Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts,
Bruegel. Une dynastie de peintres, 18 September – 18 November 1980, no. 89;
Tokyo, Tobu Museum of Art, The World of Bruegel. The Coppée Collection and Eleven International Museums, 29 March – 25 June 1995, no. B25.
G. Marlier,
Pierre Brughel le Jeune, Brussels 1969, p. 190. no. 15;
F. Van Hauwaert, 'La copie chez Pierre Brueghel le Jeune', in Revue des archéologues et historiens d'art de Louvain, s.l., 1978, pp. 87–99, reproduced fig. 4;
S. Leclercq et al., La Collection Coppée, Liège 1991, pp. 51–53, reproduced;
M. Wilmott, in the catalogue of the exhibition The World of Bruegel. The Coppée Collection and Eleven International Museums, Tokyo 1995, pp.100–01, no. B25, reproduced;
K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere. 1564–1637/8. Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Vol. II, Lingen 2000, pp. 684, 726, no. E935, reproduced;
C. Currie and D. Allart, The Brueg[H]el Phenomenon, Brussels 2012, Vol. II, pp. 341, 573– 613, 731, 812, 834–35, 854, 930–31, 995–99, 1001, 1010, 1118–19, figs 382, 388, 391, 392, 395, 398–402, 404–05, 413–14, 416, 526, 583, 586, 660.
The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's:
Pieter Brueghel the Younger. The Outdoor Wedding Dance.
This painting is on a fine oak panel with one central joint. There is a fairly brief old crack from the right edge near the top, and the panel has been cradled perhaps fairly early in the twentieth century. The restoration may also date from that period, and there are traces of a previous frame down each side edge.
The overall condition is remarkably good, with exceptionally well preserved original brushwork throughout, intact and unworn. Old restoration is only to be seen along the edges, for instance in the sky along the top outer edge, and along the original joint, which was evidently reglued when the cradle was added. This retouching has darkened over time, for instance on the Bagpipe to the right and by the central woman dancer's head, however this is superficial and the underlying original appears intact beneath. One other retouching over a knot in the wood is in the skirt of the dancer at lower left.
The rich colour and fine detail, with original drawing sometimes characteristically visible as the paint grows gradually more transparent over time, remains in exceedingly good unworn condition virtually throughout.
This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."
此畫應作於約1615至1620年間，採用十七世紀荷蘭最受歡迎的經典構圖之一，不愧為絕佳典範。如《冬日捕鳥陷阱》，此作乃根據藝術家父親的構圖而來，其父之作品真跡無一得以留世，只能通過其版畫得知。此構圖展現一場鄉間平民婚禮，新娘坐在後方，上面的旗幟宣布她為是日的女王。而她的家人則在一旁貪婪地點數親友帶來的金錢和禮物。不少來賓在興高采烈的跳舞，左邊更包括了幾個在牆角方便的人，這些都是布呂赫爾的標誌性細節處理，他以敏銳幽默的眼光觀生活之情趣，使之活靈活現，不論是當年或今日，都讓人會心一笑，因此其作品深受世人喜愛。
