Antwerp School, second half of the seventeenth century. Circle of Jan Brueghel and Pieter Von Avont.
Antwerp School, second half of the seventeenth century. Circle of JAN BRUEGHEL THE YOUNG (Antwerp, Belgium, 1601 - 1678) and PIETER VAN AVONT (Belgium, 1600 - 1652).
"The Flight from Egypt."
Oil on copper.
Measurements: 71 x 88 cm, 84.5 x 102 cm (frame).
The painting represents the moment when the Holy Family has to flee to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod, which will trigger the Slaughter of the Innocents. With a pyramidal composition, the family is located in the right zone of the canvas, the child being in the center of the composition of the total of the characters. In the right zone, however, the space opens up towards the background, where an urban framework can be seen that merges with the landscape in the foreground.
The brushstroke of the work, the colors and the gesture of the characters remind us of the circle and painters Jan Brueghel the Younger and Pieter Van Avont to whom this piece can be related. Jan Brueghel the Younger was a Flemish painter specialized in still life and flower painting, although he also worked in landscape, mythological and allegorical scenes. He was an independent artist of great talent, who has sometimes been undervalued in historiography. The eldest son of Jan Brueghel de Velours, and grandson of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, he probably trained in his father's workshop, and it was also his father who encouraged him to travel to Milan in 1622, to enter the service of Cardinal Frederick Borromeo, from Milan he traveled to Malta and Sicily and in 1625, after receiving the news of his father's death, he returned to Antwerp to take charge of his workshop. That same year he is registered as a master in the Guild of Painters of St. Luke. During these years he sold the paintings left by his father, and successfully completed those he had left unfinished. He also produced a number of small format paintings following his father's style, repeating his father's still lifes, flower garlands, landscapes and allegories. However, he did not do so as a mere copyist, but incorporated novelties and knew how to give his work a particular personal accent.Among his most prominent commissioners we find the French court, which commissioned him a "Cycle of Adam" (1630-31) and the Austrian court, for which he worked in 1651, after which he returned to Antwerp in 1657, where he resided until his death. He is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Metropolitan in New York, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and other museums around the world.
A Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver of the early Baroque period, Peeter van Avont specialized in portraiture, religious (mainly of the Holy Family) and historical subjects, and also made copies of great contemporary masters such as Rubens and Van Dyck. In 1620 he reached the rank of master in the painters' guild of his native Mechelen, although in 1622 we find him already in Antwerp, as a member of the Gilda of St. Luke. Settled in that city, he obtained citizenship in 1631. After marrying twice, van Avont settled in the town of Deurne, near Antwerp, where he finally died in 1652. He frequently collaborated with other masters, a common practice among Central European masters of the time, due to the great specialization by genre that occurred in the Baroque period. Thus, van Avont worked with Jan Brueghel the Elder, David Vinckboons, Lucas van Uden and Jan Wildens, among others. In his workshop he had disciples such as Frans Wouters, who finally went to Rubens' workshop in 1634 to complete his training.
COMMENTS
This lot can be seen at the Setdart Valencia Gallery located at C/Cirilo Amorós, 55.
Bid on this lot
Antwerp School, second half of the seventeenth century. Circle of JAN BRUEGHEL THE YOUNG (Antwerp, Belgium, 1601 - 1678) and PIETER VAN AVONT (Belgium, 1600 - 1652).
"The Flight from Egypt."
Oil on copper.
Measurements: 71 x 88 cm, 84.5 x 102 cm (frame).
The painting represents the moment when the Holy Family has to flee to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod, which will trigger the Slaughter of the Innocents. With a pyramidal composition, the family is located in the right zone of the canvas, the child being in the center of the composition of the total of the characters. In the right zone, however, the space opens up towards the background, where an urban framework can be seen that merges with the landscape in the foreground.
The brushstroke of the work, the colors and the gesture of the characters remind us of the circle and painters Jan Brueghel the Younger and Pieter Van Avont to whom this piece can be related. Jan Brueghel the Younger was a Flemish painter specialized in still life and flower painting, although he also worked in landscape, mythological and allegorical scenes. He was an independent artist of great talent, who has sometimes been undervalued in historiography. The eldest son of Jan Brueghel de Velours, and grandson of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, he probably trained in his father's workshop, and it was also his father who encouraged him to travel to Milan in 1622, to enter the service of Cardinal Frederick Borromeo, from Milan he traveled to Malta and Sicily and in 1625, after receiving the news of his father's death, he returned to Antwerp to take charge of his workshop. That same year he is registered as a master in the Guild of Painters of St. Luke. During these years he sold the paintings left by his father, and successfully completed those he had left unfinished. He also produced a number of small format paintings following his father's style, repeating his father's still lifes, flower garlands, landscapes and allegories. However, he did not do so as a mere copyist, but incorporated novelties and knew how to give his work a particular personal accent.Among his most prominent commissioners we find the French court, which commissioned him a "Cycle of Adam" (1630-31) and the Austrian court, for which he worked in 1651, after which he returned to Antwerp in 1657, where he resided until his death. He is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Metropolitan in New York, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and other museums around the world.
A Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver of the early Baroque period, Peeter van Avont specialized in portraiture, religious (mainly of the Holy Family) and historical subjects, and also made copies of great contemporary masters such as Rubens and Van Dyck. In 1620 he reached the rank of master in the painters' guild of his native Mechelen, although in 1622 we find him already in Antwerp, as a member of the Gilda of St. Luke. Settled in that city, he obtained citizenship in 1631. After marrying twice, van Avont settled in the town of Deurne, near Antwerp, where he finally died in 1652. He frequently collaborated with other masters, a common practice among Central European masters of the time, due to the great specialization by genre that occurred in the Baroque period. Thus, van Avont worked with Jan Brueghel the Elder, David Vinckboons, Lucas van Uden and Jan Wildens, among others. In his workshop he had disciples such as Frans Wouters, who finally went to Rubens' workshop in 1634 to complete his training.
COMMENTS
This lot can be seen at the Setdart Valencia Gallery located at C/Cirilo Amorós, 55.
