Jan Siberechts

Bromberg collection, Hamburg;
With Gal. Studio, Amsterdam;
H.M. Clark, London;
Sale, Brussels, Galerie Fievez, December 20, 1924, Lot 108;
With A.S. Drey, Munich, 1926;
Siegfried Bieber, Berlin and New York, by 1931 (on deposit at the Kunstmuseum Luzern from 1934/5);
With Galerie Heinemann, Wiesbaden;
From whom acquired by the present collector in the 1970s. 

T.H. Fokker, Jan Siberechts, Peintre de La Paysanne Flamande, Brussels 1931, p. 83, reproduced plate 37.

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 painting was originally painted on two pieces of canvas which are joined vertically through the middle. This join is very slightly visible and has attracted some restoration. The canvas has a glue lining which is stabilizing the surface to a point, but the cracking is quite raised and some old restorations across the top edge have become unstable. There are further restorations in the sky and some abrasion here, in the water, in the distant landscape, and also in the leaves as they butt up against the sky. The dark areas in the foreground and all the figures and animals seem to be in considerably better condition and we are unaware of any substantial restorations here at all. In order for this picture to look its best, the lining should be removed and the canvas relined, which will provide a much better surface for what will in fact be a small and reasonable amount of restoration.
"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."

The figures of the peasants and group of animals is identical to that in another painting by Siberechts, signed and dated 1679, in the Museu Naçional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon.