Studio of Sebastiaan Vrancx

With S. Hartveld, Antwerp, 1928;
Anonymous sale, Munich, Weinmuller, 27 November 1975, lot 1436;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 December 1985, lot 183, for £20,000, as 'Sebastiaen Vrancx', where acquired by the present owner.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel has three crudely reinforced horizontal splits on the reverse, two of which are visible to the front and are unstable and require treatment. There are further minor splits to the left hand edge. Under U-V light an area of restoration to the upper of the sky and above the steeple can be detected. There seems to have been some paint loss here but ,in my opinion, the retouching is excessive. The fore and mid grounds have the remains of an old varnish but are in good condition with almost no paint loss or abraded paint. A moderate tonal improvement would be achieved by the removal of the varnish."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Another version, which would appear to be the artist's prime version, was sold New York, Christie's, 18 May 1994, lot 11, for $135,000.