(probably Malines 1565–1628 Antwerp)
View of a hamlet with villagers, merchants, and peasants,
oil on canvas, 118 x 183 cm, framed

We are grateful to Luuk Pijl for confirming the authenticity of the present painting on the basis of a photograph (written communication).

We are also grateful to Klaus Ertz, who has identified the present painting as a work by Pieter van der Hulst the Younger (written communication).

Pieter van der Hulst (Verhulst) the Elder, who was probably born in Malines, came to Antwerp as a young man and was apprenticed to Gillis Vinckeboons from 1583 onwards. In 1589 he was admitted to the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as a master. Among his pupils were his son of the same name, Pieter de Witte, and Jan Wildens. Hulst’s pure landscape paintings had a strong impact on Jan Wildens, while his few animated village scenes, reminiscent of works by Sebastiaen Vrancx, were later taken up by his son. As both father and son were active in the same period of time it is almost impossible to distinguish the very similar village landscapes both artists painted.

Flanked on one side by a steeply rendered house in shadow, and by a cluster of trees on the other, the composition opens up to a central village square in which villagers and peasants busily pursue their daily activities. A herd of cattle is being driven across the square towards an animal market, while other villagers are immersed in conversation or heading for the shops or taverns. At the far end of the square, which is lined with houses, paths lead up to two churches. Their position directs the beholder’s gaze past the central group of trees in the village square to the left and right background. Vrancx composed his crowded paintings, with which the artist was evidently familiar, in a very similar manner.

Works by Van der Hulst are rare. Comparable views of villages by his hand describing rural life in its entire spectrum are preserved in the museums of Braunschweig and Copenhagen.