CIRCLE OF AMBROSIUS BENSON (FLEMISH B. 1495-1550)THE BANQUET OF THE PRODIGAL SONOil on panel, unframedInscription 'FILIVS PRODIG* DISC(...) SVBSTANTIAE (...)' lower left130 x 167cm (51 x 65½ in.)This Flemish painting relates to a series of 16th century paintings by Ambrose Benson (1495-1550, b. Lombardy, a. Bruges) described by the art historian, Georges Marlier, as 'Reunions Galantes et Concerts aprés le Repas' (G. Marlier, Ambrosius Benson et la Peinture à Bruges au Temps de Charles-Quint, Damme, 1957, p. 229). The series combines the tradition of musical gatherings found in Italian art with Flemish banquet representations (ibid. p. 233). There are about ten paintings of this genre either attributed to Benson or from his workshop including: one in the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona (ibid., cat. 120); another in the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel (ibid., cat. 114); one formerly in the collection of Paul Wallraf (ibid., cat. 117); another in the Louvre, Paris (ibid. cat. 119) and one in a private collection (cat. 120). They all depict men and women dressed in the latest fashion around a square or round table on which an extravagant meal is laid out with platters of fruit and bread together with plates, knives, flacons and drinking glasses. As the meal is in effect over, some of the figures are playing the flute and lute, others intimately drape their arms around each other, and there are playing cards on the table. The whole scene takes place in a garden with, in the foreground, a foliate screen or drapery, and, in the distance, a land- or townscape. This description of Benson's genre paintings can equally relate to the present painting, which is by another as yet unidentified artist but undoubtedly inspired by Benson's oeuvre. The indistinct inscription on the bucket in the lower left corner hints at the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, a theme which was commonly used to dignify a genre scene with moral content. In Luke 15:11-32 the son squanders his father's fortune on a lavish life of drinking, gambling and prostitutes until he is so destitute that he is forced to take work as a swineherd, which is simultaneously depicted in the landscape in the background. Provenance: This item was inherited from the 7th Viscount Gort, deemed to be of national importance and placed into conditional exemption upon his death
CIRCLE OF AMBROSIUS BENSON (FLEMISH B. 1495-1550)THE BANQUET OF THE PRODIGAL SONOil on panel, unframedInscription 'FILIVS PRODIG* DISC(...) SVBSTANTIAE (...)' lower left130 x 167cm (51 x 65½ in.)This Flemish painting relates to a series of 16th century paintings by Ambrose Benson (1495-1550, b. Lombardy, a. Bruges) described by the art historian, Georges Marlier, as 'Reunions Galantes et Concerts aprés le Repas' (G. Marlier, Ambrosius Benson et la Peinture à Bruges au Temps de Charles-Quint, Damme, 1957, p. 229). The series combines the tradition of musical gatherings found in Italian art with Flemish banquet representations (ibid. p. 233). There are about ten paintings of this genre either attributed to Benson or from his workshop including: one in the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona (ibid., cat. 120); another in the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel (ibid., cat. 114); one formerly in the collection of Paul Wallraf (ibid., cat. 117); another in the Louvre, Paris (ibid. cat. 119) and one in a private collection (cat. 120). They all depict men and women dressed in the latest fashion around a square or round table on which an extravagant meal is laid out with platters of fruit and bread together with plates, knives, flacons and drinking glasses. As the meal is in effect over, some of the figures are playing the flute and lute, others intimately drape their arms around each other, and there are playing cards on the table. The whole scene takes place in a garden with, in the foreground, a foliate screen or drapery, and, in the distance, a land- or townscape. This description of Benson's genre paintings can equally relate to the present painting, which is by another as yet unidentified artist but undoubtedly inspired by Benson's oeuvre. The indistinct inscription on the bucket in the lower left corner hints at the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, a theme which was commonly used to dignify a genre scene with moral content. In Luke 15:11-32 the son squanders his father's fortune on a lavish life of drinking, gambling and prostitutes until he is so destitute that he is forced to take work as a swineherd, which is simultaneously depicted in the landscape in the background. Provenance: This item was inherited from the 7th Viscount Gort, deemed to be of national importance and placed into conditional exemption upon his death
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
