School of Utrecht

17th Century

Saint John Preaching to the Multitude

Footnotes

Provenance
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 17 April 1991, lot 180 (as Abraham Bloemaert)

Literature
M. Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons, Ghent, 1993, vol. I, p. 70-71, cat. no. 19, vol. II, fig. 44, ill. (as Bloemaert ?)

In the entry for this painting, Roethlisberger describes it as 'a fine work of stylish design and mannered execution, it immediately calls to mind Bloemaert and Wtewael and certainly comes from this ambient'. He deliberately leaves the attribution unresolved and compares the present lot to two works in the Musee du Louvre, Paris (inv. nos. MNR 462 and RF 1976. 14) and suggests that all three paintings date to circa 1590 and are likely to be by the same hand (see: M. Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons, Ghent, 1993, vol. I, pp.70-71, cat. nos 18, 19 and 20).

The Preaching of Saint John is a subject treated by Bloemaert over a dozen times prior to the 1630s. Although Bloemaert was born in 1566, little is known of his work prior to 1590-1591, and consequently Roethlisberger suggests that this could be an early work by the artist. The landscape recalls Wtewael's David and Abigail (see: A. Lowenthal, Joachim Wtewael and Dutch Mannerism, Doornspijk, 1986, no. A-5) and it might also be compared to his his early works prior to 1592, inspired by his travels to Italy and France.