Pieter Breughel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp)

The prime version of this composition, by Pieter Breughel the Elder, is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Klaus Ertz lists several variants by the artist's son (see K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere, Lingen, 2000, II, no. E 857-66). All of these were executed on a scale comparable to the present painting and similarly contain minor variations to the figures and their architectural setting. The charming inclusion of the amorous couple in the hayloft also appears in the version formerly with Galerie de Jonckheere, Paris (ibid., p. 709, no. E 859).