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Lot Essay
The present work belongs to a small group of coppers painted by Bril of similar dimensions that includes: A landscape with shepherds, exhibited in The Collector's Cabinet, Worcester Art Museum, 1983-4, no. 6, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Julius S. Held; a mountainous landscape in the collection of the Marquess of Exeter, Burghley House; and two further compositions in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich (Inv. no. 1084), and the Royal Collection, Hampton Court Palace (inv. no. 403.033).
In a letter dated 23 October 1999, Dr. Luuk Puyl dates these four works to 1617-20. However, in the case of the present work, Dr. Puyl notes the existence in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, of a larger version of the composition with a greater number of figures (30¼ x 46½in., Inv. no. 669), which is signed and dated 'PAVOLO BRIL.F 1625'. This would suggest that the present composition should be dated to circa 1625-6 and thus later than the other landcsapes in the aforementioned group. As such, it is a fine example of how the artist continued to produce works of high quality at the end of his long career.
We are grateful to Dr. Puyl for confirming the attribution based on a photograph. He intends to include the present work in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's paintings.
In a letter dated 23 October 1999, Dr. Luuk Puyl dates these four works to 1617-20. However, in the case of the present work, Dr. Puyl notes the existence in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, of a larger version of the composition with a greater number of figures (30¼ x 46½in., Inv. no. 669), which is signed and dated 'PAVOLO BRIL.F 1625'. This would suggest that the present composition should be dated to circa 1625-6 and thus later than the other landcsapes in the aforementioned group. As such, it is a fine example of how the artist continued to produce works of high quality at the end of his long career.
We are grateful to Dr. Puyl for confirming the attribution based on a photograph. He intends to include the present work in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's paintings.