Joseph van Bredael

The copper panel is flat and stable. The painting is now a little dirty and the varnish layer slightly discoloured. Overall the painting appears to be in very good condition indeed, the paint surface showing no signs of wear and no major damages. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals some small old retouched losses beside the central wagon and on the walls of the building on the left. There has been some gentle strengthening to the ground around the foreground figures and the pond on the left, and some reinforcement to minor details such as the masts of the boats, some tree branches and the distant windmill. The restoration has now discoloured in some areas and the picture will benefit from cleaning. This lot is offered with a plain stained wood frame within a green velvet mount.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Josef van Bredael was much the most accomplished of the painters who continued the tradition of landscape painting established by Jan Brueghel the Elder into the eighteenth century. Unusually, no prototype for this particular composition by the elder Brueghel survives, but the design is known in two signed versions by his son, Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601-1678), one last recorded with Galerie Katz in Dieren in 1937 and the other with Galerie Gans in The Hague in 1951.¹ At least one other version of the composition by van Bredael himself is also known, that formerly with Galerie de Voldere in Paris, while a second, also signed with initials and recorded by Ertz with the Terry-Engell Gallery in London in 1968, may perhaps be identifiable with the present lot, although the dimensions differ.²







1. For which see K. Ertz, Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601-78), Freren 1984, pp. 253-5, cat. nos. 74 and 75, reproduced.
2. . Copper, also signed IB, 24.4 by 32.1 cm.; see K. Ertz and C. Nitze-Ertz, Josef van Bredael, Lingen 2006, pp.38-39, 155, cat. nos.  E37 and E38, the former reproduced fig. 41.