Flemish School, circa 1630-1640

With Alan Jacobs Gallery, London;
From whom acquired, February 1985.

This intriguing painting on glass illustrates an elegant company of figures within a fictitious palace.  The figures are gathered near a shimmering body of silver water animated by a fountain and a few swans.  The viewer's eye is pulled into the scene not only by the diagonals of the floor tiles in the foreground, but also by the recessed series of shaped copper plates in the upper right corner that form a colonnade and create a believable visual space.  The delicate and almost translucent foliage in the background also adds further dimension to the scene.  Although the author of this cleverly arranged composition is unknown, the costume of the figures suggest it was painted in circa 1630-1640.