Circle of Frans Francken the Younger

Removed from a house where it had hung since 1904;
In the possession of the present owners' family since the 1950s.

This work is made up of three horizontal panels. The uppermost panel has a 28 cm horizontal split in the upper left corner that has not been stabilised. The paint surface is covered by a dirty varnish. There are marks from frame rubbing along the side and lower edges, and small knocks and damages along all four edges. The joins between panels have moved slightly and are repainted where surface pigment has been lost, the restoration has slightly discoloured. There are tiny dots of restoration on the doorway and on the neck of the boy playing the fiddle. Two small spots of restoration on the trousers of the man in red. A few small dots of repainting on the legs of the jester entering on the right and in his upper body. Along the lower join, there are concentrated areas of retouching at the centre and right. Old restoration along the two joins: the upper join there are two concentrated areas in the centre. A small area just below the join in the right hand corner. Otherwise just scattered tiny dots of retouching where paint has been lost.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The composition derives from a signed original by Frans Francken the Younger, last recorded in the Begeer collection in Voorschoten in 1961.¹ The painting here does not include the three paintings on the back wall, two figures in the right foreground and the dog lying at the feet of the seated lady in the left foreground. Speth-Holterhoff records another version in the Spaers collection in Brussels, location now unknown.² Härting suggests that in subjects such as this Francken looked back to similar works by his uncle Hieronymus the Elder (1540–1610), such as that of 1565, now in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen.

1. See U. Härting, Frans Francken der Jüngere (1581–1642), Freren 1989, pp. 34, 92, 366, cat. no. 434. reproduced fig. 36.
2. See S. Speth-Holterhoff, Les peintres flamands de kabinets d'amateur aus XVIIe siècle, Brussels, 1957, p. 66.