Attributed to Abel Grimmer

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This charming painting is on an oak panel that has never been reinforced on the reverse. Although it has curved quite significantly, the paint layer is stable, and shows little or no evidence that it ever developed any instability. In the center of the right side, a knot in the oak panel has resulted in a slightly uneven and cracked surface. This knot is visible on the reverse of the panel. The painting itself is very sharp and well defined. Even the figures in the distance on the ice, which is where one would expect abrasion, are still very well preserved. Under ultraviolet light, very small and accurately applied dots of retouching are visible here and there throughout the picture. There is also one vertical restoration running through the center of the work, which may correspond to an old drip mark. The framing may need to be re-examined, but the painting does not need any further restoration.
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The crisply drawn architecture, stylized landscape, and elevated vantage point of this interesting Winter Townscape with Figures point to an author close to Abel Grimmer. Though a dating to the first two decades of the 17th century has been suggested, parts of the picture's composition refer to an earlier prototype developed by Herri Met de Bles. Specifically, the figures seen at far right are derived from similar groups found in his Christ on the Road to Calvary, the prime version of which is in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome.  Met de Bles based his Calvary composition on that of Pieter Breugel the Elder's work of the same subject in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Abel Grimmer later reinterpreted Met de Bles's prototype in his own distinct manner, as evidenced by two signed and dated pictures: one sold New York, Sotheby's, 27 January 2005, lot 131 (1599); and another (1593) in the Groeningemuseum, Bruges. Though clearly indebted to these earlier examples, the stylistic traits of this picture come much closer to the hallmark qualities of Abel Grimmer. The high horizon line, with a clearly delineated foreground, middle and background, coupled with a similar treatment of winter elements, suggest an attribution closer to Grimmer than his forebears of a generation prior. 

Examination of the picture under infrared reflectography (see fig. 1) tells us much about the preparation for the final painted composition. Though the aforementioned figure group appears to have been intended for the work from its original conception, a plethora of other figures were originally drawn in, and then omitted from the final design.