GEMÄLDE ALTER MEISTER AUKTION 19. SEPTEMBER 2025

3015* DENIJS VAN ALSLOOT (circa 1570 Brussels circa 1626) Diana discovers Callisto’s pregnancy. Oil on canvas. 120 x 170 cm. Certificate: Dr Klaus Ertz, 17.3.2023 (copy available). Provenance: - Galleria D. Tondi, Cagliari, 1962. - Finarte, Milan, 19.10.1972, lot 70 (as Jan Brueghel the Younger). - European private collection. Literature: - Willy Laureyssens: De samenwerking van Hendrik De Clerck met Denijs van Alsloot, in Bulletin des musées royaux de Belgique, 1967, p. 173, footnote 28 (as studio copy). - Willy Laureyssens: Hendrik de Clerck: zijn leven en zijn werk: een bijdrage tot de studie van het Manierisme in de Nederlanden, 1975, unpublished dissertation, pp. 476- 477, cat. no. 79 (as studio copy). - Sabine van Sprang: Denijs van Alsloot (vers 1568– 1625/26). Peintre paysagiste au service de la cour des Archiducs Albert et Isabelle, Turnhout 2014, vol. I. p.103, fig. 24a (as studio copy). The figures are by the hand of Hendrick de Clerck (c. 1570–1630). This imposing painting depicts a scene from Ovid's ‘Metamorphoses’ (II, 442–453): The nymph Callisto had taken a vow of chastity before the goddess Diana. How- ever, when Jupiter approached her in the form of Diana, she broke her vow. In the scene depicted, Callisto's pregnancy is discovered by the goddess - a moment of dramatic tension. Diana, the goddess of the hunt, is enthroned in the centre of the composition, surrounded by her nymphs and hun- ting dogs, who are bathing in an idyllic forest landscape flooded with light. In the foreground on the left, Callisto is undressed by her companions, revealing her pregnancy. Callisto is then expelled from Diana's entourage and later transformed into a bear by the jealous Juno, Jupiter's wife. Jupiter himself finally takes pity on her and elevates her to the constellation of the ‘Great Bear’. The Flemish landscape painter Denijs van Alsloot was particularly known for his depictions of forest landscapes, hunting scenes and mythological scenes. His works are characterised by a delicate, bright colour palette and a remarkable attention to detail. Compared to Gillis van Coninxloo (1544–1607), to whom he was a successor, Alsloot's depictions of woodlands achieve a heightened sense of depth and a sophisticated play of light. Alsloot was appointed court painter in Brussels around 1600 by Archduke Albrecht VII of Austria (1559–1621) and Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (1566–1633). In this capa- city, he recorded the court festivities, processions and the properties of the ruling couple for posterity. An important example of his work at court, depicting a garden party in the Vivier d'Oye near Brussels, was successfully sold at Koller in 2022 (23 September 2022, lot 3050). Alsloot often collaborated with leading artists of his time for the depiction of the figures, including Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625), Antoon Sallaert (1594–1650) and in particular Hendrick de Clerck. The latter was one of the most important figure painters of the time and was often commissioned to paint new altarpieces to replace those that had been destroyed during the iconoclasm of 1566–67. Dr Sabine van Sprang, author of the catalogue raisonné of Denijs van Alsloot published in 2014, had only seen a black and white photograph of the painting offered here, which is why she initially attributed the authorship to the studio. In 2016, however, she had the opportunity to study the painting in the original and to satisfy herself as to its authenticity. She describes it as a very high-quality work by Denijs van Alsloot. A somewhat smaller version of the com- position by the artist's own hand, with figures also added by Hendrick de Clerck, is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (oil on canvas, 115 × 164 cm, inv. no. MI 960. See Van Sprang 2014, pp. 102–103, cat. No. 13, illus. no. 24). CHF 90 000/120 000 (€ 95 740/127 660) 26