Paul Bril, um 1553/54 Breda – 1626 Rom, zuges... Lot n° 260

FELS AND RIVER LANDSCAPE WITH BIBLICAL SCENE "JESUS HEALS A SICK MAN "Oil on wood. Parquet. 72 x 120 cm. Often in the Dutch painting of the time, landscape and the events in the picture are symbiotically linked. In a sense, the vast landscape is also here to represent a world view with the most diverse formations such as river course, towering rocks, rolling hills, cities on the shore, fortified towers or a castle complex on the rock, as here in the upper left behind the trees, which are inserted as a repoussoir. Thus, the biblical events in the lower zone are inserted into a contemporary landscape to make the comforting statements of the Bible story appear timeless. Highlighted in the crowd coming up on the lower left is the figure of Jesus pointing with his index finger at a youth possessed by madness and curing him of the possession, which is to be interpreted as an example of the idea of exorcism. The youth is rendered staggering, a black smoke escapes from his mouth, further down a herd of pigs can be seen as a symbolic equivalent of evil possession, the pigs here about to throw themselves into the river to drown. Thus the painter has transposed the scene, which according to the Bible is said to have taken place on the Sea of Galilee, here into a Nordic river landscape. The figures in the group to the left of the figure of Jesus are to be interpreted individually, in any case Peter with a gray beard can be recognized, next to him probably John the Evangelist and the other apostles, followed by a larger crowd of people, which is lost in the valley. The dramatic nature of the event is also reflected in the rendering of the moving clouds above the river landscape. The composition of the picture is quite typical for works by Bril, especially for river landscapes with rocky terrain rising higher on the left and crowning castles. Some restorations such as upper left and lower right. (†) Note: A smaller format painting on copper (dimensions 28.5 x 35 cm) with the same pictorial content was in the possession of Johnny van Haeften, London, there designated as Paul Bril and dated "1608". Bril had already influenced many painters during his lifetime, especially in Rome, such as the Dutchman Cornelis van Poelenburgh (1586-1667), or the Frankfurt Adam Elsheimer (1574/78-1610/20). (1301319) (11) Paul Bril, Ca. 1553/54 Breda - 1626 Rome, attributed ROCK AND RIVER LANDSCAPE WITH BIBLE SCENE "JESUS HEALING A POSSESSED MAN "Oil on panel. Parquetted. 72 x 120 cm. As is typical for Dutch painting of the time the landscape and the events are symbiotically intertwined. Restored in several places, as for example on the left and lower right. (†) Notes: A small-format painting on copper (28.5 x 35 cm) with the same subject was owned by Johnny van Haeften, London, inscribed Paul Bril and dated "1608".