작품 상세

CertificateKlaus Ertz, Lingen, 4.10.2014.Philippe de Momper, to whom Klaus Ertz attributes the present work, was one of the ten children of the Antwerp painter Josse de Momper. Alongside Philippe, another of his sons - named Gaspard - may also have worked as an artist, but little is known of his biography. Philippe's comparatively short life is thankfully more thoroughly documented. We know that he was born in 1598 and that he was a close friend of Jan Brueghel the Younger. Both resided in Italy from 1622 - 1624, where Philippe painted several scenes of Rome and its surroundings. Upon his return to Antwerp in 1624, Philippe became a master, but died at just 36 years of age one year before his father Josse. Philippe had worked in his father's studio and was well accustomed to his style, but Klaus Ertz writes: "Many aspects of Philippe's work are reminiscent of his father. However, he still has an independent style, incorporating his own ideas and contemporary fashions. All of Philippe's motifs display his own, unmistakeable signature." Pieter Brueghel the Elder was the first artist to explore the motif of winter landscapes in detail. The generation of Josse de Momper had "the merit of bringing the winter landscape to full bloom" (Alexander Wied in: Exhib. cat. "Die Flämische Landschaft 1520-1700", Essen 2003, p. 206). This present image by Philippe de Momper, which was long considered to be his father's work, stands in this long tradition. It shows a view over a large expanse of a frozen canal, bracketed by tall trees on the right and buildings on the left in the mid and background. This atmospheric image of a village in the grip of a harsh winter is peopled by numerous figures which provide a realistic insight into rural life in 17th century Flanders.