ATTRIBUTED TO GILLIS VAN CONINXLOO | A wooded landscape with hunters by a village

Anonymous sale, Monaco, Sotheby's, 21–22 June 1991, lot 231 (as Frankenthal School, 17th century);
Where acquired by the aunt of the present owner.

The panel is cradled, flat and stable. The paint surface is clean, and the varnish is slightly discoloured and uneven. There is evidence of wear in the paint surface, most notably in the sky, the mountains in the background centre and centre right, and in the darker pigments lower left. There are three horizontal repaired splits with associated visible retouching: one along the central axis running the width of the panel, one a quarter of the way from the lower margin also running the width of the panel, and one extending from the upper right margin to the centre of the composition. Under raking light it is also possible to discern what appears to be another repaired split which runs diagonally across the composition, extending from the lower right corner. A handful of vertical surface scratches are visible in the sky upper centre by the birds, the longest measuring approx. 2 cm. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals an uneven, opaque varnish underneath which fine lines and spots of retouching are revealed scattered throughout the sky, notably along the upper margin and along the aforementioned split, as well as more recent retouchings scattered along the lowest split, along the left and right margins, to a horizontal scratch in the lower right corner approx. 15 cm. long, and to a few spots just above this - but it is difficult to discern much else underneath the opaque varnish. None of these impede the legibility of the painting, which is in overall fair condition.
"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."

We are grateful to Dr Luuk Pijl for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot. The present painting is related stylistically to four panels attributed to Gillis van Coninxloo: two in the Schottenstift collection, Vienna (inv. nos 199 and 200),¹ and two (with figures by Jan Brueghel) in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan (both inv. no. 67).² The idiosyncratic architecture in the centre of the present panel is also found in a painting by David Vinckboons, who was much influenced by Coninxloo, which sold in these Rooms, London, 9 December 2004, lot 116.

Coninxloo is arguably the most important landscape painter working in northern Europe during the second half of the 16th century, and a key member of two important schools: the Antwerp School, into which he was born, and the Frankenthal School, which he helped found. His move from Antwerp to Frankenthal, and ultimately to Amsterdam, belongs to a period when there was a mass migration of artists and other intellectuals, triggered by religious turmoil, which shifted the currents of artistic and cultural influence, and created new and flourishing channels of cross-pollination between Germany and the northern and southern Netherlands.

1 M. Czernin, Museum im Schottenstift, Vienna 2009, pp. 70–73, cat. nos 76 and 77, both reproduced.
2 K. Ertz and C. Nitze-Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Ältere, vol. II, Lingen 2008–2010, pp. 602–04, cat. nos 281 and 282, both reproduced.