Maerten Ryckaert

This picture by the one-armed painter Martin Ryckaert is a visual homage to the late landscapes of Paul Bril (1554–1626).¹ It is perhaps for this reason that until the sale of this work these rooms in 2002 it bore a traditional attribution to Bril himself, although the works listed in Andrea Berger's checklist show that the artist painted almost exclusively on canvas.² An oak support for a work by an artist working exclusively in Rome cannot be ruled out, but it is unlikely, particularly for a panel of this size. Ryckaert is likely to have known Bril's works through engravings, many of which would have been circulating in his native Antwerp. Alternatively, he may have had first-hand experience of them during his travels in Italy undertaken during the years 1607–11. Although the composition is very Bril-like, the brighter palette and enamel-like handling is highly characteristic of Ryckaert.

¹ A remarkably similar composition to this painting given to Bril, and painted on canvas, is in the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/landscape-with-satyrs-23571 ; A version of this composition, also ascribed to Bril, was sold Dorotheum, Vienna, 21 October 2014, lot 52.

² A. Berger, Die Tafelgemälde Paul Brils, Münster and Hamburg 1991, p. 195.