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Lot Essay
The four seasons are personified by male figures, in a setting which displays typical activities for the season:
The Spring figure is a bearded gardener, carrying a young orange tree in a pot, before a scene with gardening activities in castle grounds. The Summer figure is a lightly dressed young man with a sheaf of grain, in a field with farmers harvesting crop. The Spring and Summer figures have a direct relation to the activities in their background; it is as if they have just stepped forward from the back scene. The Autumn figure seems to be a an innkeeper, crowned with a wreath of vine branches, who enjoys a good glass of wine - and probably not his first. He seems more detached from the activities behind him, showing farmworkers bringing in the vintage. Winter is depicted by an old bearded man in a fur trimmed robe and a fur hat, walking with a stick. In the background figures are skating on the ice in a frozen village. Winter shows a pose even more symbolical than the other seasons; he holds a coal brazier in his hand and winter scarcity is further symbolized by his thin wallet and the keys he wears on his belt.
In antiquity, the seasons were personified through the symbols of the zodiac, which evolved to the mythological gods. Also traditionally, the seasons were not only symbolised by the activities, clothing or background of the figures, but also by their age, ranging from Spring as a youngster to Winter as an elderly man. From the Middle Ages onwards, the seasons were more and more depicted through scenes from everyday life with typical seasonal activities. A good example of such grand scale paintings are Pieter Bruegel the Elder's famous seasonal paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. David Teniers himself also painted such a series, currently in the Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch.
In the present series, Teniers takes elements from all these traditions. First, he limits himself to a single figure, with only limited entourage showing the seasonal activities. Also he refers to mythology; his Autumn figure immediately calls to mind the Roman god of wine Bacchus. And finally, the cycle of life is depicted by the young man of Summer and the old greybeard representing Winter.
Another set of the Four Seasons by Teniers, now in the National Gallery, London, is similar in design, but differ in the details. The gardener of Spring in London, is in an equal pose, but the setting is less detailed - with a distant village view instead of the castle - and the weather conditions seem more harsh. The figure and background of Summer is the most comparable of the set. The background of the Autumn scene in London shows a later phase of the wine making process, with wine barrels being closed. The old man of Winter in the London composition is sitting down at a table with a brazier, a stoneware jug and a glass of wine. Unlike the present composition, the skating scene is painted 'en grisaille'.
Teniers painted at least two other series of the Four Seasons, personified by single figures, besides the present set and the set in London. One set was sold at Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 22 May 1990, lot34. In 2003, Bonham's London offered a series of paintings, oil on panel, as Follower of David Teniers. This series shows affinity to both the present one and the London series, but the differences in the details suggest that it was based on a yet another original series by Teniers. This however, should not surprise one; series as these got dispersed over time and may nowadays survive only in single paintings, as is also the case with another popular subject of Teniers: the Five Senses. Therefore it is unique that a series of the Four Seasons is still complete, as in the present case.
The Spring figure is a bearded gardener, carrying a young orange tree in a pot, before a scene with gardening activities in castle grounds. The Summer figure is a lightly dressed young man with a sheaf of grain, in a field with farmers harvesting crop. The Spring and Summer figures have a direct relation to the activities in their background; it is as if they have just stepped forward from the back scene. The Autumn figure seems to be a an innkeeper, crowned with a wreath of vine branches, who enjoys a good glass of wine - and probably not his first. He seems more detached from the activities behind him, showing farmworkers bringing in the vintage. Winter is depicted by an old bearded man in a fur trimmed robe and a fur hat, walking with a stick. In the background figures are skating on the ice in a frozen village. Winter shows a pose even more symbolical than the other seasons; he holds a coal brazier in his hand and winter scarcity is further symbolized by his thin wallet and the keys he wears on his belt.
In antiquity, the seasons were personified through the symbols of the zodiac, which evolved to the mythological gods. Also traditionally, the seasons were not only symbolised by the activities, clothing or background of the figures, but also by their age, ranging from Spring as a youngster to Winter as an elderly man. From the Middle Ages onwards, the seasons were more and more depicted through scenes from everyday life with typical seasonal activities. A good example of such grand scale paintings are Pieter Bruegel the Elder's famous seasonal paintings in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. David Teniers himself also painted such a series, currently in the Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch.
In the present series, Teniers takes elements from all these traditions. First, he limits himself to a single figure, with only limited entourage showing the seasonal activities. Also he refers to mythology; his Autumn figure immediately calls to mind the Roman god of wine Bacchus. And finally, the cycle of life is depicted by the young man of Summer and the old greybeard representing Winter.
Another set of the Four Seasons by Teniers, now in the National Gallery, London, is similar in design, but differ in the details. The gardener of Spring in London, is in an equal pose, but the setting is less detailed - with a distant village view instead of the castle - and the weather conditions seem more harsh. The figure and background of Summer is the most comparable of the set. The background of the Autumn scene in London shows a later phase of the wine making process, with wine barrels being closed. The old man of Winter in the London composition is sitting down at a table with a brazier, a stoneware jug and a glass of wine. Unlike the present composition, the skating scene is painted 'en grisaille'.
Teniers painted at least two other series of the Four Seasons, personified by single figures, besides the present set and the set in London. One set was sold at Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 22 May 1990, lot34. In 2003, Bonham's London offered a series of paintings, oil on panel, as Follower of David Teniers. This series shows affinity to both the present one and the London series, but the differences in the details suggest that it was based on a yet another original series by Teniers. This however, should not surprise one; series as these got dispersed over time and may nowadays survive only in single paintings, as is also the case with another popular subject of Teniers: the Five Senses. Therefore it is unique that a series of the Four Seasons is still complete, as in the present case.