David Teniers the Younger

Lord Brownlow, by 1835;
Thence by descent to the R^t. Hon. Adelbert Wellington, 3rd Earl Brownlow, Ashridge, Berkhamstead;
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, 4 May 1923, lot 93, for 50 Guineas to Leger;
With Leger Gallery, London;
Private collection, Switzerland;
Anonymous sale, Milan, Finarte, 12 May 1992, lot 42;
With Hall & Knight Ltd, London, 2001;
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 15 April 2008, lot 21, estimate $700,000-1,000,000, unsold;
Acquired by the present owner on 8th May 2008.

London, British Institute, 1835, no. 74.

J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol. IX, Supplement, London 1842, p. 463, no. 180;
S. Speth-Holterhoff, Les peintres flamands de cabinets d'amateurs au XVIIe siècle, Brussels 1957, p. 217, no. 181;
A. Scarpa Sonnino, Cabinet d'Amateur, Milan 1992, p. 99, reproduced;
J. de Maere & M. Wabbes, Illustrated Dictionary of 17th Century Flemish Painters, Brussels 1994, vol. III, p. 1142, reproduced;
N.H.J. Hall, in Hall & Knight Ltd, Catalogue MMI, London & New York 2001, pp. 124-6, no. 12, reproduced;
E. Vegelin van Claerbergen (ed.), David Teniers and the Theatre of Painting, exhibition catalogue, London 2006, p. 65. 

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar, who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The canvas has a recent lining on what would appear to be a comparatively new keyed wooden stretcher and this is ensuring an even and secure structural support and is a sympathetic lining which has not adversely affected the surface textures and impasto. Paint Surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows quite extensive retouching, a lot of which appears to be strengthening the outlines of the figures and the darker backgrounds. The paved foreground appears to have been quite extensively retouched and there also would appear to be a number of retouchings on the black costumes of the most prominent figures standing in the foreground. The details of the paintings in the picture gallery have also been strengthened. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in reasonably good and stable condition and while it should be noted that the overall appearance is very good and no further work is required, quite extensive retouchings have been applied in the past.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This painting depicts the Gallery of Paintings of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels.  The Archduke arrived in Brussels in 1647 as the newly appointed Governor General of the Spanish Netherlands.  In 1651 he appointed David Teniers the Younger Court Painter, following the death of Jan van den Hoecke, and it seems that Teniers started to paint pictures of the Archduke's Gallery straight away, since the first two such works are dated that year.¹   

This painting is one of ten known Gallery Pictures by David Teniers the Younger associated with the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, of which nine are on canvas and one is on copper.²  Like all the others, it almost certainly depicts a fictitious space, although the tall windows, essential for admitting light for the enjoyment of the collection, have been associated with the Archducal Coudenberg Palace in Brussels. The paintings shown in it however, most of which can be identified, formed part of the Archducal collection.  The Archduke himself is seen in the centre, while the man to his left showing off the Il Bravo, then thought to be by Giorgione, has the features of Teniers himself.  He occurs in most of the versions, showing different paintings in each.  The figure to the Archduke's right, holding a print, occurs in most of the Gallery pictures, but has yet to be identified convincingly.

Prior to his appointment in 1647, the Archduke had no reputation as a collector.  By the time he left Brussels in 1656, taking with him the bulk of his collection, which forms the core of the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, he had amassed a vast collection of paintings, sculpture and works of art, of which 617 paintings were works by Italian masters.  Although nearby Antwerp was then the centre of the art market, this was an astonishing achievement.  Over four hundred of the Italian paintings came from the collections of The Duke of Buckingham and The Marquess of Hamilton, and it was in pursuit of negotiations to acquire these that Teniers himself was in London in 1651.

The present picture is likely to be one of the later treatments of the subject.  Like the first two dated works, it includes the genre-like element of two dogs disporting in the foreground.  Two of the ten known Archduke Leopold Wilhelm Gallery pictures are of similar compositions and include the same paintings: the undated large Vienna canvas presumably following the equally large 1651 Petworth one.³  The others, including this one, are all independently composed and display different works (or when works are repeated they are differently hung), but in its L-shaped organisation of interior space, the present picture shows similarities with a smaller work formerly in Vienna (which however lacks a window).⁴   

1.  In the Egremont Collection, Petworth House (The National Trust) and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Brussels; see Scarpa Sonnino under Literature, pp. 85-6, reproduced, and pp. 91-2, reproduced.
2.  See Vegelin van Claerbergen under Literature, p. 65.
3.   Idem, pp. 70-2, no. 2, reproduced, and pp. 16-17, fig. 5. 
4.   For the ex-Kunsthistorisches Museum canvas (it was subsequently restituted to the Rothschild family and sold) see Scarpa Sonnino, op. cit., pp.92-4, reproduced.