(Antwerp 1573–1647)
A winter landscape with a carnival scene near the Kipdorppoort Bastion in Antwerp,
oil on panel, 60 x 88 cm, framed

Provenance:
sale, Christie’s, London, 9 December 2005, lot 11 (as Denis van Alsloot);
where purchased by the present owner

The present painting is one of the most well-known compositions of carnival scenes in seventeenth-century Flemish art. This popularity is attested by the existence of a number of paintings by Sebastian Vrancx, including one in the Prado, Madrid, and another in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich. A further painting that was with Christie’s, London (8 December 2015, lot 4, dated to around 1618–20), is now considered to be the prime version

Although latest art historical research has reached the conclusion that the composition is by Sebastian Vrancx, Denis van Alsloot (c. 1568–1625) was long regarded as its author. Sabine van Sprang has rejected this traditional attribution to Van Alsloot in her monograph on the artist (see S. Van Sprang, Denijs van Alsloot, Peintre Paysagiste au service de la cour des Archducs Albert et Isabelle, Turnhout 2014). Sebastian Vrancx is known to have had an active workshop, with one assistant identified as Jacques van der Wij(h)en (c. 1588 – after 1658) (see W. Bernt, Die Niederländischen Maler des 17. Jahrhunderts, Munich 1970, vol. III). His hand has been identified in a painting entitled The Looting after the Battle by Sebastian Vrancx and workshop and Jan Brueghel II in the Musea voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels (for a discussion on Sebastian Vrancx and his collaborations see the exhibition: Brussels, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Du dessin sous-jacent à la peinture. Sebastiaen Vrancx et sa collaboration avec d’autres maîtres, 17 October 2004 – 16 January 2005). It has been suggested that Jacques van Wij(h)en could be an alternative candidate for the present composition. The painting depicts a lively scene from the frozen moat around Antwerp’s town walls near the Kipdorppoort, where a large crowd filled with figures in carnival costume are celebrating. Such a scene was typical for the Antwerp area, where orchestrated public festivities, such as the Ommegang festival, which was held on Pentecost and was one of the largest and most splendid of these festivities, were very popular amongst the locals. Many artists took inspiration from the rich range of images provided by these celebrations. In the present painting, a cast from the Commedia dell’Arte performs on the ice and draws the focus of the revellers, whilst masked entertainers, dancers, musicians, and rhetoricians surround them and add to the celebratory atmosphere. The scene depicted is relatively restrained compared with most of Pieter Bruegel I’s other paintings of this type, and many of the individuals depicted stand out for their elegance. As usual, however, the more elegant and wealthy figures are shown mingling together with the less wealthy, suggesting that a festival such as this temporarily brought even the most divided of societies together and helped to ease the everyday social tensions between the different social strata. On the ramparts and in line with the church tower in the background, we can see a group of local clerics and other dignitaries overlooking the festival. They bring a more sober atmosphere to the scene and are a reminder that public festivals such as this were screened by the authorities, who insisted that they had to approve of all of the songs and performances before they could be presented to the public.

The carnival subject was adopted by such Antwerp painters as Joos van Winge, Louis de Caullery, Hieronymous Francken, and Frans Francken II, who, influenced by the Venetian tradition, depicted scenes of nocturnal fêtes, masquerades, and balls. Many of them were in close contact with the actors performing in these festivals. Vrancx, for example, was a member of the Violieren, an official chamber of Antwerp rhetoricians, which in turn was linked to the Guild of Saint Luke.