Galerie Dreyfus
10
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PIETER BRUEGHEL THE YOUNGER (Circle)
(BRUSSELS 1578 – ANTWER…
See original version (French)
10
-
PIETER BRUEGHEL THE YOUNGER (Circle)
(BRUSSELS 1578 – ANTWER…
See original version (French)
Estimate €80,000 - €100,000
Voluntary lot
Description
PIETER BRUEGHEL THE YOUNGER (Circle)
(BRUSSELS 1578 – ANTWERP 1638)
Flemish Proverbs
c. 1610
Oil on canvas
113.5 x 162 cm
Provenance:
Anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 31 October 1981, lot 91; Private collection.
Bibliography:
Klaus ERTZ, Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564–1637/8): Die Gemälde mit kritischem
Oeuvrekatalog, Lingen, 2000, vol. I, p. 75
Rebecca DUCKWITZ, ‘The Devil is in the Detail. Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Netherlandish
Proverbs and copies after it from the workshop of Pieter Brueghel the Younger’, in Brueghel
Enterprises, exhibition catalogue, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, 2001–2002, pp. 59–79.
This monumental composition represents one of the high points of Flemish iconography,
a veritable ‘encyclopaedia of the human condition’ featuring more than
a hundred proverbs and popular expressions. Conceived by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1559, this
visionary work has enjoyed exceptional enduring popularity thanks to the studio of his son, Pieter
Brueghel the Younger, who ensured its dissemination amongst the greatest collectors of
the era.
This painting occupies a prominent place in art history: it is officially
catalogued and described by the world-renowned expert Klaus Ertz in his authoritative catalogue raisonné.
Its inclusion in this seminal work confers upon it the status of a documented work,
cementing its historical significance and its place within Brueghel’s oeuvre of the
17th century.
The execution is striking for its remarkable rigour and clarity of detail,
characteristic of a painter who has perfectly mastered the master’s repertoire. As
Klaus Ertz points out, this is a work of great precision, faithful to the tradition and
spirit of the Brueghels. Its dimensions, which are exactly the same as those of the original held at the
Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, suggest the use of the original transfer tracings, a
practice reserved for the workshops closest to the family lineage. This technical proximity
places our work at the heart of the ‘Brueghel Enterprise’, that elite production structure
where the demand for fidelity to the original drawing was the rule. Every scene, from the famous ‘blue
coat’ symbolising deceit to the ‘upside-down world’, is rendered here with a satirical verve
that retains all its critical force and biting humour.
Rare on the market due to its pedigree and publication, this version represents a
major opportunity for collectors to acquire a key milestone in European
culture. It bears witness to a time when art served as a mirror to the follies of the world,
through skilful composition and a technique of surgical precision that continues,
four centuries later, to captivate the eye.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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