Sebastiaen Vrancx

Comte François de Robiano, Senateur;
His sale, Brussels, Barbé, 1 May 1837, lot 72 (as Pierre Brueghel); General van der Meeren;
Alexandre van der Beeken Pasteel;
His sale, Eindhoven, 1869 (as Pierre Brueghel);
Edmond de Ryckman;
Thence by descent to the present owners.

This is from a set of four Seasons by Vrancx, datable on grounds of style circa 1618.  Two others from the set, depicting Summer and Autumn, were sold at Sotheby's in London on 9th December 2009, lots 6 and 7, and the fourth, depicting Winter, remains in a private collection.

The compositions of all four from the set proved immensely popular, and were repeated on several occasions by Vrancx and his workshop. A set of four sold in Brussels, Galerie Fièvez, 10th March 1927, lot 111, is dated 1608, and is probably the earliest example.  another set was sold at Christie's in New York, 18th May 1994, lot 44, for $630,000. 

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar, who is an external expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The panel, which has been cradled, is slightly bowed but stable and ideally could be more securely accommodated into the frame. The central horizontal join in the panel has very slight flaking by the hand of the woman on the left of the composition. This is very minor and the two original sections of the panel would seem to be securely joined. Paint Surface The paint surface has a very discoloured varnish layer and should be transformed by cleaning. Inspection under ultraviolet light confirms how discoloured the varnish layers have become and shows retouchings along the horizontal join in the panel as well as scattered retouchings on and next to the woman on the left of the composition. There are also small and obviously old retouchings around the framing edges and in the lower left corner. I would be confident that these retouchings, should they be removed during the cleaning process, would be found to be excessive and although already minimal could be further reduced with more careful inpainting. There may be other retouchings beneath the varnish layers which are not visible under ultraviolet light. The fine detail of the composition seems remarkably well preserved with no evidence of overcleaning or abrasion. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition with the potential to be transformed by cleaning and revarnishing.
"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."