ADRIAEN VAN STALBEMT (1580 Antwerp 1662) Arrival... Lot 3052

ADRIAEN VAN STALBEMT (1580 Antwerp 1662) Arrival of Neptune to the banquet of the gods. Oil on wood. 42.5 × 63.5 cm. Expert opinion: Dr. Klaus Ertz, 7.2.2022. Provenance: European Collection. According to Greek legend, Zeus once called a meeting of the gods with the intention of discussing disagreements among gods, demigods and humans. This theme has been depicted in painting since the Renaissance. In the example shown here, Adriaen van Stalbemt takes up the banquet that follows the assembly. Olympus as a place of meeting is symbolically indicated here by a large, overgrown rock. Gathered at a table are, among others, the father of the gods Zeus with the crown, who sits at the front right edge of the table next to Diana, the god Bacchus, who seems to regret that there is no wine, and the goddess Pomona, at the right edge of the picture, who hands a platter of fruit. All the more triumphant is the arrival of Neptune on a golden throne, surrounded by seahorses, accompanied by naiads and shell-blowing tritons. At this, Zeus looks slightly annoyed at him because of his brother's tardiness. In keeping with the theme, numerous shells and snails are depicted in the foreground in the finest painting. The painter transferred the all-too-human, earthly context of familial and social relationships into the world of the gods, creating a light-hearted depiction that was probably already understood as such at the time the painting was created. The Antwerp painter Adriaen van Stalbemt, who was influenced for a long time by Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568 -1625), developed his own style from 1620. It was during this period, between 1620 and 1630, that the painting offered here was created. In his expert opinion, Dr. Klaus Ertz emphasizes the great independence of the figures and the variety of bushes, reeds and whimsical shells in the foreground and in the rock arch, while the landscape is reminiscent of similar paintings of the same theme by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Several paintings with a similar theme have become known for this creative period, such as a Feast of the Gods in the Forest, which is in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden (inv. no. G940, see Klaus Ertz and Christa Nitze-Ertz: Adriaen van Stalbemt 1580-1662, Lingen 2018, p. 334, cat. no. 183). This object marked with * (asterisk) is fully subject to VAT, i.e. for these objects VAT will be charged on the hammer price plus buyer's premium. Buyers who present a legally stamped export declaration will be refunded the VAT.