Flemish School, circa 1600

Wellesley Collection,
sale, London, Sotheby's, 25 June-10 July 1866, lot 954;
Sir David Kelly,
sale, London, Hodgson's, 26 November 1954, in lot 595 (a leather-bound folio volume, containing 100 landscape drawings);
Purchased from Hans Calmann, 30 November 1954

London, Royal Academy, The Paul Oppé Collection, 1958, no. 400 (as Attributed to Jan Breughel the Elder);
Ottawa, The National Gallery of Canada, Exhibition of Works from the Paul Oppé Collection, 1961, no. 107 (as Attributed to Jan Breughel the Elder)

A.E. Popham and K. Fenwick, European Drawings in the Collection of the National Galley of Art, Toronto, 1965, under no. 143 (as Attributed to Jan Breughel the Elder)

Hinge mounted in two places to the left edge. The lower left corner has been previously made up and is visible in the catalogue reproduction. There is a slight stain to the left half of the sheet and a small stain to the lower right, though these do not detract from the overall aesthetic of the work. There is evidence of some slight surface dirt throughout. The pen and ink medium remains fresh throughout this highly atmospheric sheet.
"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."

Four days after the album containing this extremely refined drawing was sold at auction, Paul Oppé visited the buyer, Hans Calmann, and bought two of what he considered the best drawings that it contained, both of which were attributed to Jan Breughel.  He wrote the next day, in some excitement, to Miss Fenwick, his contact at the National Gallery of Canada, explaining that he was passing on to them the fully worked up landscape, but was keeping the study of a single tree for himself, as although it was "more exquisite", it seemed to him, in its lack of completeness, less appropriate for a Print Room. 

Oppé also commented that both sheets were drawn in a manner more typical of Pieter Bruegel the Elder than of his son, but that perhaps they would therefore be works that would shed light on the respective styles of the two artists.  In the light of another sixty years of research and publication in the field, we can now say that this drawing, though indeed exceptionally fine, cannot reasonably be attributed to either of the Breugels, and in some ways it seems perhaps closer to some of the studies made by Roelandt Savery in Prague in the first years of the 17th century.