Philippe de Momper Lot n° 2039

Philippe de Momper Travellers in a Mountain Landscape Oil on canvas (relined). 84.5 x 111 cm. Certificate Dr. Klaus Ertz, Lingen, 16.3.2022. Provenance North German private ownership. This panoramic mountain landscape, in exceptionally good condition, is a work by Philippe de Momper which, according to Klaus Ertz (cf. expertise), was painted in the late 1620s. In this large-format painting, Philippe de Momper continues the tradition of the Flemish mountain landscape, which his father Joos helped to shape for a long time. The composition follows his father's example: high cliffs rise up on the right, the ruins of a castle tower up on the left and deciduous trees occupy the entire left edge of the picture, framing the scenery. In the centre, the rocks and ruins provide a view into the distance, where a river meanders towards the horizon and a mountain range closes off the landscape to the rear. The figures, painted by Philippe de Momper himself, are also taken from the classical repertoire of mountain landscapes. We see travellers, on horseback and on foot, who come across a beggar family at a crossroads. In travel paintings such as these, viewers at home imagined the journeys to the south and the hardships, dangers and impressions associated with them. The artist has placed the low evening sun behind the ruin, and its rays bathe the landscape in the distance as well as the travellers at the wayside cross in a warm, yellow light whilst the foliage of the trees, lit from behind, shimmers pale brown and ochre. Philippe de Momper's bright and vivid colour palette, applied with a loose brushstroke, replaces the traditional scheme of colour perspective (brown in the foreground, green in the middle ground, blue in the background) and in this way unifies the pictorial space.