(Antwerp 1601–1678) and (Antwerp c. 1610–1672)
An Allegory of Water,
oil on canvas, 60.5 x 98.5 cm, framed

We are grateful to Klaus Ertz, who examined the present painting in the original, for confirming its authenticity (written communication).

Ertz writes: ‘The condition of the present painting can be said to be excellent. The colours, which are typical of Jan Brueghel the Younger and have been applied in a thick impasto, make a brilliant and fresh impression, while the colour values are indicative of the second quarter of the 17th century.’ He dates the present painting to the 1640s.

The present painting is one of the rare examples of a collaboration between Jan Brueghel II and Abraham Willemsen, with the former having conceived the landscape and animals and the latter having painted the figures in the foreground (Amphitrite and the putti). This Allegory of Water shows the sea goddess Amphitrite in front of a wooded landscape with a view of the sea. There are numerous allusions to the element of water, such as various species of fish and seafood, as well as corals and pearls. The painting is based on a joint work by Jan Brueghel I and Hendrick van Balen from 1611, which is now in the Doria Pamphilj Collection in Rome and shows a similar composition. Nevertheless Jan Brueghel II and Abraham Willemsen arrived at an autonomous and highly individual solution.