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Hendrick Van Balen

Price Tax incl.:
9000 EUR

Allegory of summer, personified by Ceres Workshop of Hendrick Van Balen Antwerp school, early 17th century. Oil on copper, Dimensions: h. 52 cm, w. 40 cm Antique gilded wood frame Framed dimensions: h. 74 cm, l. 60 cm Very good condition Our delicately painted work is part of the allegorical and mythological pictorial tradition in vogue in Antwerp, led by Jan Brueghel the Younger and Hendrick Van Balen. Numerous works from their studios illustrate mythological subjects, the seasons, the elements and the senses, or interweave lush landscapes, animals and Olympian gods. At the heart of a verdant landscape dominated at its center by a generous apple tree, the beautiful Ceres, partially clad in a large blue drape, is crowned with ears of wheat, her symbol of the goddess of the earth and the harvest. In her right hand, she holds a sickle and carries sheaves of wheat. To her right, a nymph holds the cornucopia, while putti gather and offer flowers. In the foreground are summer fruits: figs, cherries, apples and lemons. A squirrel nibbling cherries symbolizes hard work and foresight, themes echoed in the harvesters' work on the wheat fields in the background. The background is composed of vegetation, on the right a wild rose bush with its branches trained against a tree trunk, in the center trees with silvery-green foliage. Our painter, a pupil of Hendrick Van Balen, finds his inspiration in the master's works, such as this nymph with yellow drapery seen from the back, one of the figures that accompanies many of the master's paintings. Van Balen's eloquent gestures, translucent flesh and draperies blowing in the wind are characteristic of his work. The indisputable influence of Jan Brueghel the Younger is revealed in the treatment of trees and flowers, wild roses and tulips, as well as in the still life with squirrel in the foreground. The craze for this type of virtuoso painting, in which mythological figures are merely a pretext for illustrating the landscape and plant life surrounding them, led to commissions from all over Europe. Hendrick Van Balen, Flemish painter, born and died in Antwerp (1575-1632). A pupil of Adam Van Noort, he joined the Saint Luke's guild in 1593, later training in Italy and becoming Van Dyck's first master. He often painted small figures taken from scenes in the Bible or classical mythology, in pictures in which Josse de Momper or the Brueghels painted backgrounds and landscapes.

Galerie Nicolas Lenté
2, rue des Saints-Pères
75007 Paris