(Antwerp 1601–1678) A coastal landscape with the Tomb of the Scipios, oil on panel, 44.5 x 66.6 cm, framed We are grateful to Dr. Klaus Ertz for confirming the attribution of the present painting, which is accompanied by a detailed certificate. The composition is based on sketches that Jan Brueghel the Elder made during his years in Italy (1589–96). Many of these drawings show antique ruins, including the Tomb of the Scipios in Via Appia near Rome (fig.1). Like many artists from the Netherlands sojourning in Rome around 1600, Jan Brueghel the Elder had also copied the drawings of Roman ruins by the Antwerp landscapist Matthijs Bril which were in the workshop of his brother Paul after his death. The wrong name had been used for the so-called ‘Tomb of the Scipios’ by generations of travellers, including Jan Brueghel the Younger. In 1780 a further tomb was discovered and identified as that of the Roman patrician dynasty of the Scipios. The tower represented in the present painting is in fact the tomb of Priscilla. The same mistake was also made by Piranesi 150 years later. Here, Jan Brueghel the Younger demonstrates his talent of animating a scene through innumerable narrative details. In the foreground, a variety of people are gathered around the day’s catch of fish: and the fish and shells have been arranged similar to a still life. During the period in question, Jan Brueghel the Younger began to detach himself from his father’s miniature-like and meticulous manner of painting in favour of a more liberal, coarser brushwork, although he adhered to certain characteristics typical of the elder Brueghel: the paint layers applied in the form of glazes, the illusion of depth even in minor details, and the jewel-like brilliance of the colours. This coastal landscape with the Tomb of the Scipios represents an excellent example of Jan Brueghel the Younger’s mature work, already revealing the new stylistic elements of the 1630s. In some areas, the brushwork makes a pronounced painterly impression, even if his father’s legacy is preserved in the details. Jan Brueghel the Younger replaced his father’s Mannerism with a more realistic painting style.

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