Lot 1029 Dα

The model for this painting is a drawing by the hand of Pieter Brueghel the Elder in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin (ill. 1). Dated 1558, this composition was reproduced in numerous etchings by Philippe Galle for the Compte de l´officine des quatre vents de Jerome Cock. Rare however are the painted versions of which to date only two smaller examples of lesser quality are known to exist.
The present painting, for 150 years the property of a Belgian family, is remarkable in many ways. It makes an initial impression because of its extraordinarily large size as well as its execution and its artistic quality. The painting presents a rich and varied colouring through which a detailed drawing in black chalk appears from beneath. The drawing style is lively and spirited, the painter traces the outlines, emphasises the bodies and accents the different parts of the faces. He was probably close to the circle of Pieter Brueghel the Elder and he might have worked in the studio of Pieter Brueghel the Younger. Furthermore, one can assume that the artist knew the original drawing, although the composition is reversed, the wife directs her glance toward her husband and not to the viewer as is the case in the print. Different details such as the earth on the ground instead of tiles, shows the inventiveness of the painter.
The scene - a message of timeless value - illustrates man´s folly chasing after the illusion of transforming worthless objects into gold with such vigour that he ruins his family. Dressed in shreds, he places a coin into a bowl while a scoundrel stirs the fire at his side. He remains unmoved by his wife who opens her empty purse, his children in their desperation hide in an empty wardrobe. A scholar sitting on a bench writes his report in a manuscript whose outcome is seen in the background as a painting within a painting where the family is being led to the poor house.
The art historian Max Rooses (1839-1914) was an expert on Flemish painting and conservator at the Museum Plantin-Moretus.