Pieter Brueghel the Younger (Brussels 1564 - 1637/38 Antwerp), A Mountainous Landscape, La Source. Estimated Price: CHF50,000 - CHF70,000. Photo Koller Auctions

Oil on panel. Signed lower center: BREVGHEL 17 cm Diameter (Tondo). 

Expertise: Dr. Klaus Ertz, 06.07.2015. 

Notes: The motive of the source as a separate image theme is a rarity in the oeuvre Pieter Brueghel the Younger is it is so far only a further variant known who belongs to a series of four presentations on the subject of rivers, which can be seen today in Prague National Museum (see Ertz, Klaus:. Pieter Brueghel the Younger The painting critical catalog raisonné, Lingen 1988/2000, Vol. II, Cat. 1368-1371). Chance there is the rock formation in the background of some 'Calvary representations' (see ibid., Vol. I, Fig. 292, 294, 298). The signature below center of the image with the letters BREVGHEL (the E stands in front of the V) , Ertz can expect a creation of Tondos after 1616thBefore that time, the artists signed exclusively with BRVEGHEL (here is the V in front of the E). Particularly noteworthy in this illustration is the detachment of the artist of the contemporary landscape of the wide panoramic view, as they can be found for example in Joos de Momper or Lucas van Valkenburgh , Instead Breughel selects here an intimate view of a rock formation, which is intensified by the format. The viewer is placed at the foot of the rocks, and the view is directed upwards where two shadowy figures are to be seen under a bridge. The variety of browns let the rock formation come to life, which sets itself apart from the delicate shades of blue of the sky in the background and the scene gives a particularly harmonious and contemplative character.

Old Master Paintings by Koller Auctions, September 18, 2015, 3:00 PM CET - Zurich, Switzerland