12 - 12. Erasmus Quellinus II (Anvers 1607-1678)

Estimate €18,000 - €25,000

Description

12. Erasmus Quellinus II (Anvers 1607-1678) Vierge à l'enfant avec le petit Saint Jean Baptiste oil on panel 74,4 x 55.2cm (29 5/16 x 21 3/4in). Provenance Collection of M. De Keersmacker, Antwerp Collection of van Parys, Brussels Collection of Héris, Brussels Collection of van den Schrieck, Louvain, 1861 (according to a label on the reverse) Collection of Count Paul Delaroff, Paris 1914, his catalogue no 75 (according to an inscription on the reverse) Collection of the estate of Dr James Simon, His Sale, Rudolph Lepke, Berlin, 29 November 1932, lot 53 (as Rubens) Collection of Nathan Katz With Gallery Jan de Boever, Brussels, 1990 Sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 4-5 November 1992, lot 80 (as Erasmus Quellinus) Private Collection, The Netherlands, where acquired by the present owner in 1997 Literature J.P. de Bruyn, Erasmus II Quellinus (1607-1678): addenda en corrigenda*, in Koninklijk Museum voor schone Kunsten Antwerpen Jaarboek, 1990, pp. 303-332, p. 312, ill., fig. 8 This intimate depiction of the Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John has, in the past, been regarded as an autograph work by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), a testament both to the quality of the painting and to its dependence on Rubensian models. The attribution was subsequently revised by Jean-Pierre de Bruyn, who, in the 1990 supplement to his catalogue raisonné (see Literature), attributed the painting to Erasmus Quellinus II, one of the most gifted painters of the generation immediately following Rubens. The composition is closely related to the group of the Virgin and Child in Rubens's Holy Family with Saint Anne in the Museo del Prado, Madrid (inv. P001639), from which it ultimately derives. In the present work, Quellinus has adapted Rubens's invention into a more intimate devotional image, focusing on the tender interaction between the Christ Child and the Infant Saint John. The simplicity of the grouping, the harmonious colouring and the idealised beauty of the figures all reveal a profound understanding of Rubens's art. Executed circa 1629-1632, shortly after Quellinus's return from Italy, the painting belongs to a period during which the artist worked in close proximity to Rubens and absorbed the master's compositional principles while gradually developing the more restrained and classicising style that would characterise his mature work. The measured elegance of the figures, the clarity of design and the serene emotional tone are all qualities frequently associated with Quellinus's early independent production.

About the sale From Antwerp to Bruges, the Collection of a Flemish Connoisseur

Auction location

Auction time 11/04/2026 at 11:00 AM

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