Beschreibung:

DescriptionLouis de CaulleryCambrai before 1582 - 1621 AntwerpA carnival scene
oil on panelunframed: 57.5 x 75.2 cm.; 22⅝ x 29⅝ in.framed: 74 x 92 cm.; 29⅛ x 36¼ in.Condition reportThe panel, consisting of three horizontal planks, is uncradled flat and stable. The paint surface is clean and covered in a modern glossy varnish. The paint surface is well preserved, and details of impasto are well preserved, particularly in the small figures throughout. Minor repairs to cracks are visible in the top right and in the right corner roughly third of the way up from the bottom edge. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals that an old layer of discoloured and reflective varnish is preserved in large areas but particularly in the middle ground, particularly in the smaller figures. Scattered retouching is visible in the architectural elements, particularly concentrated in the distance to the left. A campaign of restoration is visible in the sky surrounding the tower. Various areas of retouching is visible along the bottom edges. The painting is in a good condition and is offered in a cassetta style frame.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceWith De Jonckheere Gallery, Geneva, 1984;
With Johnny van Haeften Ltd., London (according to Bridgeman Images);
Anonymous sale, Paris, Drouot, 16 April 2000, lot 54 for 700,000 francs.Catalogue noteThis riotous carnival scene by Louis de Caullery falls into a tradition of Flemish painting mastered by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525–1569) in the sixteenth century. The perspective, imaginary architectural setting and densely arranged figures looks back to Bruegel's famous The Fight Between Carnival and Lent preserved in the Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna. Vast scenes of entertainments and social dissipation proved an attractive subject amongst northern artists during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
An artist famous for his lively depictions of characters and their costumes, Caullery here devotes great attention to each of the figures assembled within the mannerist architectural space. Rare surviving drawings attest to the figure studies the artist would make, presumably to be inserted into vastly detailed paintings such as this one.1 Amongst the revelers on display are street musicians, actors, dwarves, stilt walkers and equestrian sports. At the front of a grand parade is a sleigh bearing a character dressed as a wine barrel, a sure sign of the excesses of food and drink on offer during such celebrations. At the rear, a group of armed and costumed riders wait to make a grand entrance heralded by trumpets and horns. Contrasted against the more rowdy participants are the more reserved elegant courtiers standing in their finery next to doorways and observing at a distance from balconies. 
At least three other versions of this composition are known: one, perhaps the primary version, featuring a different arrangement of figures, was sold from the Marshall Collection in 1974;2 another simplified version was sold anonymously at Christie's, New York, 12 January 1996, lot 53; and a third related painting of a Carnival in a City Square, which bears the artist signature, taken from a lower view point and containing a much deeper perspective, is preserved in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg.3
1 For a discussion of de Caullery's drawings see D. Beaujean, ‘Louis de Caulery as a Draftsman’, in Master Drawings, vol. XXXVI, no. 4, Winter 1998, pp. 398–408.2 M.D. Padrón and M. Royo-Villanova, ‘Una Crucifixion de Louis de Caulery en el Museum del Prado’, in Boletín del Museo del Prado, 1993, p. 44, fig. 3 reproduced.3 P. Hartung, Katalog der Alten Meister der Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg 1966, p. 40, no. 413 reproduced.