Flemish School, 17th Century

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has not been recently lined, but the surface is stable and even. The painting seems to have been more recently varnished, but may not have been fully cleaned at that time. Under ultraviolet light, one can see a few very isolated retouches in the sky addressing small losses, mostly around the edges and in one horizontal line in the center of the left side. The landscape and architecture show almost no retouches under ultraviolet light or to the naked eye. There is some weakness along the bottom edge, but this is a work that would certainly respond to cleaning. Although there is an attractive patina to this work, a good deal can be gained from cleaning.
"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."

The subject of the Tower of Babel is from Genesis (11:1-9) and recounts how the people, who all spoke a common language, decided to build a tower, the top of which would reach to the heavens. As punishment for their hubris, God confused the people’s language so that they could no longer understand one another, and scattered them over the face of the earth.  The story provided a rich source of subject matter for Flemish artists in the 16th and 17th centuries whose depictions were inspired by the two iconic representations by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum , dated 1563; and Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, circa 1565).  The present example, filled with abundant detail, appears to be by a Flemish artist working in the second half of the 17th Century.