recorded in Paris in 1642, before residing in Rome for at least 5 years, where he was a member of the so-called Bamboccianti. He returned to his home town of Antwerp in 1650, where he was the only artist of the primarily Dutch Bamboccianti to work there.
Goubau successfully specialised in large scale depictions of markets and harbours with numerous figures in an Italian atmosphere; many of these works were commissioned by German aristocratic families. The artist often featured the architecture and ruins of antiquity in his works, which he probably studied during his stay in Rome. The present work shows Trajan's Column, in front of which the statue of a river god can be seen. Whilst the centre of the image shows a view of the harbour, the left of the image is defined by an imposing trio of tall, simple houses, a round tower and Trajan's Column, whilst the right side is completed by a triumphal arch and further simple houses. However, the charm of the image comes primarily from the varied figural staffage.