Attributed to Pieter AERTSEN and a collaborator (1508 - 1575 - Lot 59

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  3. Attributed to Pieter AERTSEN and a collaborator (1508 - 1575 - Lot 59
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Lot n° 59
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Attributed to Pieter AERTSEN and a collaborator (1508 - 1575 - Lot 59
Attributed to Pieter AERTSEN and a collaborator (1508 - 1575) Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Apolline, Saint Catherine, Saint Barbara and Saint Anthony in front of a landscape Oak panel, reinforced 232 x 190 cm Provenance: Charmetant sale, Paris Charmetant sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot (M e Origet), May 23, 1908, no. 146, reproduced (16th-century Italian school). Our painting, with its obvious influences from Pieter Coecke van Aelst, could belong to the very early period of activity of the Dutch painter Pieter Aertsen. The unpublished painting is to be compared with a drawing preserved in Oxford (Ashmolean Museum). Initially thought to be a project for a stained-glass window, Wouter Kloek, who published the drawing as one of Aertsen's early works, suggested that it was more likely a vidimus, a kind of contract between artist and commissioner, for an altarpiece (see W. Kloek, Pieter Aertsen, The Hague 1990, p. 136, no. A.I, reproduced). Variations between our painting and the Oxford drawing are visible: the two small figures (Saint Roch and Saint Sebastian) have disappeared and the tower of Saint Barbara has been placed at a higher level. As for the landscape, it reveals the influence of Jan van Scorel, a major artist in Holland around 1540. Compared with Aertsen's mature works, the execution of the altarpiece is harder, with more pronounced contours. This may be explained by the fact that the project was started by Aertsen and the final execution was carried out by another artist. However, the treatment of the figures and the composition are similar to other works from the 40s and 50s, such as the two triptychs from Léau (Zoutleeuw), the Sept joies de la Vierge and the Sept douleurs de la Vierge dated 1554 (Eglise saint Leonard, Léau). Nicknamed Lange Pier ("Long Peter"), Pieter Aertsen was born in Amsterdam and became a Freemason in Antwerp in 1535. He was granted Antwerp citizenship in 1542 and remained there until around 1556. In his early days in the city, he stayed with the painter Jan Mandyn, a follower of Hieronymus Bosch. Aertsen stands out as one of the artists who most forcefully transcribed the lessons of the Dutch and Flemish schools into painting, transcending strictly national boundaries. His sons Pieter Pietersz and Aert Pietersz became painters. He also trained his nephew Joachim Beuckelaer. An eclectic painter, he tackled religious compositions as well as genre scenes and portraits. In his pantry scenes, such as Jesus at Martha's and Mary's (1559) in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Brussels), he deploys a realism that is both rich and familiar, combining portraiture with still life. These compositions, whose foregrounds overflow with accumulated vegetables, are imbued with a Mannerist pathos characteristic of the 16th century. In paintings with a sacred theme, the religious scene is often relegated to the background (a practice that would prove successful with his followers, notably Beuckelaer), and for the figures Aertsen developed a heroic, solemn style, in response to his competitor Frans Floris, as evidenced by the Carrying of the Cross (1552), kept at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. We would like to thank Wouter Kloek for his help in writing this notice.
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