A painting by the Flemish master Pieter Brueghel the Younger, found in a Dijon residence in early 2022, has just been auctioned this Sunday in Dijon, beyond its initial estimate.
“It’s a magical painting. It has passed the centuries, it is in very good condition. It makes you dream”, raves Isabelle, a Côte-d’Orienne who came to admire the work before the sale this Sunday. Before his eyes, an authenticated painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (the son of Brueghel the Elder), dated late 16th – early 17th century. “It’s full of little characters telling stories. It must be a pleasure at all times to have a painting like this at home. Every day, we rediscover details“, continues Isabelle, conquered.
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Like her, dozens of curious or potential buyers pushed the doors of the Auction House on rue Paul Cabet this Sunday. In the middle of some 200 lots, antique furniture, vases and silverware, this master painting whose starting price was estimated between 300,000 and 500,000 euros.
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“The discovery took place as part of an estate in January“, details the auctioneer, Christophe Sadde. “We were with the notary and the heirs in this Dijon apartment, and when we arrived in the living room, we came across this work which challenged us by its quality.” Taken by a doubt about its authenticity, the auctioneer then seeks the expertise of a specialized firm. The verdict falls a few months later: it is indeed a real painting by Brueghel the Younger, “Winter Landscape with Skaters and Bird Trap”a landscape that the painter has never ceased to reproduce, since there are more than 140 versions known to date.
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So many versions, but a work of great quality. “This is a very rare exceptional piece“, confirms Stéphane Pinta, painting expert for the Turquin cabinet. “We recognize the line of Brueghel the Younger by this attention to detail, everywhere in the painting.”
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How did this work end up in a Dijon apartment? “We do not know anything ! We don’t know anything about the history of this painting.“, smiles Stéphane Pinta. The auctioneer, Christophe Sadde, did not obtain much information from the family: “They think they’ve had it for three generations, but there’s no record, no note about the painting in their records..”
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It is therefore impossible to retrace the journey of the painting: in which countries, in which houses or collections has it ended up in more than 400 years? It will remain a mystery. On the other hand, we know what this painting represents. “It finds its source in a painting by Brueghel the Elder (the father of Brueghel the Younger), which shows winter with these skating scenes. But there, there is something more in this painting. It is seen by some as a denunciation of the Spanish occupation in the Netherlands at the time.”
“We see for example this bird trap: the birds are not careful and find themselves trapped.”
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“Similarly, this hole in the ice that the skaters do not pay attention to. These traps can be interpreted as the pressure of the Spanish occupation. There is always a moralizing side in Flemish painting.”
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This Sunday at 4 p.m., the painting therefore went for 600,000 euros, 720,000 euros with auction costs. The buyer is anonymous. Since the beginning of 2022, three other paintings by Brueghel the Younger have been auctioned. The most expensive went for 1.6 million euros, the second for 520,000 euros, the third 320,000 euros.
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