Lot 2102 Dα

Josef was born in Antwerp in 1688. He was the son of the painter Joris van Bredael and Johanna Maria van Diepenbeeck, daughter of the Baroque painter Abraham van Diepenbeeck. His grandfather Pieter van Bredael was a painter, as were his uncles Jan Frans van Bredael and Jan Pieter van Bredael the Elder, and his brother Jan Pieter the Younger had a successful career in Vienna. The present work is inscribed “Sammet Breugel pinxit” in brown ink to the reverse, and it displays particular stylistic similarity to the oeuvre of Jan Brueghel the Elder. Josef van Bredael carried the style of this master far into the 18th century within his works. In 1705 the young Bredael, who was taught to paint by his father, had already copied paintings by the so-called “Sammetbrueghel” (Velvet Brueghel).
Josef's career spanned from 1705 to his death in 1739. As no apparent compositional or stylistic development can be discerned in his works, it is almost impossible to make any accurate statements with regards to the dating and chronology within his oeuvre. Only two dated works have thus far been discovered: one from 1723 and one from 1725. This small panel bears some resemblance to the paintings “Belebte Dorfstraße mit Mühle am Anlegeplatz” (cf. Ertz/Nitze-Ertz: Josef van Bredael, 1688-1739. Die Gemälde mit kritischem Œvrekatalog, vol. 7, p. 14-15, illus. 11 and p. 98-99, cat. 50 and p. 160, E 50) and “Der Seehafen“ (cf. ibid. p. 14, p. 16, illus. 12 and p. 160, E 51.). It is therefore probably that this small and busy scene was painted around the same time as these comparable works.