Flemish school, 17th century Workshop of Jan Brueghel I with the collaboration of Frans Francken II for the figures Allegory of fire: Venus in Vulcan's forge Oil on oak panel, lined and parqueted (Restorations) Allegory of the fire, oil on oak panel, Flemish school of the 17th century 47 x 83,50 cm (18,50 x 32,87 in.) Provenance: Probably Galerie Pardo (according to a label on the reverse) ; Private collection, Paris Comment: Our painting is a marvellous example of the collaborative practices of the Brueghelian workshops of the early 17th century. The theme of the four elements, which was particularly popular, gave rise to numerous series produced by Jan Brueghel I and his workshop and then by his son, Jan Brueghel II. Our work is another workshop version of a composition by Jan Brueghel I and Hendrik van Balen in the Galerie Doria Pamphilj in Rome (see Klaus Ertz, Jan Brueghel der Ältere (1568-1625). Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, 1979, p. 599, no. 251, p. 371, ill. 442), of which there was also a replica in Berlin (Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum before 1945, destroyed during the Second World War). Here, it is fire that is represented, as indicated by the pieces of armour and metal utensils that dot the composition, such as the erupting volcano on the right. On the left, Venus can be seen in the forge of her husband Vulcan, asking him to make weapons for his son Aeneas. Behind them, blacksmiths are busy at the forge and near the anvil. The architecture, composed of semicircular arches, was undoubtedly inspired by the ancient ruins that Jan Brueghel the Elder saw in Rome and from which he drew. We know, for example, of a sheet in his hand depicting the Clivus Scauri in Rome, kept at the Fondation Custodia, Paris (inv. no. 7879). Here, too, he may have been inspired by a vaulted passageway on the Palatine. This lot is being sold in aid of the charitable foundation 30 Millions d'Amis. This lot is being sold in aid of 30 Millions d'Amis.