Sebastiaen Vrancx

Anonymous sale, Brussels, Fievez, 10 March 1927, lot 111 (IV);
Private collection;
Thence by inheritance until anonymously sold ('The Property of a Brother and a Sister'), London, Sotheby's, 30 November 1983, lot 64, for £26,000.

The panel is cradled and is stable. The varnish is very dirty. The paint surface is secure, with only small scattered retouchings spread throughout, a more concentrated cluster lower centre.
"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."

This picture belongs to a series of four panels representing the seasons, which last sold as a complete set in 1927 when the signature was still fully legible as 1608. The Winter and Spring of this series appeared on the market together again, in these Rooms 30 November 1983, lots 64 and 63 respectively, Spring went unsold. The current whereabouts of the other three seasons in this set is now unknown to us. Another complete set, unsigned, and with only slight variations, sold at Christie's in New York, 18 May 1994, lot 44, for $630,000. Fred G. Meijer of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie regards this signed work as the prototype from which a number of copies were made, see for example the Allegory of Winter sold at Lempertz, 17 May 2014, lot 1029.

 The subject can be traced back to the calendar illustrations of a Medieval Book of Hours, and its popularity continued during the 16^th and 17^th centuries, attested by the many different designs invented by Vrancx alone. Some of these are filled with figures and movement,¹ whilst this composition focuses on a display of objects specifically associated with the time of year. The interest in symbolic objects relates to the work of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, and many of the details in this picture are also found in Brueghel’s paintings of the seasons or festivals.

 Laid out in the foreground are the staples of a winter diet: red and white cabbage, carrots, sugar beet and sausages, as well as the household items like a copper warming pan and firewood. The rather bleak array of everyday objects is lifted by symbols of the season’s festivals: the decorative Duivekater bread and pancakes eaten on the Feast of Sinterklaas, the hat with the paper crown probably worn on the Feast of the Epiphany, and the waffle iron and the mask with the red costume on the floor serving as a bright reminder of Carnival, the feast which signals the end of the darker months and the beginning of Spring.

 

1. See for example a drawing by Vrancx, brown and grey ink on paper, 23 x 33.5 cm., now Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels (inv. no. 10.855).