They discover, behind a door, a jewel of Brueghel the Younger

A French auction house has determined that a painting that had been in the family since 1900 and hung on a wall behind a door without its authorship having been investigated until now, was painted by the Flemish artist Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1637-38).

The owners suspected it – in fact they had called it “El Brueghel” for a century – but they did not bother to solve the mystery, perhaps fearing the disappointment of seeing their fantasy crumble. However, the decision to put the painting up for auction triggered the investigation which, in a double operation, confirmed the Flemish artist as the author and triggered his million dollar prize, according to the specialist magazine The arts journal.

The work, which will be auctioned at the Hotel Drouot in Paris on March 28 by the firm Daguerre -the very one that carried out the study which led to the discovery of its author-, was qualified by the specialists of “exceptional” and was worth 800,000 euros (about $855,000).

The piece measures 112 cm. tall and 184 cm. wide, and is the painter’s largest known composition. title The People’s Advocateis dated between 1615 and 1617 and is an original composition by Brueghel depicting a chaotic scene with villagers queuing outside the lawyer’s offices, many carrying gifts including eggs and poultry.

In November, the coin was brought to Parisian authenticators Cabinet Turquin, in Paris, where both the founder Eric Turquin like the art expert Stephane Pinta They recognized Brueghel’s mastery. In addition, Drouot sent the painting to Germany, where the painter’s specialist Klaus Ertz he then confirmed the authentication in December.

You may be interested: Brueghel, the Elder: 450 years without the great Flemish artist who humanized painting

Pieter Brueghel the Younger, born in Brussels, was the eldest son of the Renaissance painter Pieter Brueghel the Elder. his little brother, Jan Brueghel the YoungerHe was also a painter.

Brueghel the Younger painted landscapes, religious subjects, including various depictions of hell, village scenes and flowers, but he was also a prolific copyist of his father’s more popular works.

Your copies of Winter landscape with skaters and bird trap (1565) – of which 10 are signed and 4 dated – are a good example.

different versions of The People’s Advocate They are currently kept in prestigious museum collections such as the German Historical Museum in Berlin, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp or the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht.

Source: Telam

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