(Brussels 1568–1625 Antwerp)
A wooded landscape with travellers and a horse drawn wagon by a pond,
oil on copper, 16.3 x 21.7 cm, framed

Provenance:
with P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1939 (as Mattheus Molanus);
Private collection;
sale, Christie’s, Amsterdam, 25–26 November 2014, lot 19 (as Attributed to Mattheus Molanus);
sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 19 April 2016, lot 71 (as Jan Brueghel I);
where acquired by the present owner

The reverse of the copper plate is stamped with the mark of Pieter Stas (active Antwerp 1587–1610) and the coat of arms of the city of Antwerp in the form of two hands above a castle.

Klaus Ertz confirmed the attribution after examining the present painting in the original. A copy of his written certificate, dated July 2015, is available. Ertz dates the painting to around 1605.

This verdant scene, executed on copper, is rendered with great precision, with particular emphasis on the handling of the staffage in the foreground and the richly foliaged vegetation which receeds into the background. The short, staccato brushwork is typical of Jan’s works from this period, whilst the slightly raised vantage point enables the viewer to delve deeper into the forest. The captivating, harmonious interplay of light and shadow, and the utilisation of the three-colour scheme gives the composition a distinctive character which exhibits his superb painterly skills. The present painting can be compared to the Forest in the Kunsthaus Zurich (see K. Ertz and C. Nitze-Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Ältere, Lingen 2008/10, vol. I, p. 221, no. 93) and the Ambush in the forest conserved in the Muzeum Narodowe w Kolasinski, Warsaw (inv. no. 622), both of which also date back to the period around 1605.