Lot number 3645 - Auction 155
PAAR GEMÄLDE WINTERLICHE DORFLANDSCHAFTEN

ATTRIBUTED TO JOOS DE MOMPER THE YOUNGER AND JAN BRUEGHEL THE YOUNGER 1564 Antwerp - 1635 ibid. - 1601 Antwerp - 1678 ibid. PAIR OF PAINTINGS WINTER VILLAGE LANDSCAPES Both: oil on copper plate (tondo). Each: diameter: 14.5 cm. Partially min. old rest., min. old retouching. Both framed in tondo. The two small-format round paintings depict lively winter village landscapes with snow-covered farmsteads, bare trees, and small figures. Both scenes depict rural activities: horse-drawn carts, pedestrians on snow-covered paths, villagers at work, and scattered animals. The architecture consists of simple, mostly gabled houses with steep, snow-covered roofs, occasionally with a church tower or storage buildings, nestled in a flat landscape structured by groups of trees. Typical of both the work of Joos de Momper and Jan Brueghel the Younger is the calm, balanced composition, in which the pictorial space is led into the distance by staggered buildings and groups of trees. The cool, silvery-blue winter atmosphere is contrasted by the warm ochre and brown tones of the architecture. The finely executed figures serve less to heighten the narrative than to enliven the landscape and give it a sense of scale. The choice of copper as a support allows for a particularly smooth, detailed painting style and a dense, luminous color palette. The first tondo is closely related to Klaus Ertz's published Winter Village Landscape with Wagons (cf. Josse de Momper the Younger - The Paintings, Freren 1986, p. 250, fig. 281). This is not a direct copy, but a free variation on the same theme: motivic similarities (winter village, carts, central group of buildings) are complemented by a changed arrangement of the architecture, different figures, and an independent composition. This corresponds to the well-known working practice of de Mompers, who varied popular pictorial formulas several times. The same composition can also be found in the work of Jan Brueghel the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Elder (cf. Ertz, Klaus and Christa Nitze-Ertz: Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625). Critical Catalog of Paintings. Volume IV, Jan Brueghel the Elder as Collaborator, Lingen 2008, p. 1596, fig. 784. The second tondo has not yet been linked to a published comparative piece in the literature. However, the composition, depiction of figures, color scale, and characteristic treatment of the bare trees convincingly suggest that it was created in the circle of Joos de Momper the Younger and Jan Brueghel, possibly as a previously unpublished variation on a familiar winter theme. The two tondi are qualitatively consistent, finely executed examples of Flemish landscape painting from the early 17th century. They illustrate the great interest of the Antwerp market in small-format, cabinet-like winter landscapes and at the same time document the serial, varying image productions in the works of Joos de Momper and Jan Brueghel. As a pair, they have a special decorative appeal and represent a rare ensemble on copper in a round format (in collaboration with Open AI (Chat GPT), personal contact with the author on February 1, 2026). Provenance: Private collection, Hesse.