(Cambrai 1555–1622 Antwerp)
The Garden of Love, oil on panel (two old inventory numbers on the reverse), 52.5 x 67 cm, framed,

Provenance: Private Collection, Belgium

Louis de Caullery knew how to impressively render people’s social life and activities. His oeuvre comprises carnival scenes set in Flemish towns and are usually populated by rich figural staffage, but also motifs like those shown in the present painting. It depicts courtly dressed protagonists strolling through an elaborate park, indulging in all kinds of pleasures. They show the characteristic features of Caullery’s figures: small oval heads with small noses and mouths and tall foreheads. In the left foreground, a seated lady is paid homage to while musicians play on a terrace. The composition, which combines moralizing tendencies with a display of fashionable elegance, excellently exemplifies the charming and superb painterly style of Caullery, who can be considered one of the best Flemish artists of his time.

Provenance: Private Collection, Belgium Louis de Caullery knew how to impressively render people’s social life and activities. His oeuvre comprises carnival scenes set in Flemish towns and are usually populated by rich figural staffage, but also motifs