(Antwerp 1603–1660)
A wooded winter landscape with hunters,
oil on panel, 60 x 82.5 cm, framed

The painting is accompanied by a certificate from Dr. Klaus Ertz. Dr. Ertz writes:

“The paint is thickly applied in an impasto manner, so that the figures, animals, and trees make a markedly three-dimensional impression. I could not discover any areas that would have thinned out due to overly frequent cleaning. Therefore, the white highlights, mainly to be found in the branches of the trees, the snow-covered hills, and along the outlines of the houses in the far distance, are still of superior quality...”
Dr. Ertz continues: “The skilful approach to composition in the painting of Frans de Momper is based on two prominent sources: on the landscapes of his uncle, Josse de Momper the Younger, on the one hand, in which the beholder is offered views of elaborately designed Flemish landscapes; and on the Dutch landscape compositions by Jan van Goyen on the other, characterized by a monochrome palette and horizontally arranged flat landscape scenery. The latter type was adopted by Frans de Momper after his move to Holland, where he translated the Dutch approach into his own style. Unlike the works by Josse de Momper the Younger, for which his paintings are frequently mistaken, Frans de Momper’s compositions were conceived in a much more painterly manner from the very outset. These painterly models referred to by Frans can also be found in Josse’s late work. The brushstrokes hardly vary in character, regardless of whether they are meant to render people, buildings, or trees. His paintings make a pronouncedly homogenous impression, since the artist hardly ever emphasizes specific elements, so that each and every detail is subordinated to the work’s overall painterly impression…. As early as the late 1630s, by which time he had settled in Holland and essentially adopted its monochrome manner of painting, the ‘Dutch style’ dominated his oeuvre. In the winter landscape to be examined here, he has already committed himself to this second stage in his stylistic evolution. After 1630, the earlier colourfulness of his Flemish landscapes gave way to a homogenous and monochrome painting style…”.

For comparison and in order to corroborate his attribution, Ertz lists the following paintings by Frans de Momper:
1. River Valley in the Mountains (Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, signed);
2. Winter Landscape (Musée Municipal des Beaux-Arts, Quimper);
3. Winter Landscape with the Flight into Egypt (art market, London, 1970);
4. Winter Landscape with Huntsmen (Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn);
5. An Assault in a Rustic Winter Landscape (ex Galerie Meissner, Zurich).
“All of these paintings, including the present composition, date from the 1640s.”