Frans WOUTERS (1612-1659) Virgin and Child with... Lot 3

Frans WOUTERS (1612-1659) Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist in a landscape Oil on copper 17 x 27,7 cm The painting is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Dr. Klaus Ertz, a specialist on the painter, established in Linden on January 15, 2019 and written in German, of which we give a partial translation. "After a thorough study of this painting, I am convinced that it was made by the Flemish painter Frans WOUTERS (born 1612 in Lierre - died 1659 in Antwerp). [The state of preservation of this painting can be described as good. This impression is intensified and emphasized by the clear and accentuated embodiment of figures against a dark forest background. The themes of this painter, who worked with Peter Paul Rubens (after 1629) and Pieter van Avont (from 1641), are varied and are devoted to ancient mythology, allegories and Christian themes from the Old and New Testaments. Unlike many other artists of his time, Frans Wouters was quite capable of painting both the large, usually scantily clad figures and the necessary background scales. They are reminiscent in landscape arrangement of Lucas van Uden, Jan Wildens or Jacques d'Arthois, whose landscapes influenced him. From 1634, he obtained the title of master..."