JAN BRUEGHEL THE YOUNGER | Townsfolk with cattle and a cart on a road by a farm

Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Gentleman"), London, Sotheby's, 21 April 1982, lot 62;
There purchased by the father of the present collector. 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is in wonderful condition. The panel is flat. It has an old cradle on the reverse which is supporting the surface nicely. The paint layer has not been recently cleaned, but it is not noticeably dirty. Some of the retouches have discolored in the upper right. In the upper left there is an area of slightly warmer colored pigment on the white cloud, but this appears to be original. The retouches are extremely scarce. There is a diagonal scratch beginning in the chickens in the lower right and running down to the pile of sticks also in the lower right. There are hardly any retouches in the landscape and in the sky the only retouches are around the extreme edges. It is recommended that the work be lightly cleaned and retouched more accurately.
"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."

Jan Brueghel the Younger took over the studio of his father, Jan Brueghel the Elder, following his sudden death from cholera in 1625.¹  Jan the Younger had trained in his father’s workshop from the age of 10 and, as was customary for many Northern painters, spent several years studying and traveling in Italy.  Upon his return to Antwerp, at age 24, he inherited a large and thriving practice.  We know from his journal that he was immediately successful in his new role, selling paintings left by his father, completing half-finished works, and painting new works in his father’s style. This is a bright and altogether striking example of the exquisitely detailed landscape type perfected by his father and which Jan the Younger continued to produce with great skill.  Here the lightly wooded town path is punctuated by a procession of cattle and a horse drawn cart which stops for loading at the near right corner of the composition. The staffage carefully follows the diagonally receding path towards the distance, the entire composition illuminated by an even, cool light.