Jan Brueghel the Younger Flemish School, 1601-1678

 

Jan Brueghel the Younger was an independent artist of great talent, who has been underappreciated in historiography at times. He was the eldest son of Jan ‘Velvet’ Brueghel and thus the grandson of Pieter Brueghel the Elder. He probably trained in the workshop of his father, who encouraged him to travel to Italy in 1622 with his childhood friend Anthony van Dyck, where he entered the service of Cardinal Federico Borromeo in Milan. From Milan, he travelled to Malta and Sicily.

 

Upon receiving the news of his father’s death from a cholera epidemic in 1625, he returned to Antwerp to take charge of his workshop. That same year, evidence shows that he was registered as a master of the Guild of Saint Luke. He sold the paintings that his father left behind and successfully completed previously unfinished works. Additionally, he produced a number of small paintings in his father’s style. He replicated his father’s still lifes, flower wreaths, landscapes and allegories, but did not do so as a mere copyist; instead, he incorporated novelties and gave his work a personal touch. Like his father, he also created landscape backgrounds in collaboration with numerous figure painters, including Peter Paul Rubens and Hendrick van Balen.

 

In 1626, he married Anna Maria, the daughter of Abraham Janssen, with whom he had 11 children, five of whom became painters. In 1630–1631, the French court commissioned him to paint a group of works on Adam. After having worked for the Austrian Court in 1651, he returned to Antwerp in 1657, where he lived until his death.

 

 

Our study depicts twenty birds on a light-colored background reminiscent of parchment. Most are domesticated animals introduced to Europe over the centuries. The plumage and attitude of each bird are precisely depicted, and their respective sizes create a kind of perspective on the panel. While one duck is depicted in flight, another taking off, the other birds are resting on their feet, casting their shadows on the ground.

 

In the center we find a turkey (Meleagris or Guajolote of the Phasianidae family) characterized by its fan-shaped tail, which it deploys on courtship. Native to North America, the turkey first appeared in Europe in the 16th century, imported by Spanish colonists and Jesuit missionaries. It was still a rare bird at the beginning of the 17th century, even though it was already part of the backyards of Flemish estates.

 

To its right are three guinea fowl (Numida meleagris or common guinea fowl), and above them two mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos of the Anatidae family). Three hens in the foreground, a duck on the far left and three domestic pigeons complete this backyard menagerie.

 

To the right of the two mallards, we have a study of a peacock, shown from the back, revealing its long tail with its characteristic feathers. In the bottom left-hand corner, we also find three studies of Colchis pheasants (Phasianus colchicus or common pheasant) presented against a green background evoking an undergrowth: one male (recognizable by his long, multicolored tail) and two females (shorter tails and more uniform colors). Originally from Asia, they were introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages, where they have since been raised in a semi-wild state for hunting.

 

To the turkey's left, two cranes (Grus grus) occupy an important place in the composition. They are the only wild animals in the composition. Standing almost 1.30 m tall, we recognize them by their long legs and the portion of bare red skin on their skulls. These birds are present in Northern Europe in summer, before migrating over 2500km to North Africa in winter. A third crane, probably of the same species, is shown pecking in the background.

 

 

Similar studies of animals on monochrome backgrounds are known from the hand of the young Jan, as well as that of his father[1] . They are, however, quite rare, since Klaus Ertz's 1984 catalog of Jan Brueghel the Younger lists only eight. We reproduce below the one presented for sale at Drouot in 2009[2] , which is very similar in spirit, albeit depicting fishes and a lobster.

 

Several animal studies by Jan Brueghel the Elder are known, but only one is devoted to birds: the Study of Ducks and Birds sold to the Palais Galliera in 1972, which has practically the same dimensions (24 x 34.5 cm) .[3]

 

Dr. Ursula Härting states in her certificate that, according to his diary, Jan the Younger employed a highly gifted painter named Elias in Antwerp in 1626, just after his return from Italy, as a copyist for Allegories of the Elements, and dates the production of this panel to this same period. Many birds are represented in paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder or his son, and in these Allegories. Some of the birds featured in this study can be found literally in several compositions by these artists, suggesting that this study, executed on a carefully prepared panel, could have served as a repertoire of motifs within the workshop of Jan Brueghel the Younger.

 

As an example, the two mallard ducks are directly inspired by several compositions by Jan Brueghel the Elder, while the peacock could be inspired by the one featured in the Prado Museum's Allegory of Taste.

 

In addition, some of our birds can also be found in paintings by Jan Brueghel the Younger or his workshop, such as this allegory of Fire and Air in the Bavarian collections.

 

4. Provenance and framing

 

This painting comes from the personal collection of Paul Touzet (1898 - 1981). Between the wars, he opened his first gallery on rue de l'Université. He then moved to rue des Beaux-Arts, where he mainly exhibited Dutch and Flemish paintings. In the 1960s, his main activity became that of appraiser at public auctions, and he remained one of the most renowned experts in Paris until his death in 1981.

 

This painting is framed in an 18th-century Italian blackened wood frame with inverted profile.

 

Klaus Ertz - Jan Brueghel der Jungere, Freren 1984

Klaus Ertz - Christa Nitze-Ertz Jan Brueghel der Ältere - Die Gemälde - Luca Verlag Lingen 2008-2010