Lot 2046 Dα

With an old hand-written label to the reverse reading: “Joh. Breughel / geb. zu Brüssel 1589 / gest. 1658“.
Gillis Claesz de Hondecoeter was the founder of a prestigious artistic dynasty: Both his son Gijsbert de Hondecoeter as well as his grandsons Melchior de Hondecoeter and Jan Weenix became successful proponents of the Dutch school in the 17th and 18th century. Gillis Claesz de Hondecoeter was born in Antwerp but his family fled to Delft when the Spanish troops conquered the city in 1585. Despite this, Hondecoeter's work remained firmly rooted in the Flemish tradition throughout his life. Although he drew inspiration from artists such as Gillis van Coninxloo, Jan Brueghel the Elder, and Roelant Savery, the artist still developed his own unique style of colour and shading. His works are characterised by their finely graduated changes of light and shadow and a colour palette dominated by greenish-yellow hues.
Klaus Ertz was able to establish that this piece was inspired by a copperplate engraving by Isaak Major dated 1622, which in turn followed a work by Roeland Savery, the whereabouts of which are unknown today. Whilst the engraving depicts a hermit in the lower left corner, Hondecoeter's work shows Mary Magdalene. This amendment may have been carried out at the behest of the work's unknown patron.