Attributed to Hans Bol

With Mathias Komor, New York (according to a sticker on the reverse).

Panel is uncradled. under a slightly dirty and dull varnish. the paint surface is very well preserved and there is lovely detail in the landscape, architecture and figures. ultraviolet light reveals an area of retouching in sky at center, which is fairly visible to the naked eye. one or two other tiny retouches in sky. In a plalin wood frame with green velvet liner; some cracks to the wood.
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The refinement and delicacy of The Grape Harvest reflect Bol's talent for working on a small scale, which was lauded by Van Mander in his biography of the artist.  Although he executed other small oils on panel, the most closely related works are a number of prints and designs for prints that he made in the 1570s and 1580s.  Both subject and format suggest a close connection to his drawings of The Twelve Months of 1580-81, formerly in the Koenig's collection and now in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (sold in these rooms 23 January 2001, lot 11).  In the drawings, Bol used the subject of the grape harvest to illustrate the month of October, and it is possible that the present work was also intended as part of a larger series.

The large church in the background was identified by a previous owner as St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, but  the topography of the surrounding city does not appear to be Mechelen, and Bol frequently dotted his landscapes with buildings both real and imaginary.