Abraham Janssens

Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Gentleman"), London, Sotheby's, 9 March 1983, lot 61, for £10,000.

The following condition 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 panel is markedly bowed and has one horizontal baton running across the centre of the panel on the reverse and inserts securing the upper and lower horizontal joins in the panel. The panel is securely fitted within the frame and the warp is accommodated with a foam slip. The panel appears structurally sound and secure. Paint Surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. There are minor losses along the lower horizontal framing edge most notably the lower right corner where the loss measures approximately 1 x 0.5 cm. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows three horizontal bands of retouching along the three joins in the panel. The most significant of the other retouchings that are visible under ultraviolet light are: 1) an area in the green pigments of the foreground in the lower left of the composition and a thin diagonal line in the same corner which is approximately 16 cm in length, 2) retouchings along the lower horizontal framing edge and other small retouchings on the framing edges, 3) retouchings on the figure of Pan on the right of the composition and other small scattered retouchings. The retouchings have all been carefully applied and are not visible in natural light. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in good and stable condition and has obviously been very well and carefully conserved.
"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."

Dated by Joost Vander Auwera circa 1601-02, just after the artist's return to Antwerp from Rome, this painting is inspired by the ancient myth of Midas, King of Phrygia. After having lost his power to transform all he touched into gold, Midas moved to the country, where he became a worshipper of Pan, god of the fields. Pan had the audacity to compare his music with that of Apollo, and challenged Apollo, the god of the lyre, to a trial of skill. Timolus, the mountain god (shown seated between Apollo and Pan) was chosen to judge the contest. After Tmolus declared Apollo the winner, Midas (shown to his right) opposed his judgement, in punishment for which Apollo gave him the ears of a donkey.

The painting is composed over three planes in a similarly manner to Janssens'  Diana and Callisto in Budapest dated 1601, with a small number of sculptural and starkly-lit figures in the foreground, a larger group of figures on the plane immediately behind, seated before a distant and highly-detailed landscape. It seems likely that the two paintings were both executed within a very short space of time, although whether in Rome, where Janssens sojourned from 1598 to 1601, or immediately after his return to Antwerp, remains open to debate.

There is a copy of the present work in Ljubljana, Narodna Gallery (oil on canvas, 168 by 115 cm.; see F. Zeri and K. Rozman, Maestri europei dalle collezioni Slovene. Evropski slikarji iz slovenskih sbirk. Catalogue d'exposition, Ljubljana 1993, pp. 163-64, reproduced fig. 46).