Lot 41: Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne , Delft 1589 - 1662 The Hague an allegory of spring with putti dancing oil on panel, en brunaille

indistinctly signed lower right: AP: v: venne ( AP in compendium) oil on panel, en brunaille

measurements note 29.8 by 53.5 cm.; 11 3/4 by 21 in.

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
This work is both stylistically and thematically related to another panel, showing Dancing Nymphs in a Landscape, in a private collection, signed and dated 1651. The very loose and almost draughtsman-like brushwork, typical of Van de Venne's later years, together with the poses of the dancing figures and the putti hovering in the sky, are among the many characteristics shared by these two works and, as suggested by Dr. Edwin Buijsen, the present work may therefore be dated to a similar period as Dancing Nymphs, that is the beginning of the 1650s.

We are grateful to Dr. Edwin Buijsen for endorsing the attribution to Van de Venne on the basis of photographs. This painting will be included in the forthcoming monograph on Van de Venne currently being prepared by Dr. Buijsen.

A note on the Provenance: A painting described as a Kinderdans ('Children's Dance') by Van de Venne is mentioned in the inventory of Adr. Trist in Delft from 1657 (see A. Bredius, Künstler-Inventare, vol. II, The Hague 1915-1922, p. 389). While this may be identifiable with the present work the description is too vague to be sure as Van de Venne repeated the same subject on several occasions.