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6 Preview of the Old Master Paintings auction on 26 March 2021 Held in Rubens’s esteem Between 1616 and 1620, the lives of Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens crossed in Antwerp at the inception of an era that became known as the Golden Age of Flemish painting. During this time, both Rubens and van Dyck probably saw the portrait by Titian also offered in this auction (cover ill., cf. auction catalogue entry for lot 3032). Van Dyck, whomaintained a studio in Antwerp at a very young age, and was a freeman of the influential St Luke’s Guild from 1618, also worked in Rubens’s flourishing workshop. Rubens’s estate contained three different portrayals of St Jerome by van Dyck, possibly including the version offered in the 26 March auction (ill. 4). The subject of Jerome in the Syrian wilderness is a re- curring theme inVanDyck’swork. TheGemäldegalerie Alte Meister of the Kunstsammlungen Dresden owns a large canvas by him with an almost identical compo- sition. The aged Jerome kneels in the forest, his right hand holding a stone with which he is about to strike his chest. Next to him lie a skull as a vanitas symbol and a prayer book. A landscape is faintly suggested in the background. With this subject, the Flemish artist is carrying on a long tradition. Artists on both sides of the Alps – including Leonardo, Rembrandt, Dürer, Rubens and many others – regularly depicted the as- cetic church father Jerome living in the wilderness. What is significant as well as modern about the pres- ent picture is its preparatory nature. It is precisely in his studies and sketches that van Dyck’s genius is re- vealed; in a spontaneous style of painting largely freed from conventions, the artist focuses on the essential. This depiction of a boisterous village feast, consigned from a Swiss private collection, was probably created in themid-1660s. AbrahamTenier, like his older broth- er David Tenier II, was active in the St Luke’s Guild in Antwerp and painted subjects similar to those of his sibling, such as this genre scene. In the foreground there is amerry group with food and drink, while a cou- ple dances nearby. The background shows a Flemish village landscape with windmill and church tower. With his small-format bouquet of flowers (ill. 2), Jan Brueghel the Younger, a member of the best-known Antwerp dynasty of painters, was inspired by the work of his famous father, who trained him from an early age. He travelled extensively through Italy and France before creating his major works as a member of the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp. 1 Abraham Teniers (before 1629–1670). A village feast, with landscape beyond. Oil on copper. 56.6 × 74 cm. Estimate: CHF 30 000/50 000 2 J an Brueghel the Younger (1601–1678). Flowers in a vase. Oil on copper. 27 × 22 cm. Estimate: CHF 40 000/60 000 3 R oelant Savery (1576–1639). Reclining cow. 1604. Oil on panel. D 17.5 cm. Estimate: CHF 35 000/45 000 4 A nthony van Dyck (1599–1641). St Jerome in the wilderness. Oil on panel. 47.1 × 40.4 cm. Estimate upon request. 1 3 2 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OLD MASTER PAINTINGS Karoline Weser weser@kollerauctions.com ONLINE CATALOGUES www.kollerauctions.com