(Antwerp 1601–1678)
Madonna and Child in a floral cartouche,
oil on panel, 74 x 53 cm, framed

Provenance:
Dorotheum auction, Vienna, 18 April 2012, lot 516

This painting comes with a certificate by Klaus Ertz.

Brueghel surrounded the elaborate stone niche enclosing the enthroned Virgin and Child with splendid floral decoration executed in delicate glazes. In his certificate, Dr Ertz points out that the large and seemingly tangible blossoms are typical of the artist’s works from the 1640s, when he came closest to comparable compositions by Daniel Seghers, although Brueghel’s art remained distinguishable from that of his contemporary at all times. On the whole, Brueghel’s compositions from those years make a more organized and tranquil impression and strain less after effect. For example, Brueghel left the spaces between his bouquets of flowers empty, whereas Seghers always filled them with thistles and branches of roses in a ‘horror vacui’ manner. The figure of the Madonna is likewise finished in great detail, creating an illusion of depth. In its jewel-like colourfulness, the exuberant and diversified floral decoration stands out against the black backdrop and is juxtaposed with a scene by a not yet identified member of Rubens’s workshop that already anticipates the High Baroque in Antwerp. Thus the present painting is an important document of Brueghel’s working together with his Antwerp colleagues.