(Antwerp 1601–1678)
The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne in a park landscape,
oil on copper, 49.5 x 68 cm, framed

We are grateful to Klaus Ertz for confirming the attribution of the present painting, which comes with a certificate.

Here Brueghel has set the biblical scene of the Holy Family in a contemporary park landscape. The painter frequently worked with the expensive support of copper, as it ensured a greater brilliance of the colours. Around 1600, paintings on copper were in high demand on the expanding European art market. Dr. Ertz dates the present painting to the 1630s, when Jan Brueghel II gradually detached himself from the miniature painting style of his father in favour of a more liberal painterly rhythm, although he simultaneously remained true to the traditional characteristics of the latter’s approach. The paint layers, applied glaze by glaze, create an illusion of depth even in minor details; at the same time, this technique tends to produce the colourful glow reminiscent of jewels. The present painting is an impressive example of Jan Brueghel the Younger’s mature painting style. Klaus Ertz believes that the figures were painted by an unidentified artist in the circle of Pieter van Avont.