A Flemish Proverb: 'To cast roses before swine'

Details

Circle of Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels c. 1564-1637/8 Antwerp)
A Flemish Proverb: 'To cast roses before swine'
oil on panel, circular
6 ½ in. (16.5 cm.) in diameter

Provenance

Private collection, Vienna, by 1935.
with Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna, by 1945.
Acquired by the husband of the present owner in Vienna in the 1950s.

Literature

G. Marlier, Pierre Brueghel le Jeune, Brussels, 1969, p. 157, no. 14c.
K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere (1564-1637/38): Die Gemälde mit Kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Lingen, 1988/2000, II, p. 204, no. A86, fig. 86, as 'Follower of Pieter Brueghel the Younger'.

Exhibited

Vienna, Palais Pallavicini, Die Jüngeren Brueghel und ihr Kreis, 15 March-15 April 1935, no. 65, as 'Pieter Brueghel the Third'.

Brought to you by

Lucy Cox

lcox@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2243

Lot Essay

This picture depicts a subject derived from a traditional Flemish proverb, intended as a warning to not 'waste effort on the unworthy'. Like his father Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Pieter the Younger found inspiration in the vernacular pastimes of Flemish society and scenes of peasant life. Brueghel and his circle painted a number of these small round panels, indicating that the subjects resonated with a wide audience.

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