Lot 126: Gysbrecht Leytens (active circa 1617)

A winter landscape with woodcutters by a frozen river oil on copper 23.4 x 32.3 cm. PROVENANCE with D. Koetser, Zrich, 1972. NOTES P.F.J.J. Reelick was the first tentatively to identify the artist, then known as the Master of the Winter Landscapes, in 'Bijdrage tot Identificatie van den Meester der Winterlandschappen (G. Leytens?)', Oud Holland, 1942, LIX, pp. 74-9. His proposal was confirmed when a fully signed work was published by U. H„rting in 'Der Meister der Winterlandschaften, der Maler Gysbrecht Leytens', Die Kunst, 1988, I, p. 27. The present lot is a characteristic work by the artist, particularly in the graphic rendition of the trees with the snow-covered branches, closing off the composition on the left, as well as the subtle depiction of the hazy atmosphere of a winter's day. It is comparable to the picture sold in these Rooms, 6 November 2000, lot 62, which showed a very similar composition with minor changes in the staffage and with the omission of a watermill. It was not uncommon for the artist to return the same motifs and composition; another similar work to the present piucture is that on panel, 51 x 75 cm., in the Mus‚e des Beaux-Arts, Nancy. Sold with a certificate by Dr. Walther Bernt, dated 23 May 1972.