Flemish school around 1600 Follower of Marten... Lot 6

Flemish school around 1600 Follower of Marten van Cleve Village wedding scenes Suite of six oils on copper Our suite of paintings depicts scenes of village weddings in six stages: I. The bridal procession II. The groom's procession III. "Pulling the Goose" IV. The Wedding Dance V. The Wedding Banquet VI. The blessing of the marriage bed A Peasant Wedding, oil on copper, a set of 6, Flemish School, ca. 1600 10.50 x 16 cm (4.13 x 6.30 in.) Comment: Although many village wedding scenes are known in the corpus of Flemish art, our series of six brass oils is distinguished by the rarity of two of its representations. Scenes of village festivities are very frequent subjects among Flemish painters such as Pieter Brueghel or Marten van Cleve, who on many occasions produced different versions of the subjects we present today, varying the compositions. Most of the subjects in our series were in fact treated by Peter Brueghel the Younger, having himself been inspired by his father. Scenes of processions or village dances were important sources of inspiration for these artists, while some, rarer but no less emblematic, are more rarely addressed in Flemish iconography. The festivities of a village wedding at the beginning of the 17th century take place chronologically in a village with trees. The processions of the bride and groom, followed by their guests, open the ceremony to the rhythm of the bagpipes. The third decoration depicts the assembly enjoying a very popular activity in Europe: the game of goose. In our picture, a couple is challenging each other under the cheering: the winner is the one who succeeds in tearing the head off the goose, hanging by the head on the left. Very rarely depicted, this scene reinforces the interest of this sequel. In the wedding dance, the guests have fun and dance, always to the rhythm of the piper's melody. The festivities continue outdoors with