A grotto with figures, a stag and stork

Details

DAVID TENIERS II (ANTWERP 1610-1690 BRUSSELS)
A grotto with figures, a stag and stork
signed in monogram 'DT F' ('DT' linked, lower right)
oil on panel
16 3/4 x 21 1/2 in. (42.5 x 54.7 cm.)

Provenance

Felix Kuranda (1852-1917), Vienna, by descent to his daughter,
Dr. Hedwig Kuranda (1891-1967), New York, by descent to her niece,
Gabriele Kuranda Milne (1920-2011), New York, by descent until sold,
Anonymous sale; Doyle, New York, 10 November 2021, lot 113, as School of David Teniers the Younger, where acquired by the present owner.

Literature

Österreichische Kunsttopographie, II, Vienna, 1908, p. 324, no. 51, as 'das Bild...vorzüglich und vlämisch aus dem zweiten Viertel des XVIII. Jhs.'

Special Notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Jonquil O’Reilly Vice President, Specialist, Head of Sale

JOReilly@christies.com +1 212 636 2478

Lot Essay

This whimsical grotto scene must belong to David Teniers' earliest efforts as an independent painter. Only a year after joining Antwerp's local painters' guild in 1633, he painted a pair of highly comparable scenes depicting the Magdalene and Saint Peter within similar grottos (both Dulwich Picture Gallery). Like the present painting, the Dulwich pair are executed on panels measuring roughly 54 cm. wide. And much like those paintings, Teniers here appears to have fully realized the rocky landscape before enlivening his composition by adding the figures.

We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs (private communication, 30 March 2023).

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