Lucas van UDEN (Antwerp, 1595 - 1672) Marsh landscape with animated figures Oil on oak panel, one plate Signed with the initials '.L.V.V.' lower left Figures in a landscape, oil on an oak panel, signed, by L. van Uden 7.28 x 10.23 in. 18.5 x 26 cm Provenance: Stephen Jarrett Collection ; His sale, 27 April 1853, no. 5, according to a label on the reverse; Anonymous sale; London, Christie's, 19 April 2000, no. 1; Claude Vittet; Acquired from Claude Vittet by the parents of the current owners in 2003; Private collection, France Despite the modest format of this work, everything is described with precision: the density of the foliage, the reflections on the marsh water, the grey shadows of the trees and the animals drinking peacefully... Lucas van Uden presents himself here as a painter attentive to nature and sensitive to its many variations with the seasons and the hours of the day, in delicate landscapes of which he became a specialist in Antwerp alongside talented artists such as David Teniers and Jan Brueghel the Younger. This speciality, which he had to develop in the studio of his father Artus van Uden, led him to paint numerous landscapes for Pieter Paul Rubens in the years 1615-1630, and then to collaborate with David Teniers the Younger. Our panel is typical of Lucas van Uden's paintings: a landscape in green tones punctuated by slender trees and populated by pastoral figures. His painted works generally follow the same pattern: in the foreground, an embankment with foliage trees, some of which can be tilted to break the monotony and lead the viewer's eye towards the centre of the landscape, where groups of trees or figures enliven the composition. A keen observer of nature, he was in the habit of sketching from life. Lucas van UDEN (Antwerp, 1595 - 1672) 18.5 x 26 cm In spite of the modest size of this work, everything is described with great precision, the density of the foliage, the reflections on the water, the grey shadow of the trees and the animals drinking peacefully...Lucas van Uden shows himself here to be a painter who is attentive to nature and aware of the multiple variations of the seasons and the hours of the day, in the graceful landscapes that became his speciality in Antwerp alongside talented artists such as David Teniers and Jan Brueghel the Younger. This speciality, that he must have developed in the studio of this father Artus van Uden, led to his painting numerous landscapes for Pieter Paul Rubens in the years between 1615 - 1630, and then collaborating with David Teniers the younger. Our panel is characteristic of the works of Lucas van Uden: a landscape with green tones punctuated with tall trees and populated with pastoral figures. His painted works generally follow the same pattern: in the foreground, a bank of trees with foliage, some of which may be angled to break the monotony and lead the viewer's eye towards the centre of the landscape, where groups of trees or figures enliven the composition. A keen observer of the natural world, he was in the habit of sketching from nature.