Marten van Cleve I (Antwerp c. 1527-before 1581)

Formerly ascribed to the Antwerp painter Gillis Mostaert, this painting has recently been reattributed to his contemporary, Marten van Cleve, after cleaning revealed the latter’s monogram (lower centre). The picture is being offered with a letter of expertise from Dr. Klaus Ertz, confirming the attribution to Marten van Cleve, upon first-hand inspection. Ertz draws firm stylistic comparisons with four other works by van Cleve in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, one of which, depicting The Blind leading the Blind, is also signed. The composition of this picture is typical of paintings executed by the artist after 1560, when the influence of Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s work becomes increasingly apparent in van Cleves oeuvre. Ertz proposes a dating for this picture to the 1560s or 70s, comparing it with a further work by van Cleve of the Feast of Saint Martin in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dunkirk.