Jan Brueghel II

(Antwerp 1601–1678)
A garland of flowers encircling the Adoration or the Magi and the Four Evangelists,
oil on panel, 124 x 92 cm, framed
Provenance:
sale, Sotheby’s, London, 12 December 1990, lot 172 (as Andries Daniels with follower of Frans Francken the Younger);
with Peter Gölitz, Augsburg;
sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 23 June 1992, lot 115 (as Jan Brueghel II);
where acquired by the present owner

The present painting is accompanied by a copy of a certificate by Klaus Ertz, dated 12 May 1992. He endorses the attribution of the flowers to Jan Brueghel II and attributes the figures to an artist within the circle of Frans Francken II. Ertz dates the painting to 1630–1640.

The composition depicts a centrally placed oval of the Adoration of the Magi surrounded by a flower garland holding four ovals in cross shaped orientation, depicting the Evangelists and their assigned attributes. In clockwise order are represented: Mark seated at a lectern with writing utensils and the lion at his feet, Luke, seen in profile and seated on a small stool reading a book with the bull lying at his feet, Matthew, seated at a lectern with the angel on his right, and John, seated behind a lectern, holding a book and the eagle below. The garland consists of a wide variety of flowers, amongst which the roses, tulips, lilies, irises, and carnations are the most striking. Amidst this rich floral display, four angels hold onto the flower branches, turned towards the adoration scene in the centre.

In his certificate, Ertz mentions comparable works of Jan Brueghel II published in his monograph on the artist (see K. Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Jüngere (1601–1678). Die Gemälde mit Kritischem Ouvrekatalog, Freren, 1984, pp. 460–467, nos. 293, 295, 297, 299). All four comparative works are painted in co-operation with other artists, such as Hendrik van Balen, Frans Francken II, or artists within their circle. In his certificate, Ertz is unable to identify the artist of the figures but states that he must have worked within the circle of Frans Francken II, who had a workshop and many followers, as noted by the author. Since the mentioned comparable works are dated between 1630 and 1640, Ertz suggests the present work should be dated in this decade as well. The noted comparable works, however, consist of one rich flower garland encircling a single oval of the Virgin and Child. That the present painting with its five encircled scenes is an exception within the body of works of the artist is not mentioned by the author. However, this exceptional composition speaks for the present work.

Learning the principles from his renowned father Jan Brueghel I, the younger Jan sojourned in Italy from 1616 until the death of his father in 1625. Upon hearing the news, the artist travelled from Palermo back to his birthplace, Antwerp, to take over his father’s studio. The artist joined the Guild of Saint Luke in the same year, and a year later, Jan Brueghel II married the daughter of the artist Abraham Janssens. According to Ertz, the works painted during the first years of running the workshop are difficult to distinguish from those of his father, especially the depiction of flowers, which is very close to those of the lauded Jan Brueghel I. After circa 1635, Jan Brueghel II distinguishes his own and less refined approach, with a more general treatment of details, that is visible in the present garland, as stated by Ertz.