(Brussels 1568–1625 Antwerp)
A coastal landscape with fish market,
oil on panel, 15.5 x 18.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Cassans Collection (according to a paper label on the reverse);
Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh (1881–1944), Rufford New Hall, Lancashire;
Frederick, 2nd Lord Hesketh (1916–1955), Easton Neston, Northamptonshire;
and by descent;
sale Sotheby’s, London, 3 December 2008, lot 8;
European private collection

Literature:
K. Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Ältere, Lingen, 2008–2010, Add. 10, pp. 1642/43

The present painting is accompanied by an extensive certificate by Klaus Ertz (2009).

Ertz writes in his monograph: ‘I believe that this delicately painted small wooden panel was painted before 1600, after Jan’s return from Italy and follows on from his Italian copper panels, and that it may be regarded as a precursor, an ´exercise´, so to speak, for his large Munich Sermon by the Sea, his masterpiece, by which Jan, in 1597, demonstrated the entire spectrum of his skills. The boats, which are of Flemish origin, suggest that the painting was executed after his Italian journey, while the depiction of the market on the coast might still be a reminiscence of Italy.’

In his certificate, Ertz writes: ‘The paint layers typical of Jan Brueghel the Elder, with their overlapping and transparent glazes, lending the depiction a unique and peculiar sense of three-dimensionality, are preserved in perfect condition. The unmistakable, jewel-like colours emanate a glow I only know from the master’s autograph works and give the impression as if the painting had only been painted a short while ago. The pointed brush is extremely precise and traces the tiniest details […].