David Teniers the Elder

Probably purchased by George Nassau Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper (1738-1789);
By descent to Ethel, Lady Desborough (1867-1952), Panshanger, Hertfordshire;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

The support consists of a single uncradled oak panel. There is an old horizontal split or join running across the width of the panel at the height of the mountains, and another irregular horizontal split running from the left edge approximately 2 cm below the top edge and extending roughly 30 cm across the top of the panel. A former cradle or series of battens holding these has been removed from the reverse and the main split or join is now held by two small battens affixed to either end. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals a 3 cm band of restoration around the length of the split. There are some other areas of repair, notably among the clouds on the upper right of the painting where the delicate paint layers have become abraded, and again to the mountains and wooded slopes below this. The river has been retouched and the foreground pasture strengthened. There is also intervention to the boulders behind the foreground figures, the bottom corner and the figures themselves. The upper split and some old diagonal scratches in the middle distance have been touched out. The restoration has been well carried out and is not obtrusive to the naked eye. The varnish remains clear and even. Offerd with a carved ungilt wood frame in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is a relatively late work by David Teniers the Elder. It shares the same figure group as his 1638-dated depiction of the same subject in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.¹  In this latter Mercury is perhaps a little older and larger as compared with the soporific Argus who however is reproduced in the same pose though with his right leg tucked under his left. Both works include the same white heifer (Io). The overall composition, with a figure group tucked in tightly beneath a group of trees at the far left, on a rise overlooking a wide valley dotted with cows and sheep, recalls the Landscape with the Judgement of Paris in a Swedish private collection.²

1. See E. Duverger, H. Vlieghe, David Teniers der Ältere, Utrecht 1971, reproduced fig. 42.
2. Ibid., fig. 33.