(Brussels 1564–1637/38 Antwerp)
The Wedding Dance,
oil on panel, diameter 20 cm, framed

Provenance:
American private collection

We are grateful to Klaus Ertz for confirming the attribution (written communication, August 2014).

Pieter Brueghel’s panel paintings, depicting Dutch proverbs, appear on the market. On the other hand, his small tondi with scenes of village life are extremely rare. Entz lists ten such tondi, of which only three have been sold at auction during the last 25 years. Two of these ten tondi portray a peasant wedding dance and both paintings are dated to 1625 (see K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere, Bd. II, Lingen 1988/2000, S. 725, Kat. Nr. E927 und E928).

The present painting was analysed using X-ray technology and infrared reflectology. The analysis found that the pigment matched that usually used by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. Furthermore, the manner of working is that of Pieter Brueghel; the wooden panel was prepared using a white chalk base and the imprimatura was applied on the diagonal using a wide brush, as is the case with most of Brueghel’s paintings. The entire composition was meticulously sketched on to the prepared panel. In the underdrawing there are multiple pentimenti.

The subject of the ‘Outdoor Wedding Dance’ is based on a copper engraving by Pieter van der Heyden that is in turn based on a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Ertz writes: ‘ Such “Outdoor Wedding Dances” can be divided into two groups: the larger of the two is rendered in the reverse direction of the engraving by Pieter van der Heyden and includes the present painting, while the smaller group renders the scene in the direction of the engraving. As we know from signed and dated works, the artist executed paintings dealing with the subject matter in question between 1607 and 1626. In my book published in 2000 I list 29 “genuine” and 35 “questionable” examples. Pictures assigned to the latter group might turn out to belong to the group of “genuine” works upon inspection of the respective originals. A further group treats the same subject matter, but is not by the artist’s hand. The painting to be assessed here is one of those revealing stylistic traits that are typical of Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s art. Due its painterly perfection, the present example can be said to be part of those versions of the theme that are of a higher quality.’

Ertz compares the present painting to the following works by Pieter Brueghel the Younger:
(1) Outdoor Wedding Dance (signed and dated 1607, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore);
(2) Outdoor Wedding Dance (signed and dated 1620, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Narbonne);
(3) Outdoor Wedding Dance (after 1616, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto);
(4) Outdoor Wedding Dance (signed and dated 1623, formerly with Richard Green, London)

Based on these comparisons, Ertz assumes that the present painting was executed in Antwerp after 1616. He continues: ‘As in many other cases, Pieter the Younger also referred to an extant repertory of motifs and ideas for the present composition, but without slavishly following his models: he varied them by modifying the compositions and figures, adding a landscape space and omitting the wedding gifts that appear in some of the other pictures. Because of the small, circular format, the figures have moved closer to each other , which makes the entire composition appear more “intimate”. This picture is a specialty insofar as it is the only example of the theme that presents the composition as a roundel. While the paintings of the father often contain a moral message, the wagging finger is missing in the son’s art. Instead, he is a great narrator and – this also holds true for the present picture – gives us an idea of what was going on at a peasant wedding in those days.’

The present painting is of an exceedingly high quality and should be considered among Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s masterpieces. It demonstrates, yet again, that this great painter is much more than an epigone of his father.