Old Master Paintings Part 1

HANS ROTTENHAMMER(1564

HANS ROTTENHAMMER(1564 MUNICH – 1625 AUGSBURG)AND JAN BRUEGHEL THE ELDER(1568 BRUSSELS – 1625 ANTWERP), ATTRIBUTEDTHE BAPTISM OF CHRISTOil on panel. Slim parquetting slats at the side.34 x 48 cm.Framed.As is typical in Brueghel’s œuvre, he collaborated withother figure painters and it is the landscape elements,the groups of trees and forest areas that he paintedhimself. In this painting Rottenhammer created a richfigure staffage, which dominates the actual subjectof the painting. Extraordinarily, the subject of thepainting is an all-encompassing view of the origin ofChristianity. The actual baptismal scene on the Jordan isat the centre of the depiction, but it is surrounded bynumerous groups of figures who have been assignedallegorically to the main subject. Of the three knownversions, one is dated ca. 1608 by Klaus Ertz, anotherversion is painted on panel (Klaus Ertz, Jan Brueghelthe Elder, Lingen 2008-2010, vol. IV, p. 1670, cat. add.30). A third version is held by the Staatsgemäldesammlungenin Munich, (inv. no. 4826, copper, 33 x44 cm.) and exhibited in the Städtische KunstsammlungenAugsburg, as “Hans Rottenhammer the Elder,The Baptism of Christ, ca. 1597“. One of the versionswas sold at auction at Lempertz, Cologne in 2011(A987, lot 1227).Literature:cf. Hans Rottenhammer. Begehrt – vergessen – neuentdeckt, exhibition catalogue, Weserrenaissance-Museum Schloss Brake – National Gallery Prague,2008/ 2009, p. 125.cf. Klaus Ertz and Christa Nitze-Ertz, Jan Bruegheld. Ä. Kritischer Katalog der Gemälde, vol. II, Lingen2008/ 2010, p. 561, cat. no. 260A.€ 40.000 - € 60.000SistrixINFO | BID56 HAMPEL ONLINE Visit www.hampel-auctions.com for around 7.000 additional images.