A village square with a market scene

oil on canvas
78 x 108 cm., framed 94 x 121 cm.

This fascinating popular scene with a bustling market in the main square is the work of a Flemish artist active around 1700: it is an interesting insight into the daily life of a small Dutch village of the Golden Age.

In the square teeming with people with the typical houses in the background and a large gushing fountain, we can witness the hustle and bustle that revolves around the market day, with figures from all walks of life busy in their activities.

Although it is difficult to trace the canvas to the hand of a particular author, given the predilection of many authors for this kind of rich compositions, we can, however, bring the execution closer to the circle of the Antwerp painter Pieter van Bredael (Antwerp 1629-1719).

Van Bredael, who was part of a large family of painters, is registered as a pupil in the workshop of David Ryckaert III in 1640. After study trips to the Netherlands and Spain he became master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp in 1651. He also worked in Italy, especially in Rome, where he was strongly influenced by the compositional style of the Bamboccianti group.

He was well known for his highly imaginative market scenes that illustrated the diverse spectrum of everyday life in the city. His landscape paintings are characterized by accents of bright colors, often populated by many figures that can only evoke the style of Jan Brueghel the Elder.

We show below some of the author's works, with which it is easy to recognize stylistic and compositional analogies with our painting.

Dorotheum, Vienna, Alte Meister, 20.10.2015,

Christie's, London 11.04.2013

https: //www.christies.com/lot/lot-attributed-to-pieter-van-bredael-antwerp-1629-1719-5666255/? from = s ...

Musee des beaux-arts de Besançon, France,

Staatliches Museum, Schwerin, Germany,

Sotheby's, London, 7.7.1993,

https: //www.akg-images.co.uk/CS.aspx? VP3 = SearchResult & ITEMID = 2UMDHUNQ9LZI & LANGSWI = 1 & LANG ...

Hampel Munich, 26.09.2018,

https: //www.hampel-auctions.com/a/Pieter-van-Bredael-1629-1719-zug.html? a = 116 & s = 618 & id = 55135 ...