Pieter BRUEGHEL the Younger (Brussels, 1564 - Antwerp, 1637/38) The Wedding Procession Oil on oak panel, four boards, prepared and reinforced Signed 'P. BREVGHEL' lower right (Restorations) The Wedding Procession, oil on oak panel, signed, by P. Brueghel the Younger 27.56 x 44.88 in. 70 x 114 cm Provenance: Galerie De Jonckheere, Paris ; Acquired from the latter by the parents of the current owners in 2004; Private collection, France Pieter Brueghel the Younger's treatment of this subject came relatively late in the painter's career. In his catalogue raisonné of the artist1, Klaus Ertz dates the first copies, whose execution bears witness to a mature iconography, to 1623. The two versions dated to this year are relatively close, and are now in the Musée du Petit Palais (inv. 2500) in Paris and the Worcester Art Museum (inv. 1991.176) in Massachusetts. The absence of a clearly identified original composition by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (circa 1525-1569) has led specialists to speculate on the personality of the inventor of the model, given that many collaborators worked in the workshop of Pieter Brueghel the Younger and that many works from this period have disappeared. Although their theory is no longer accepted today, an initial group of researchers, led by Georges Marlier, believe that the Wedding Procession that entered the collections of the Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles in 1966 (inv. K19666.1) is the original composition by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, the one that inspired the "half-dozen replicas" identified2. Based on the 1689 inventory of the collection of Antwerp engraver Alexander Voet (1613-1689), which mentions "Een schoustuck, een bruy tskerckganck "3, the author associates this theme with decorative fireplace panels. Although this observation is unanimously accepted, the attribution proposed by Charles de Tolnay and then Fritz Grossman, and definitively accepted since Klaus Ertz4, who attributes the Brussels panel to Jan Brueghel the Elder (1578-1625), directs the debate towards another, much more original, avenue. On his return from Italy in 1596, Jan Brueghel the Elder set about confronting his art with his father's imposing legacy, before gradually taking a more independent path. Because he inherited the studio, and for personal reasons that are more difficult to establish, his elder brother devoted most of his life to disseminating compositions that had already been invented, definitively attaching his personality to that of their father. In the case of the panel presented here, Klaus Ertz offers a demonstration that is an exception to this historiographically recognised rule. Not recognising the subversive spirit of his father in the construction of the composition, but merely the scattered juxtaposition of some of his characteristic motifs, he considers the Wedding Procession not as an original invention by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, but as a creation by a lesser contemporary influenced by his genius. Two names were put forward, that of Pieter Balten (1540-1584), around whom the very fine copy in the Musée Calvet in Avignon (inv. 842.3.3) is attributed, and that of Maarten van Cleve (1527-1581), to whom the figures are linked5. Trained in the sixteenth-century Bruegelian school, this artist invented the composition at the end of the sixteenth century, which was then taken up by Jan Brueghel the Elder on his return from Italy, before being developed in series by Pieter Brueghel the Younger from the 1620s onwards6. Unlike the other versions illustrated here, our panel is distinguished by the absence of a number of iconic motifs, such as the horse skull in the bottom right-hand corner, which is often equated with a vanitas. Stripped of these references to the father's world, the work gains in decorative quality. The particularly applied treatment of the figures and the construction of the landscape make it a work characteristic of Pieter Brueghel the Younger, whose originality lies in its distance from traditional interpretations of existing models. The Wedding Procession appears as a conventional illustration of a ceremonial customary in 17th-century Antwerp society, and its commission provides the artist with the best example of a successful wedding gift. 1 - Klaus Ertz, Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Lingen, 1988, T. II, p. 701, cat. E818 and E819. 2 - Georges Marlier, Pierre Brueghel le Jeune, Brussels, 1969, p. 169. 3 - A fireplace panel, a wedding procession. 4 - Klaus Ertz, Op. cit. p. 633. 5 - Anonymous sale; London, Christie's, 6 July 2010, no. 12. 6 - This demonstration is developed at length by Klaus Ertz in the aforementioned catalogue. Pieter BRUEGHEL the Younger (Brussels, 1564 - Antwerp, 1637/38) 70 x 114 cm Pieter Brueghel the Younger's treatment of this subject occurs relatively late in the painter's career. It was not until 1623 that Klaus Ertz, in his catalogue raisonné of the artist (1), noted examples of this theme, which bear witness to an accomplished iconography. There are two versions of the Wedding Procession dated that year, relatively close to each other, which are now in the Musée du Petit Palais (inv. 2500) in Paris (fig. 1) and the Worcester Art Museum (inv. 1991.176) in Massachusetts. The absence of a clearly identified original composition by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569) has led specialists to speculate on the identity of the model's inventor given that there were many collaborators working around the atelier of Pieter Brueghel the Elder and also, because numerous works from this period from the atelier have disappeared over time. Although their theory is no longer accepted today, an initial group of researchers, led by Georges Marlier, believed that the Wedding Procession (fig. 2), which entered the collections of the Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles in 1966 (inv. K19666.1), was the original composition by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the one that inspired the 'half-dozen replicas' identified (2). Based on the 1689 inventory of the collection of Antwerp engraver Alexander Voet (1613-1689), which mentions 'Een schoustuck, een bruy tskerckganck' (3), the author associates this theme with decorative fireplace panels, which is universally accepted. The attribution of our work to Jan Brueghel the Elder was suggested by Charles de Tolnay and then Fritz Grossman, and definitively accepted by Klaus Ertz (4). Concerning the authorship of the original composition, which would have served as its model, there is a debate which moves towards another much more original supposition. On his return from Italy in 1596, Jan Brueghel the Elder set about confronting his own art with his father's imposing legacy, before gradually taking a more independent path. Because he inherited the studio, and for personal reasons that are more difficult to establish, his elder brother devoted most of his life to disseminating compositions that had already been created, definitively attaching his personality to that of their father. In the case of the panel presented here, Klaus Ertz offers a demonstration that is an exception to this historically recognised rule. Not recognising the subversive spirit of the father in the construction of the composition, but merely the scattered juxtaposition of some of his characteristic themes, he envisaged the Wedding Procession not as an original invention by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, but as a creation by a contemporary of lesser importance, influenced by his genius. Two names were put forward, that of Pieter Balten (1540-1584), around whom the very fine copy (fig. 3) in the Musée Calvet in Avignon (inv. 842.3.3) is attributed, and that of Maarten van Cleve (1527-1581), to whom the figures (fig. 4 and fig. 5) are linked (5). Trained in the sixteenth-century Brueghelian school, this artist, for now unidentified, would have imagined the composition at the end of the sixteenth century, which was taken up by Jan Brueghel the Elder on his return from Italy, before being developed in series by Pieter Brueghel the Younger from the 1620s onwards (6). Unlike the other versions illustrated here (fig. 1 and fig. 2), our panel stands out for the absence of a number of iconic elements, such as the skull of a horse in the lower right-hand corner (fig. 6), which is often equated with a vanitas. Stripped of these references to the universe of the father, the work is freed and gains in decorative quality. The particularly meticulous treatment of the figures and the construction of the landscape make it a work characteristic of Pieter Brueghel the Younger, whose originality lies in its distance from traditional interpretations of existing paintings. The Wedding Procession appears as a conventional illustration of a ceremony that was customary in seventeenth-century Antwerp society, and its commission provides the artist with the best example of a successful wedding gift. 1 - Klaus Ertz, Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Lingen, 1988, T. II, p. 701, cat. E818 and E819. 2 - Georges Marlier, Pierre Brueghel le Jeune, Brussels, 1969, p. 169. 3 - "a chimney panel, a wedding procession". 4 - Klaus Ertz, Op. cit. p. 633. 5 - Anonymous sale; London, Christie's, 6 July 2010, n° 12. 6 - Klaus Ertz discusses this at length in the aforementioned catalogue.