Lot 3: Attributed to Hieronymus Francken I (Herenthals 1540-Paris 1610)

Attributed to Hieronymus Francken I (Herenthals 1540-Paris 1610)
A Vanitas: A Capriccio of a Dominican preaching to the Emperor Charles V, King Philip II of Spain, a Pope and their brilliantly attired entourages
oil on panel
89 x 35¾ in. (226.1 x 90.8 cm.)

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.
Not much is known about Hieronymus Francken I and his oeuvre; having been trained in Antwerp, he spent his career between that city and Paris/Fontainebleau, and was regarded as sufficiently accomplished to fill the role of 'peintre de roi' in Paris between 1588-1593. This Vanitas is not like his Adoration of the Kings in Notre Dame, Paris, of 1585; but is comparable to his much smaller Entertainment with Couples dancing at Aachen, now thought to have been painted after 1584 (T. Fusenig & U. Vilwock, 'Hieronymus Franckens Venezianische Ball'in Aachen...', Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, 2000, pp. 145ff.).
Hieronymous was an important progenitor of a family of artists who were active in Antwerp for more than the first half of the seventeenth- century. In the handling of the face of the old woman on the right can be seen the manner that is suggestive of what was to be the hallmark of the art of his nephew, Frans Francken II.
The circumstances that led to the painting of this Vanitas are not as yet known. The subject, dimensions and the support itself are unusual. Maybe it was part of a decorative scheme to be fitted into a large room. The latent message would seem to be both anti Habsburg and anti Papal; nevertheless the preacher is a Dominican.