Lot 1046 Dα

This painting by Jan Brueghel the Younger is - as is often the case - based on a composition by his father, a work dated 1609/1610 and entitled “Country Road with Farmers´ Wagon” in the Schlossmuseum, Gotha, that is slightly larger (Ertz 2008-10, vol. I, no. 57; 45 x 66 cm). The landscape with a lively, populated rural road with travelers and cattle is very similar to this painting, whereas the depiction of the countryside differs noticeably. Insofar, the landscape painted by the son more than 20 years later can be considered a distinct work of art with an individual concept, typical for his works of the 1630s. In this painting, the beholder observes the scenery from a low vantage-point, in contrast to the “world landscapes” of the past, where he looked down on a scenery lying far below him. In this way, the beholder views an authentic image of rural life of the 17th century.
This composition achieves two qualities in regard to the pictorial space. One sees the infinite width of the landscape and the space is rhythmically articulated by means of light and shadow. It is remarkable how the artist uses the contrast between the dark foreground and the bright background in order to create a dramatic atmosphere.
Klaus Ertz will include this painting in the catalogue raisonné as “an authentic work by the hand of Jan Brueghel the Younger, painted in the 1630s of the 17th century“.