GEMÄLDE ALTER MEISTER 27. MÄRZ 2026

3027 PIETER BRUEGHEL THE YOUNGER (Brussels 1564–1638 Antwerp) Allegory of Autumn. 1622. Oil on panel. Signed and dated lower right on the rim of the fountain: P. BREVGHEL. 1622. Verso with brands of the City of Antwerp and of the panel maker Michiel Claessens (active in Antwerp 1590–1637). 41.1 × 56 cm. Provenance: – Probably collection of Henri Auguste Brölemann (1775–1854). – Probably collection of Arthur Brölemann (1826–1904). – Probably collection of Blanche Bontoux (1859–1955), niece of Arthur Brölemann, wife of Étienne Mallet (1853–1929), resident at Villa Choisi, western Switzerland. – Probably Auction Sotheby’s, London, 19 June 1935, lot 7, offeredaspart of aseriesof theSeasons (withSpring, Summer and Winter), acquired there by Rosenbaum. – With Marguerite Schulthess, Basel, 1935. – Private collection, Switzerland, for four generations. Literature: – Probably George Marlier, ‘Pieter Bruegel le Jeune’, Brussels 1969, p. 235, no. 8. – Probably exh. cat. ‘Von Cranach bis Monet. Europäische Meis- terwerke aus dem Nationalen Kunstmuseum Bukarest’, ed. Ruxandra and Alexander Jotzu, Wuppertal 1994, p. 76. – Probably Klaus Ertz, ‘Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere (1564– 1637/38). Die Gemälde mit Kritischem Oeuvrekatalog’, vol. II, Lingen 1988/2000, pp. 537 and 598–599, no. E649. Research report by Dr Christina Currie, KIK-IRPA, Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, January 2026. Exactly 404 years ago, Pieter Brueghel the Younger painted this impressive ‘Allegory of Autumn’, signed P. BREVGHEL and dated 1622. It was created as part of a series depicting the four seasons and was probably last offered at auction in 1935. Since then, it has been in a Swiss private collection and has remained with the same family for four generations. It is particularly gratifying that this fine, museum-quality work can once again be seen in public. Pieter Brueghel the Younger was one of the most important repre- sentatives of the Brueghel dynasty and played a decisive role in disseminating his father’s artistic legacy. He was only five years old when his father, Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1520/25–1569), died; his younger brother Jan the Elder (1568–1625) was still an infant. The brothers initially received their artistic training from their mo- ther, Mayken de Coecke (1545?–1578), daughter of the Antwerp master Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502–1560) and Mayken Verhulst (1518–1596/99), who, as their grandmother, subsequently exerted a formative influence on their education. After 1578 the family moved to Antwerp, where Pieter the Younger was admitted as a master’s son (and free master) to the Guild of St Luke in 1584/85; Jan Brueghel followed in 1597. Around 1600, there was an enormous demand for the Brueghelian style of painting established by the work of Brueghel theElder. Following his death, this pictorial language had initially been taken up by artists such as Pieter Balten (1527/28– 1584) and Marten van Cleve (1527–1577/81). Pieter Brueghel the Younger mastered his father’s repertoire to an exceptional degree, including representations of the seasons, proverbs, Adoration of the Magi, and wedding and fair scenes, dissemi- nated through prints and drawings. Although he undoubtedly knew some original works by his father, very few were access­ ible, having entered aristocratic collections at an early date. It was Pieter Brueghel the Younger who ultimately secured and staged the enduring popularity of his father’s pictorial idiom, a develop- ment further encouraged by the scarcity of original paintings by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Pieter the Younger excelled above all in the depiction of figures in the style of his father, while his younger brother, known as ‘Velvet Brueghel’, specialised in flower still lifes and landscapes. Pieter the Younger varied and expanded his father’s compositions, transforming them into his own artistic specialisation. The present ‘Allegory of Autumn’ is a characteristic example from a series of the Four Seasons, combining rural life with acti- vities emblematic of the autumn months. In the foreground, a pig slaughter is under way, observed by several children who have already secured an inflated pig’s bladder to play with. The scene unfolds before the Crown Inn, whose eponymous sign is promi- nently displayed to the right of the tree. From a dormer window, a figure hands down a bundle of straw. In the background, set within a broad river landscape, vineyards and peasants harves- ting grapes can be discerned on the right. In the middle ground, the grapes are brought in baskets, trodden in a large wooden vat, and the juice transferred into sizeable wooden barrels, which are then transported away by a horse-drawn cart. In the distance, woodcutters are at work among the trees, while in the centre of the village passers-by pursue everyday activities. A man relieving himself against the wall of a house adds a touch of earthy humour. Scientific analyses were carried out by KIK-IRPA (Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Brussels) under the direction of Dr Christina Currie, to whom we extend our thanks. The results reveal, among other things, the variety of underdrawings which demonstrate the artistry of the composition and the master’s virtuosity (see de- tailed report). Currie particularly emphasises the high quality of the execution by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. 38