JAN JANSZ. VAN BUESEM | A sorceress in a wood surrounded by devils

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 19 April 1973, lot 92 (as Rombout van Troyen);

Professor and Mrs. Clifford Ambrose Truesdell;

Their sale, New York, Christie's, 16-17 June 2009, lot 70 (as Buesem);

Anonymous sale ('The Property of a European Collector'), London, Christie's, 11 April 2013, lot 29 (as Buesem). 

Jan Jansz. van Buesem was born in Amsterdam, where he probably lived his whole life. Mostly known for interior scenes of taverns and kitchens, he also executed a small number of fantastical and unsettling compositions such as the present work, featuring devils, demons and sorceresses. In these works, he was influenced by his contemporary Rombout van Troyen, who also painted similar subject matters. 

The attribution to Jan Buesem was endorsed by Dr. Fred Meijer when the painting was last on the market.