VRANCX, Sebastian

This work was conceived as one of four panels representing the Four Seasons. It depicts a mountainous river landscape with a cooper conversing with an elegantly-dressed gentleman in the foreground, figures harvesting grapes, a tower and castle beyond.

This signed picture belongs to a series of four panels representing the seasons. It is considered as the prototype from which a number of copies were made. The subject can be traced back to the calendar illustrations of a Medieval Book of Hours, and its popularity continued during the 16th and 17th centuries. Some of Vrancx’s designs are filled with figures and movement, whilst the present composition focuses on a display of objects specifically associated with the time of year.

Sebastian Vrancx was one of the first representatives of battle scenes in Netherlandish painting.

This scene of conflict possesses the decorative qualities and Vrancx’s typically poised figures. A clear narrative, with travellers on horses attempting to ward off robbers, creates a personal and absorbing image. It reveals Vrancx’s delight in detailing his paintings with the dynamic qualities that make his compositions appealing on both an aesthetic and historical level.

Vrancx was known for his battle scenes and landscapes, but among his most popular subjects were his allegories of the Months and Seasons. This genre ultimately derived from manuscript illustrations. In the present representation of autumn, the painter sets the scene in a village, the main street lined with houses, some shops and two churches. The foreground is dominated by townspeople buying and selling apples and finches and, to the right, a man bringing grapes to be pressed for wine - all autumnal activities.

The painting belongs to a series representing the 12 months, dispersed in different museums. The artist made several versions of the series.

The painting shows a landscape with a convoy on a wooded track under attack from bandits who have been hiding in the undergrowth on the right-hand side of the painting. The wagon has stopped as its driver flees for the safety of the bushes, whilst its occupants are left stranded inside. The scene is set in a softly coloured and brightly-lit landscape, which contrasts with the darker theme of the painting.

In this scene, lit by random flashes from above, huntsmen pursue a fallow deer through a luxuriant glade, cleared of large-leafed trees and carpeted with reeds and low shrubs.

The subject of this painting was very popular with collectors because of its musical references. The subject of Orpheus also gave the artists, who were generally from across the Alps, the opportunity to paint animals crowded around the mythical singer.

You can view other depictions of Orpheus taming the animals.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):

Cristoph Willibald Gluck: Orfeo, Act I, Orpheus’ aria in G Major

During the Eighty Years War a Frenchman fighting for the Dutch, Charles de Br�aut�, insulted the commander of the Spanish garrison at ’s-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), Anthonie Schets van Grobbendonck. The two decided to settle the matter with an equivalent of single combat but involving twenty a side, which took place on 5 February 1600 on a heath near Vugterheide. Grobbendonck annoyed de Br�aut� by sending a deputy in his stead, one Gerard Abrahams van Houwelingen (known as ‘Lekkerbeetje’ which translates as ‘tasty morsel’ perhaps indicating that he was something of a snacker). Both Lekkerbeetje and de Br�aut� were killed, but the Spanish were deemed to have won. This throw-back to the age of chivalry was frequently painted.

Sebastian Vrancx created the genre of battle scenes in the Low Countries, cavalry pictures of battles sometimes relating to actual historical engagements, such as the well-known Battle of Lekkerbeetje, a popular composition, the original of which is lost and only known from a countless number of copies of varying quality. In most cases, however, these battlefield scenes do not represent any real event.

Sebastian Vrancx created the genre of battle scenes in the Low Countries, cavalry pictures of battles sometimes relating to actual historical engagements, in most cases, however, these battlefield scenes do not represent any real event.

The Battle of Wimpfen was a battle in the Bohemian Revolt period of the Thirty Years’ War on 6 May 1622 near Wimpfen. The forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Catholic League under Marshal Tilly and Gonzalo de C�rdoba defeated the Protestant forces of General Ernst von Mansfeld and Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach.

Sebastian Vrancx is known for his numerous paintings of battles, and scenes of plundering and attacks by brigands.