(Middelburg vor 1626–1645)
A wide landscape with an ambush by highwaymen,
oil on panel, 48 x 74 cm, in an original, carved and gilded Louis XV frame

We are grateful to Dr Ursula Härting for identifying the artist, having viewed the original painting.

The painting is accompanied by a report written by Dr Härting dated 2012. Matheus Molanus, known as ‘Sneebrueghel’, was one of the leading landscape painters in Middelburg, alongside Adriaen van de Venne, Christoffel van den Berghe and Jacob van Geel. Many artists fleeing from Antwerp were based in Middelburg, influencing other artists working there. Molanus’s oeuvre was characterised by elements drawn from early Antwerp landscape painting, particularly from the work of Gillis van Coninxloo and Jan Brueghel the Elder. This influence was particularly evident in the blue-green tonal spectrum that provided his paintings with structure. Following the execution of a number of winter landscapes, Molanus was given the nickname, ‘Sneebrueghel’. Little is known about Molanus’s life. In 1626 he was appointed dean of the Guild of Saint Luke in Middelburg. He worked primarily in small and medium formats, employing the traditional brown-green-blue tones of the Brueghels. His figural draughtsmanship is generally of a very high standard.