Lot 1604 Dα

This oil sketch can be linked to one of Verhaghen's most famous works, the depiction of the same subject painted for Tongerlo Abbey in 1781 that is today housed in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp. Despite the fact that art historical research into Verhaghen's oeuvre is only just beginning and that only very few bozzetti and oil sketches by the artist are extant, we know that the practice of carrying out small-format oil studies to show potential customers what a finished work would eventually look like was widespread in Flanders, with Rubens being the most famous proponent of this method. The loose, spontaneous brushwork and “extra space” in the upper and lower margins of the work (in the final large-format version, the upper and lower edges of the work are more compacted) indicate that this piece is a bozzetto.
Prof. Dr. Hans Vlieghe has confirmed the authenticity of this work in an email to the previous owner from 3.8.2017. The painting is listed in the database of the RKD in The Hague under the no. 294690 as an authentic work by Pièrre Joseph Verhaghen.