Lot 136: Michiel Sweerts and Studio , Brussels 1618 - 1664 Goa Plague in an Ancient City oil on canvas

oil on canvas

measurements note 24 1/2 by 34 1/2 in.; 62.2 by 87 cm.

This painting is a reduced version of Sweerts' monumental work of the same title, formerly in the collection of Saul P. Steinbergυ1 and now in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (AC 1997.10.1). That painting, which is oil on canvas and measures 46 3/4 by 67 1/4 in. (118.7 by 170.8 cm.), has been dated to circa 1650 when Sweerts was still residing in Rome. Lindsey Shaw-Miller has examined the present painting firsthand and believes that, though it post-dates the Los Angeles version, it is of roughly the same period, and that Sweerts himself may have painted parts of it. The technique in certain areas, such as the women in the foreground, is convincing as by Sweerts himself, whereas other areas, such as some of the faces and draperies of the background figures are more generalized and less convincing. She speculates that, possibly, while the larger version was still in Sweerts' studio in Rome, the smaller version could have been executed partly by him and partly by students, as a type of instructive exercise for his pupils. 1. Sold New York, Sotheby's, January 30, 1997, lot 34.