Provenance:
• Christie’s sale, London in the 1970s;
• private collection in Belgium.
Through the work of Joseph van Bredael, the paintings of Jan Brueghel the Elder are revealed under another...
read moreProvenance:
• Christie’s sale, London in the 1970s;
• private collection in Belgium.
Through the work of Joseph van Bredael, the paintings of Jan Brueghel the Elder are revealed under another light. This painting wonderfully illustrates the degree of excellence achieved by the artist.
This river landscape with a landing stage is highly innovative. It illustrates one of the first paintings where landscape is painted in depth with a vanishing point: the water and the fields form two triangles that meet in a vanishing point and advance into the space of the painting.
By offering a new version of this copper, Joseph van Bredael shows his ability to adopt and easily integrate all new processes and to cleverly copy them with all the skill of an autodidact. Besides being a master in the art of composition, Joseph van Bredael also stands out for his alternative and considered use of colours. By playing with a chromatic palette that tends towards dominant blue and green tones, our artist constructs a succession of planes in varied tones, emphasising the essential elements of this composition.
To this brilliant landscape, Joseph van Bredael adds characters here and there with the aim of animating the scene. Using a light brushstroke, our artist models his characters by giving the impression of life and movement. Punctuated with ravishing colours, from a sumptuous red to a tender pink, these fishermen and other protagonists give a sense to this scene and will delight viewers who can let their imaginations run wild by guessing at the conversations and affinities between them.
Rightfully considered as one of the best imitators of Jan Brueghel the Elder, Joseph van Bredael, with his River scene with landing stage shows himself to be the worthy successor of a great line of painters, even as one of his most admirable representatives.
1688 Antwerp – Paris 1739
The brother of Jan Pieter, Josef van Bredael was a Flemish landscape artist, and part of a long line of painters. En 1706, at the age of eighteen, he committed himself for...
read more1688 Antwerp – Paris 1739
The brother of Jan Pieter, Josef van Bredael was a Flemish landscape artist, and part of a long line of painters. En 1706, at the age of eighteen, he committed himself for four years to coping small paintings by Jan ‘Velvet’ Brueghel, Philippe Wouverman and other artists for the Antwerp dealer J. de Witte. In 1735 he emigrated to Paris. He became a member of the Royal Academy of the court of the Duke of Orléans.
This painter, whose style is still widely unknown, signed his paintings with the monogram JB, like Jan Brueghel, hence the occasional confusion. Essentially a landscape artist, Josef van Bredael was inspired by Brueghelian compositions though he employed the aesthetics particular to his day in his interpretations. Focusing on details, he meticulously executes his characters and décor in the style of a miniaturist. He particularly excels in indicating the succession of planes by using lateral screens and through subtle and nuanced colouring, with an orientation towards tones of dominant blues and browns, though always gentle and subtle.
While his compositions and motifs are sometimes borrowed from Jan Brueghel, he adds a personal note to the contours of his figures and his strokes. The portrayal of the horse is particularly characteristic with its slender legs, a powerful body and a strangely small head. He shapes his motifs and volumes with a light stroke which gives the impression of life and movement.
Showing a keen observation of the animal world within a harmonious landscape, the painter uses a real quality of execution and a delicate naturalism which places him amongst the best imitators of Jan ‘Velvet’ Brueghel, alongside P. Gysels, T. Michau or M. Schoevaerdts.
