(Antwerp 1581 – 1642) Sacrificial scene, oil on panel, 53.5 x 75 cm, framed

Literature: the painting is described and illustrated in: Ursula Härting, Frans Francken d. J. Die Gemälde mit kritischem Werkskatalog, 1989, p.341. Frau Härting dates the painting to the years just prior to 1610 Provenance: Christie’s auction, London, 16 February 1989, lot no. 167; private collection Düsseldorf; private collection Vienna. Franz Francken was a famous painter of pictures of churches, Biblical, proverbial and historical subject matter, as well as genre and landscape painting. At first he painted factually exact representations of old picture galleries. He was a pupil of his father, Frans Francken the Elder and was the best known, most prolific and most popular of the great family of painters. The format employed by him was smaller than his father’s, although his types are not easily distinguishable from those of his father. The dark button eyes are not typical of the son alone. The development in his work which saw him employ greater use of colour and crowded compositions with small figures, such as the present painting, was short-lived. His late works are more freely designed and painted in thin, light, cool colours. Francken often provided figural groups for church interiors by B. van Bassen and P. Neeffs, architectural images by H. von Steenwijk the Younger, and landscapes by A. Keirincx and Joost de Momper.