Lot 4: Pieter Huys (Antwerp c. 1520-c. 1584)

The Harrowing of Hell oil on panel 331/2 x 45 in. (85 x 114.3 cm.) PROVENANCE M. Boussery, Brussels, by 1957. EXHIBITION Bordeaux, Mus‚e des Beaux-Arts, Bosch, Goya et le Fantastique, 20 May-31 July 1957, no. 110, as Pieter Huys, c. 1560, the measurements reversed. NOTES Pieter Huys became a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1545. His style and choice of subject matter were influenced by the popularity of Hieronymous Bosch (c. 1450-1516), which continued well into the second half of the sixteenth century; Huys's figures, however, are more lifelike and painted with thicker brushstrokes. In terms of composition the present picture - with its winding, receding planes of fantastical figures punctuated by an arched bridge and towers set against skies swarming with creatures - echoes that of Huys's Temptation of Saint Anthony, signed and dated 1547, in the Louvre. Only four signed and dated works by Huys are known to exist.