Lot 1515 Dα

Brothel scenes like the present work were a subject frequently painted by the Master of the Brunswich Monogram. The identity of this painter has not yet been ascertained for certain. Max J. Friedländer identified him with the young Jan Sanders van Hemessen, but modern scholarship generally equates him with Jan van Amstel (active circa 1528 - 1542 in Antwerp). The notname derives from a “Großer Gastmahl” (Large Banquet) scene housed in the Herzog-Anton-Ulrich-Museum in Braunschweig. Jan van Amstel is thought to have been the brother of the painter Pieter Aertsen and brother-in-law of Pieter Coecke van Aelst.