The Property of a Private Collector
Jan Breughel the Younger
Antwerp 1601 - 1678
An Allegory of War
signed lower right: i. Breughel
oil on copper
unframed: 77.7 x 98 cm.; 30 5/8 x 38 5/8 in.
framed: 99.1 x 119 cm.; 39 x 46 7/8 in.
The copper plate is set within a cradled panel. The paint surface is slightly dirty, and the varnish is discoloured. There are numerous small losses around all four margins, and some diagonal superficial scratches visible in the centre of the sky. Inspection under ultraviolet light is almost entirely impeded by the milky varnish but there do appear to be old areas of retouching scattered through the sky, including to a horizontal line in the upper left corner approx. 20 cm. long, an area in the clouds below this 1 x 3 cm., and to a small L-shaped scratch in the ruined arch 2 cm. long. It is also possible to see with the naked eye a small restoration to a damage just below the hare lower centre, and a couple of areas in the base of the wall on the right. Overall the painting appears to be in fairly good condition but more would be revealed by cleaning.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Christie's, 8 May 2012, lot 13
This copper forms part of a group of similar subjects painted by Jan Brueghel the Younger during the 1640s. These include, for example, an Allegory of Power and Justice of 1647 in a private collection,1 and a signed but undated variant of the present composition, with differences in the figures and some of the foreground animals, sold London, Sotheby’s, 7 July 2005, lot 104. As Ertz has observed, Brueghel’s production of martial scenes of this type and date may well have been in anticipation of the impending end of the Eighty Years War in 1648.
1 Ertz 1984, pp. 384-5, cat. no. 220, reproduced.