Studio of Marten van Cleve I

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel has two repaired horizontal cracks which are unstable. There are also some horizontal splits visible along the left hand edge. The splits have been clumsily repaired and the restoration is in excess to the damage along them. The paint layer is in a good sound condition. A small scattering of discoloured restorations can be detected where minor paint loss has occurred, however, overall, the painting is in good condition."
"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 appears to be one of only two extant versions of this composition. The other inferior version was with Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, in 1985 and sold London, Christie's South Kensington, 13 December 2002, lot 6.¹ Dr. Klaus Ertz tentatively attributes the Lucerne version to Marten van Cleve, noting compositional similarities with other works given to him, all of which, including the present one, probably derive in part from Pieter Brueghel the Younger's Tavern interior, a copy of which by Van Cleve is in Dresden, Gemäldegalerie.²

1. K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere, vol. I, Lingen 2000, p. 529, fig. 398.
2. Ibid, p.524, reproduced fig. 391.