South Netherlandish School, 16th century

With Paul Drey Gallery, New York (as Jan de Beer) by 1941;
There purchased by Murray G. Ballantyne, Montreal, 28 September 1950;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University, Landscape Painting from Patinir to Hubert Robert, 17 November - 7 December 1941, cat. no. 6 (as Jan de Beer, Landscape with St. Eustache);
Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Themes and Variations in Painting and Sculpture, 15 April - 23 May 1948, cat. no. 97 (as Jan de Beer);
Montreal, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Six Centuries of Landscape, 7 March - 13 April 1952, cat. no. 12 (as Joachim Patinir);
Montreal, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada Collects: European Painting, 19 January - 21 February 1960, cat. no. 157 (as Joachim Patinir).

Oil on panel, with a cradle support. The upper edge of the panel is slightly nicked and visible in the current framing. The surface is in overall fair condition with evidence of horizontal panel cracks and craquelure across the surface. The paint surface overall is good and stable with scattered minor losses and discolored retouches evident in the sky and at the edges, likely due to old frame abrasion. The paint is a little thinned in the water and there is a minor loss in the lower right corner. Under UV light the previously mentioned retouches and panel cracks are visible. The majority of the work is covered in a green fluorescing varnish that obscures the landscape and figures. Offered in a black and gilt carved wood frame in good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

When acquired from Paul Drey Gallery in New York in 1950, this painting was ascribed to Jan de Beer on the basis of a verbal attribution made earlier by Max J. Friedländer.  However, Dr. Friedländer subsequently changed his mind and there is an old photo-certificate from him, dated 10 November 1950, re-attributing this work to Joachim Patinir.  The painting was exhibited as such in two Montreal exhibitions in 1952 and 1960 (see Exhibited).

Though this painting does show a stylistic debt to Patinir, especially in the landscape, it is now thought that this work is by an artist a generation later, working possibly in Antwerp circa 1545-50.