Lot 41: GYSBRECHT LEYTENS

GYSBRECHT LEYTENS ANTWERP 1586 - BEFORE 1656 A WINTER LANDSCAPE WITH SKATERS ON A FROZEN RIVER AND PEASANTS COLLECTING WOOD oil on panel 44 7/8 by 55 1/2 in.; 114 by 141 cm.

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 5 July 1989, lot 16;
There purchased by the present collector.

The present winter landscape embodies the style of Gysbrecht Leytens, who was previously known as the Master of the Winter Landscapes. Most notably, it is the artist's depiction of trees-- his painterly brushstrokes of each bare branch and twig-- that has separated Leytens from other artists of winter scenes. Prior to scholars' identification of Leytens, his work had often been misattributed to Joos de Momper, Alexander Keirincx, or Denis van Asloot. While the composition and subject matter is typical of Leytens' work, it is the grand size of the present picture that makes it distinct, this picture being the artist's largest known work.