- 25
Follower of Jan Brueghel the Elder
Description
- Jan Brueghel the Elder
- a still life with roses, tulips, irises, a daffodil, a poppy anemone, marigolds, red turban cup lilies, borage, violets, forget-me-nots and other flowers, all in a stone vase on a wooden ledge
- oil on panel, the reverse stamped with the marks of the city of Antwerp and incised with the panelmaker's mark of Guilliam Aertssen (active c. 1612-after 1627)
Catalogue Note
This composition originates with Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625), of whom a good example is to be found in the Narodni Gallery, Prague.
The maker of this panel and that of lot 80, Guilliam Aertssen, became a member of the Antwerp frame- and panelmakers guild in 1612. It is documented that he was still active in 1627, when he was working for the painter and dealer Gaspar Antheunis. From 1617 onwards, when the panelmakers recorded their signatures in a document (still preserved in the Antwerp archives), all panelmakers received a separate stamp to mark their panels. The fact that the present mark is incised rather than branded may indicate that the panel was prepared before 1617 (see Fig. 1). This would suggest that Jan Brueghel's compositions, which were to enjoy lasting popularity throughout the rest of the 17th Century, were already popular with his followers during his own life time.