Lot 284: ADRIAEN PIETERSZ. VAN DE VENNE

ADRIAEN PIETERSZ. VAN DE VENNE DELFT 1589 - 1662 THE HAGUE AN AMOROUS PEASANT COUPLE CONVERSING signed and dated (indistinctly) lower right: 1631. / A P V: Venne oil on panel, en brunaille 11 by 8 7/8 in.; 28 by 22.5 cm.

Klein;
By whom anonymously sold, New York, Parke Bernet Galleries, 26 October 1955, lot 23 (as sold with certificate by Dr. W.R. Valentiner, dated Los Angeles, 8 November 1948 and as signed only);
Where purchased by Steven Anholt;
With P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1956;
By whom sold to Butôt (according to a note in the de Boer Archives);
Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Lady'), Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 4 November 2003, lot 12;
Where acquired by the present owner.

Although Adriaen van de Venne's numerous monochrome works are typically referred to as grisailles, this work can be more accurately termed a brunaille, as it is painted entirely in shades of brown and ochre as opposed to gray. Van de Venne was known for these types of works, most of which were painted after his move to The Hague in 1625. Unlike many of his works in the medium, however, the present lot is devoid of the moralizing and emblematic overtones that often underly his images.

A peasant farmer and his love, a simple milkmaid, embrace one another in a field with a town just visible on the distant horizon. The two figures are monumentally rendered and seem completely drawn to one another. Van de Venne has rendered the two figures in extremely fluid brushstrokes, and the way the young milkmaid's apron and the wheat in the bale the peasant hold both wave in the same direction is suggestive of a gentle breeze. Before painting this composition, Van de Venne rapidly sketched in both the figures and a suggestion of the landscape in graphite. This remarkably free underdrawing can been seen through the thin paint glazes at various places, including the milkmaid's feet; the peasant's head and shoulders; and along the skyline of the town at lower right. Far from being distracting, these lines heighten the already graphic quality of this work and add to its sense of immediacy and spontaneity.

According to the 2003 sales catalogue (see Provenance) the reverse of this panel once had a 1973 exhibition label from an unidentified, but possibly Italian exhibit and was numbered "43" in that show. Unfortunately, this label has apparently since been removed.