Pieter Ii Brueghel

Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/38 Antwerp) The Wedding Dance signed and dated 'P.BREVGHEL.1610.' (lower left) oil on panel 15 x 22½ in. (38.1 x 57.2 cm.) Private collection, Belgium, 1934. Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 6 July 1990, lot 106 (£528,000). with Richard Green, London, from whom acquired in 1993 by the family of the present owner. TWO IMPORTANT WORKS BY PIETER BRUEGHEL II: PROPERTY OF AN ESTATE Few details have come down to us regarding the life of Pieter Brueghel II (1564/5-1637/8), who enjoyed a prolific career and early fame. His exact birthdate is unknown, but from later documents historians have extrapolated that he was born in Brussels c. 1564/5. His father was the great Pieter Bruegel I (c. 1525/30-1569), who achieved renown for his revolutionary landscapes and scenes of everyday life in the 16th-century Netherlands. His younger brother, Jan Brueghel I (1568-1625), became a master best known for his elegant, precisely-rendered landscapes and floral still-lifes, of which the most celebrated were executed on copper. The Brueghel dynasty carried on well into the 17th century with Jan's son and stepson, the painters Jan Brueghel II (1601-1678) and David Teniers II (1610-1690). Pieter I died when Pieter II was only five years old, and while the boy's early experience as an artist remains unclear, it is possible that he and his brother were trained in watercolor painting by their grandmother Mayken Verhulst, reputedly an accomplished miniaturist and watercolor painter herself. What is certain is that from an early age, Pieter II was exposed to, and deeply influenced by, the images of contemporary Netherlandish life for which his father had become famous. Pieter II became a master in the Antwerp painter's Guild of St. Luke in 1584-5, and in 1588 married Elisabeth Godelet, with whom he had seven children. Lost to scholarly recognition for centuries, Pieter II's reputation as an artist of the first rank was firmly re-established in 1969 with the publication of Georges Marlier's monograph, Pierre Brueghel Le Jeune, and was further enhanced with the publication in 1988 of Klaus Ertz's catalogue raisonné. Best known for his high-quality replicas and variants on Pieter I's peasant scenes, Pieter II recreated his father's original compositions through the lens of his own bright, bold, and energetic style. Among the prototypes by Pieter I that his son most frequently copied are the Winter Landscape with Skaters and a Bird-Trap (Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, inv. 8724) and the Netherlandish Proverbs (Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, inv. 1720). Pieter I's Adoration of the Magi in the Snow (Winterthur, Sammlung Oskar Reinhart 'Am Römerholz') and St. John the Baptist Preaching (Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. 51.2829) were also frequent models for Pieter II. In order to satisfy the ever-increasing popular demand for these works, Pieter II established and ran a thriving atelier in Antwerp: the guild register lists at least nine pupils in his workshop between 1588 and 1626, including Frans Snyders in 1609 and Gonzales Coques in 1626-1627. The paintings produced in Pieter II's studio have served as invaluable evidence regarding the oeuvre of Pieter I, as they preserve numerous compositions for which the originals remain unknown. PROPERTY OF AN ESTATE G. Marlier, Pierre Brueghel Le Jeune, Brussels, 1969, p. 188, no. 2. K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere (1564-1637/38): die Gemälde mit kritischem OEuvrekatalog, Lingen, 1988/2000, p. 722, no. E919. C. Currie and D. Allart, The Brueg[H]el phenomenon: paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Pieter Brueghel the Younger, with a special focus on technique and copying practice, Brussels, 2012, II, p. 611, under n. 11; and III, p. 1045. Amsterdam, Pieter de Boer Gallery, De helsche en de fluweelen Brueghel en hum invloed op de kunst in de Nederlanden, 10 February-16 March 1934, no. 16. In excellent condition, this panel depicting The Wedding Dance by Pieter Brueghel II is a highlight in the history of Flemish painting, an image that remains as iconic today as it was in the 17th century. The vibrant, superbly-preserved colors of the paint layer vividly reveal the richness of the composition, with its myriad playful details, bawdy humor, and acute narrative sensibility. Whirling dancers in the foreground cavort tipsily, enjoying the bagpipe music and festive mood, a few tipping back large jugs of wine for a swig. Some, carried away, embrace amorously, while a few men at left, their backs to the viewer, relieve themselves discreetly at the party's edge. At background center, before a lavender sheet strung up between two trees, is the focus of all the revelry: the bride, sitting beneath a makeshift crown that honors her as "Queen for a Day", bemusedly watches guests place coins on the pewter plate before her. She is surrounded by eager onlookers, who greedily survey the offerings, and a robed man who diligently records her gifts. As with many of Pieter II's works, The Wedding Dance belongs to a tradition largely established by his father, Pieter Bruegel I (c. 1525-1569), of which a celebrated example is the Wedding Banquet in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (fig. 1). Scholars have long debated how best to interpret such images, discussing them alternately as records of daily peasant life in the 16th-century Netherlands and as genre scenes rife with allegorical and symbolic meanings. While some view the present composition as a straightforward account of a contemporary celebratory event, others focus on its moralizing overtones, which some believe warn against drinking, overindulgence, and lust. Do the figures surrounding the bride, eagerly observing and recording her wedding gifts, provide a realistic glimpse into an outdoor wedding in 16th-century Antwerp? Or are their hunched backs and frowning visages meant to warn against the ugliness of avarice? And are the boisterous dancers, whose raucous activities engage our eyes and bring a smile to our faces, intended only to communicate the cheerful mood of the occasion? Or do their suggestive stances and expressions reflect a darker message about human nature? These questions have been asked for generations, and continue to provoke lively debate. They certainly apply to this scene, described by Marlier as "one of the most popular of all subjects in Flemish painting at the beginning of the 17th century," and a high point of Pieter Brueghel II's oeuvre (G. Marlier, op. cit., p. 188). Its combination of landscape and genre elements, along with the artist's familiar pathos-imbued depiction of bawdiness in 17th-century life, explain the great contemporary appeal of The Wedding Dance. The composition is known in numerous autograph versions, of which the earliest-known are signed and dated 1607 (Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, inv. 37.364; Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, inv. 8725). However, most of Pieter II's Wedding Dance paintings were created in the latter phase of his career, and the present panel, dated 1610, represents a rare early rendition of the scene. In fact, the Brussels and Baltimore paintings, a work also dated 1610 in a French private collection, and the present painting comprise the artist's four earliest-known renditions of the image. As such, the present Wedding Dance is an exceptional version of an archetypal image, whose high-quality and rarity were confirmed when the painting achieved £528,000 at Christie's, London, 6 July 1990, lot 106. The composition of The Wedding Dance relates to an untraced drawing or painting by Pieter Bruegel I, known from an engraving by Pieter van der Heyden, published by Hieronymus Cock (fig. 2). A painted panel and a gouache derived from the same source are also known by Jan Breughel I (Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts; Paris, Musée du Louvre). Pieter II's works of this type can be divided into two groups: those painted in the same sense as Van der Heyden's engraving, and those in reverse. The present picture, together with the majority of autograph versions, belongs to the latter group, all believed to derive directly from a lost work by Pieter I rather than from the engraving. One painting by Pieter Bruegel I has been proposed as the original Wedding Dance (Detroit, Detroit Institute of Fine Arts, inv. 30.374) after which Pieter II modeled his highly popular version. However, the composition of the Detroit picture differs in numerous ways from that of the present painting, including being oriented in the opposite direction. Recent research into Pieter II's career has shed light his working practices: as access to his father's original paintings was not always possible, it seems likely that he often worked from detailed drawings his father had made in preparation for his own paintings. Given the differences between the present Wedding Dance and the Pieter I version in Detroit, it seems likely that here Pieter II was working from one of his father's meticulous drawings rather than from the painted panel. Such drawings would have been highly finished compositional studies with annotations indicating the type of brushstroke and colors to be used. For this reason, Pieter II's works after his father's designs often feature certain details evident only in the underdrawing of Pieter I's original paintings.

Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564–1637/38 Antwerp) The Farmer Fills in the Well after the Calf has Fallen In (from the Proverbs series), oil on panel, 17 cm diameter, framed On the reverse a red wax seal with princely coat of arms. Provenance: European private collection A detailed certificate of this painting by Dr. Klaus Ertz (2008) is available. He writes: “The state of preservation of this picture can be designated as good. Minor losses in the upper right do not detract at all from the good overall impression. The painting has been cleaned and has a fresh, bright appearance. Technical and scientific research at the Labor Perrault, Paris, shows that the painting was certainly executed in the early 17th century...“ Ertz compares the present painting with further works by Pieter Brueghel II on the same subject ;1. Auction Graupe, Berlin, 20.10.1936, lot 10a, prior to 1616 (K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere, Lingen 2000, p. 202, cat. no. E 81); 2. Auction Christie’’’’s, New York, 22.06.1998, lot 7, after 1616 (K. Ertz, op. cit., p. 202, cat. no. E 82); 3. Collection of Graf von Schönborn-Wiesentheid, Schloss Pommersfelden, after 1616 (K. Ertz, op. cit., p. 202, cat. no. E 83). Models for this painting were the representations of the proverbs by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, such as The Netherlandish Proverbs (1559) in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, or the Twelve Proverbs in the Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp. Ertz continues: “Pieter Brueghel the Younger’’’’s characteristic style is also evident in this painting, in the extreme painterly perfection, the signature brushstrokes which trace each and every single detail in clear, sharp outlines, and the artist’’’’s typically mask-like face of the farmer, his movement appearing frozen. He is also varying his paintings on the same theme here, e.g. in the different head coverings of the farmer or even in the legs, with only two of his depictions showing both the man’’’’s legs. Pieter Brueghel the Younger’’’’s own fine brushstrokes, the white highlights added as the final touch to the painting (here seen particularly clearly in the leaves on the trees), and the three-dimensional form of the landscape with its graphic precision, all these typical details are visible in the painting being certified here. And with small, rather unimposing paintings such as the proverbs, which collectively were so important for the development of Flemish art, Pieter the Younger was continuing in a great tradition. The significance of Pieter Brueghel the Younger lies principally in his promulgating the work of his father; he broadened and varied his subject matter by elaborating on the so-called Brueghel style, and preserving it in his paintings. At the same time he was satisfying the huge demand for Brueghel works. His work focuses on the question of the nature of mankind. Where the father’’’’s answers are often moralising and instructive, those of the son are generally more tolerant and humane. In contrast to his brother, Jan Brueghel the Elder, he never travelled to Italy. We know of no painting by him which takes mythological or allegorical subjects as their motif. He addressed himself to his neighbours, rather than a distant theotechny. His eye rests on his immediate surroundings.” The present painting probably originated in Antwerp after 1616.

Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp) The Wedding Dance signed and dated 'P·Breughel·1625·' (lower left) oil on panel 16½ x 22 5/8 in. (41.2 x 57.5 cm.) Anonymous sale [Purchased by the family of the present owner in Europe, circa 1950]; Sotheby's, New York, 22 May 1992, lot 98 ($577,500 to the present owners). PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere, Lingen, II, 2000, p. 725, no. E929, illustrated. The Wedding Dance, described by Marlier as 'one of the most popular of all subjects in Flemish painting at the beginning of the seventeenth century', is one of a group by Brueghel representing different episodes during a wedding day, generally regarded as amongst the high points of the artist's oeuvre. The group's popularity can be understood through its combination of landscape and genre with Brueghel's familiar pathos-imbued depiction of bawdiness in seventeenth-century Flemish life. Like many of Pieter the Younger's works, these are part of a tradition largely established by his father, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, most notably in the famous Wedding Banquet in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The present composition derives from a different, untraced, drawing or painting by Bruegel the Elder, known from an engraving by Pieter van der Heyden, published by Hieronymus Cock; a derivation from the same source is also known by Jan Breughel the Elder (Bordeaux, Musée des beaux-arts). The earliest known paintings of this subject by Pieter the Younger are those in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, and the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, both of which are signed and dated 1607. The present lot represents one of the last signed and dated versions of this composition, belonging to the artist's mature period; indeed there is only one later dated version, executed in 1626. Pieter the Younger's works of this type can be divided into two groups: those painted in the same sense as Van der Heyden's engraving, and those in reverse. The present picture, together with the majority of autograph versions, belongs to the latter group, believed to derive directly from his father's lost work rather than from the engraving. It features more of a developed landscape and thins out the background crowds present in the engraving. An undated and unsigned version of this composition recently sold in these Rooms, 9 February 2012, lot 640 (£937,250).

Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp) The birdtrap oil on panel 15¼ x 22¾ in. (38.8 x 58.8 cm.) Grace Wilkes, New York, by whom bequeathed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1922. PROPERTY FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEM OF ART, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE EUROPEAN PAINTINGS ACQUISITIONS FUND H. B. Wehle and M. Salinger, Metropolitan Museum, A Catalogue of Early Flemish, Dutch and German Paintings, New York, 1947, pp. 159-160. G. Marlier, Pierre Brueghel le Jeune, Brussels, 1969, p. 245, no. 32. W. A. Liedtke, Flemish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1984, I, pp. 27-28, II, pl. 15. K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere (1564-1637/38): die Gemälde mit kritischem oeuvrekatalog, Lingen, 1988/2000, I, p. 575, II, p. 618, no. E712. The moniker of this iconic scene comes from the small yet distinctive motif of the bird trap, visible in the snowy riverbank on the right- hand side of the composition, which is dominated by a wintry tableau of townsfolk skating and playing on a frozen river lined with village houses and a church. Synonymous with the Brueghel family, the composition was enormously popular and was copied more than 100 times by members of their studio and followers. Versions by Pieter Brueghel II are plentiful, and while the present lot is considered a workshop replica by Liedtke (op. cit.), it is numbered among the autograph versions in Klaus Ertz's catalogue raisonné (see K. Ertz, op. cit., II, p. 618. no. E712). The picture has been variously interpreted. On the one hand, it can be described as a simple landscape, and was certainly based on Brueghel's contemporary surroundings; in the catalogue of the exhibition Le Siècle de Brueghel (Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, 1963, p. 69), Georges Marlier identified the village depicted as Pède-Ste-Anne in Brabant. Yet more weighty interpretations are also possible: a later inscription on a print by Frans Huys (1522-1562) after Pieter I of Ice skating before the gate of St. George likens the impermanence of life to that of ice (F.W.H. Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish engravings, and woodcuts, c. 1450-1700, Amsterdam, 1949-, IX, no. 28). Accordingly, in the present work the obliviousness of the birds toward the threat of the trap may be equated with the carefree play of the skaters upon the fragile ice. Pieter Brueghel II made a career of mining the compositions of his father, Pieter Bruegel I, developing a large and active workshop that produced numerous village scenes such as the present work. While it resembles Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Hunters in the Snow of 1565 now in the Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna, the specific model for the present composition was long thought to be a painting in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (inv. no. 8724) that bears the signature of Pieter I. In recent years, however, this attribution has been challenged, thus suggesting that the prototype for The Birdtrap may in fact be lost (see P. van den Brink, ed., Brueghel Enterprises, Maastricht, Brussels and Ghent, 2002, pp. 160-161 and Ertz, op. cit., p. 576).

Lot Description Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp) The Wedding Dance oil on panel 16 x 22 in. (40.6 x 55.8 cm.) Provenance Anonymous sale; Muller, Amsterdam, 25 November 1924, lot 7. Bayer collection, Elberfeld, 1934. Droste-Savery collection; Fischer, Lucerne, 13 June 1961, lot 1963. with The Brod Gallery, London, 1974. Bernard Solomon collection, Los Angeles, by 1975. Anonymous Sale; Sotheby's New York, 15 January 1993, lot 49, where acquired by the present owner. Literature G. Marlier, Pierre Brueghel le Jeune, Brussels, 1969, p.191, no. 23. K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere, Lingen, 2000, II, p. 727, no. E939, illustrated, pointing out that the provenance given in the Sotheby's 1993 sale was partially incorrect. Exhibited Amsterdam, Gallery de Boer, Helsche en Fluweelen Brueghel, 1934, no. 14. Amsterdam, Gallery de Boer, Winter Exhibition, 1974, no. 12. Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, on loan, 1975 (lent by Bernard Solomon, no. L.75.35.1). Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, on loan, 1978 (lent by Teri Solomon, no. L.78.13). View Lot Notes › The composition, described by Marlier as 'one of the most popular of all subjects in Flemish painting at the beginning of the seventeenth century', is one of a group by Brueghel representing different episodes during a wedding day, generally regarded as amongst the high points of the artist's oeuvre. The group's popularity can be understood through its combination of landscape and genre with Brueghel's familiar pathos-imbued depiction of bawdiness in seventeenth-century Flemish life. Like many of Pieter II's works, these are part of a tradition largely established by his father, Pieter Bruegel I - most notably the famous Wedding Banquet in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The present composition derives from another, probably lost, drawing or painting by Pieter Bruegel I, known from an engraving by Pieter van der Heyden that was published by Hieronymus Cock; a derivation from the same source is also known by Jan Brueghel I (Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts). The earliest known paintings of this subject by Pieter II are those in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, and the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, both of which are signed and dated 1607; other versions are known with dates continuing until 1626. Pieter II's works of this type can be divided into two groups: those painted in the same sense as Van der Heyden's engraving, and those in reverse. The present picture, together with the majority of autograph versions, belongs to the latter group, believed to derive directly from his father's lost work rather than from the engraving.