Lot 162: Maarten Pepyn (Antwerp 1575-1642/3)

Maarten Pepyn (Antwerp 1575-1642/3)
The wedding feast of Bacchus and Ariadne
inscribed 'Martinus . Päpÿn' (on the reverse)
oil on copper
18¾ x 24½ in. (47.6 x 62.3 cm.)

THE PROPERTY OF AN AUSTRIAN COLLECTOR (lots 140, 142, 156, 160,, 162, 162-165, 173, 201, 204, 213, 261)
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
We are grateful to Drs. Luuk Pijl for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs, and dating the work to circa 1600-1610.
The composition derives from an engraving of circa 1580 by Jan Sadeler I after a design by Dirck Barendsz, Mankind Awaiting the Deluge (see J.R. Judson, Dirck Barendsz, 1970, pp. 126-31, nos. 71-2). In Pepyn's work the ark and deluge are omitted and two putti are added, thus converting the subject into The wedding feast of Bacchus and Ariadne (Ovid, VIII, 171-82).