(Antwerp 1613–1661)
Village Scene,
oil on copper, 28.5 x 34 cm, framed

Provenance:
European private collection

In terms of both composition and execution, the present work shows numerous similarities to a painting by Van Oosten listed as No. 1445 in the RKD database. This holds true especially for the cluster of trees in the left foreground and for the row of houses in the background on the left. In the present painting, Oosten has skilfully combined individual elements frequently employed by Jan Brueghel the Elder, such as the well in the centre of the picture, the pigs on the right-hand side, and the geese towards the centre. The composition seems to rely on those by Brueghel as a whole; the crowded village scene being entirely typical of the latter’s work.

Isaak van Oosten was born in 1613, the son of an art dealer of the same name; his brother Frans was active as a landscape painter. Small-sized landscapes, mostly painted on copper and with compositional references to Brueghel the Elder, are characteristic of Van Oosten’s oeuvre. However, his works differ from Brueghel’s compositions in details related to handling and drawing. In terms of subject matter. Paradise, Adam and Eve, and village landscapes, such as the present composition are themes he frequently dealt with in his painting.