Jan Breughel the Younger

The following condiiton report is provided by Hamish Dewar, who is an external expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The artist's copper panel is providing a secure and stable structural support, although ideally it could be held more securely within the frame. Paint Surface The paint surface has a discoloured varnish layer and should be transformed by cleaning. There are also surface deposits and very small flecks of paint loss. Inspection under ultraviolet light shows very small scattered spots of retouching in the sky and older retouchings which have discoloured and are clearly visible in natural light in the upper right corner and parallel to the upper horizontal framing edge. Inspection under ultraviolet light also confirms how discoloured the varnish layers have become and how well the painting should respond to cleaning. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good condition with the potential for the overall appearance to be significantly enhanced should the painting be cleaned and revarnished.
"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."

In broad outline the composition is derived from Jan Brueghel the Elder's painting on copper in the Wellington Museum, Apsley House, London, which is signed and dated 1606, and which bred a wealth of further works both by Brueghel the Elder and his workshop, of which some are by his son Jan Brueghel the Younger.¹ It is however more closely related to the 1607 dated river landscape in which Brueghel introduces the motifs of, on the left, the man in red passing the child up to the well-dressed gentleman on the quay and, on the right, the side-on ferry laden so heavily with figures and horses that it seems on the point of sinking.² The younger Brueghel has here simplified the composition in leaving out the view through the trees at the left through to the tall church spire as well as omitting the muddle of rowing boats in the left foreground. In this respect it seems to be unique as all other versions follow the elder Brueghel's 1607 prototype. 

1. K. Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Ältere, vol. I, Lingen 2008, p. 270, no. 120.
2. Ibid. ,pp. 273-4, no. 124, reproduced p. 275.