AFTER PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER | The Battle between Carnival and Lent

oil on board This is a twentieth-century copy after the artist's iconic painting of 1559, which hangs today in the famous 'Bruegel Room' in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. 1016).1 Numerous autograph versions of this composition exist, one of which sold London, Christie's, 7 December 2006, lot 31 for £3,256,000. The painting depicts a traditional festival held in the Southern Netherlands, representing the transition between the celebrations and feasting of Carnival (portrayed on the left of the composition in front of an inn), before the 40-day period of religious observance and abstinence from certain foods during Lent (depicted on the right before a church). 1 https://www.khm.at/objektdb/detail/320/?offset=0&lv=list

Anonymous sale ('The Property of a European Family'), Amsterdam, Christie's, 5 April 2007, lot 1114 (as part of a pair), where acquired by the present owner.

All paintings available to view at the Sotheby’s Greenford Park warehouse, 5 - 7 and 10 – 13 September (10 - 4pm), by appointment. The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: It is on a firm board and may be in oil. It has been well preserved with no accidental damages. There is minimal ageing, with faint craquelure in a few places and just occasional fly spots.
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