LE MAÎTRE DES CORTÈGES | Peasants brawling in a landscape

Anonymous sale, Paris, Drouot Richelieu, 12 June 1986, lot 94 (as "Maître des Cortèges and studio"). 

P. Rosenberg, Tout l'œuvre peint des Le Nain, Paris, 1993, p. 101, no. C3B, reproduced; 
J.-P. Cuzin, Figures de la Réalité, Caravagesques français, Georges de La Tour, les frères Le Nain..., Paris 2010, p. 321. 

The red color is less strong in the actual painting than the catalogue illustration would suggest. The canvas has been relined (old glue relining). The painted surface seems to be in a good condition and is covered with a very dirty and discolored varnish layer. Three small paint losses (of ca. 0,5cm each) can be observed in the sky area, two to the left of the protagonist with the red jacket and one to his left. The painted surface is covered with a craquelure pattern which is coarse in the sky area and seems finer near the figures. Some minor thinness visible in the trees, the architecture and along the edges. Scattered discolored retouchings can be seen mainly in the sky area. Some are also visible in the face of the figure on the left. The painting would greatly benefit from a good restoration. Under the UV light The varnish layer fluoresces almost completely, showing only the retouchings mentioned above and some other ones in the second figure on the left. Offered with a carved and giltwood frame. Les rouges sont en réalité moins forts que sur l’illustration au catalogue. Le tableau a fait l’objet d’un rentoilage ancien (à la colle). La couche picturale semble en bon état. Elle est recouverte d’un vernis très sale et jauni. On observe trois petits manques dans le ciel (d’environ 0,5 cm chacun) : deux à la gauche du personnage qui porte un manteau rouge et le troisième à sa gauche. On observe sur l’ensemble un réseau de craquelures, plus larges dans le ciel, et plus fines sur les personnages. On remarque de légères usures dans les arbres, l’architecture et le long des bords. On observe d’épars repeints désaccordés principalement dans le ciel, davantage visibles sur le visage du personnage à gauche. Le tableau bénéficierait largement d’une bonne restauration. A la lampe UV Le vernis est presque totalement opaque, laissant seulement apparaître les restaurations mentionnées à l’œil nu et d’autres au niveau du deuxième personnage à gauche. Dans un cadre en bois doré et sculpté.
"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."

There are three known versions of Peasants brawling in a landscape, also known as The Picklocks' fight or Savoyard scene. The best-known version is in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow (oil on canvas, 51 x 68 cm; inv. no. Ж-2974). Jacques Thuillier analysed the painting in the Le Nain retrospective in 1978-1979 as such: 'This violent scene is treated here with the same slightly cold restraint as the joyful scene by Cortèges. The geometric construction succeeds in suggesting the fight through the play of large obliques, without the need for mimicry and shouting, nor for these more or less vulgar details that are added much of the time [by other artists]' (see J. Thuillier, Les frères Le Nain, exh. cat., Paris 1978, p. 337). The Maître de Cortèges is the invented name for this anonymous painter in the circle of the Le Nain brothers. The work of this artist is grouped together around two paintings: The Procession of the Ox, which belonged to Pablo Picasso before he bequeathed it to the Musée du Louvre, and The Procession of the Ram (Philadelphia Museum of Art).