Lot 1259 Dα

Hitherto unpublished, but confirmed by Paul Huys Janssen as a work by Jan Bijlert's own hand and signed, this painting is a fine example of the cosmopolitan art of this Utrecht painter. From early on, this young artist, trained by Abraham Bloemaerts, turned his direction towards figural representation (history painting). After his apprenticeship in Utrecht, Jan Bijlert travelled to France where he remained some time before going to Italy. In March 1621 he lived in Rome in the via Margutta. Around 1624, he returned to Utrecht and soon became a successful painter. In 1632, he was named Dean of the Painters' Guild. The majority of his best paintings were created in the late 1620's and the 1930's. During this time, his fame was established by writers like De Bie (1708) and Houbraken (1718-21).
Although Jan Bijlert belonged to the Reformed Church, he painted several works with subjects closer to Catholicism. An astonishing "Madonna and Child" is in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, a "St. Sebastian" is in the Harrach Collection Rohrau, as well as several works depicting the "Holy Family". Janssen emphasizes the stylistic connection of our painting with the "Holy Family" in Turin (op. cit., ill. 2), and suggests the date of between 1625/30.

We thank Paul Huys Janssen for his assistance.