After David Teniers the Younger, 'A Country Festival near Antwerp', after 1646
About the work
Overview
Country peasants and smartly dressed gentlefolk assemble for a feast on the rolling hills outside Antwerp, seen silhouetted on the horizon. Cooks are busy preparing the meal in large cauldrons while birds wheel in the sky above, anticipating the pickings soon to be had. A stone cross carved with the image of the Virgin and Child is adorned with wreaths, suggesting that this is a religious celebration.
This composition is almost identical to a painting in the collection of the Duke of Bedford, which is signed by David Teniers the Younger and dated 1646. Though this version bears many characteristics of Teniers’ style, it is of lower quality; it is most probably a copy made in the master’s studio. The genteel group on the lower left have traditionally been identified as Teniers’ family, although some of the same figures appear in A View of Het Sterckshof near Antwerp, where they are thought to represent Jacob Edelheer, the city secretary of Antwerp, and his family.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Country Festival near Antwerp
- Artist
- After David Teniers the Younger
- Artist dates
- 1610 - 1690
- Date made
- after 1646
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 89.7 × 125 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876
- Inventory number
- NG952
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Perhaps in the D. Potter sale, The Hague, 19 May, 1723 (48) sold for 665 glds. Coll. Bourchier Cleeve (1715–1760), but apparently only recorded for the first time at his house, Foots Cray Place, Kent, in 1761; inherited as part of the contents of Foots Cray Place by his daughter, Ann, and passed to her husband Sir George Yonge Bt. when they married in 1765; Sir George Yonge Bt. sale, White (London), 25 ( = 2nd day) March, 1806 (84) bt. Philip Metcalfe for 425 gns. Probably coll. Wynn Ellis when put up for sale anonymously, Christie’s, 26 May, 1836 (91) bt. in at 87 gns.; certainly coll. Wynn Ellis by 1851; exh. B.I. 1863 (5); Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876.
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Gregory Martin, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School: circa 1600–circa 1900’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1761London and Its Environs Described: Containing an Account of Whatever is Most Remarkable for Grandeur, Elegance, Curiosity or Use, in the City and in the Country Twenty Miles around it, 6 vols, London 1761
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1766T. Martyn, The English Connoisseur, London 1766
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1774The Ambulator, London 1774
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1854G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
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1877R.N. Wornum, Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of Pictures in the National Gallery, British School, Foreign Schools, London 1877
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1970G. Martin, The Flemish School, circa 1600-circa 1900, London 1970
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1980M. Klinge, Bruegel: Une dynastie de peintres (exh. cat. Palais des Beaux-Arts, 18 September - 18 November 1980), Brussels 1980
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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