Party in a forest – Nicolaes de Bruyn after David Vinckboons, 1601

Party in a Forest, copper engraving made in 1601 by Nicolaes de Bruyn after a drawing by David Vinckboons. Size:…

Party in a Forest, copper engraving made in 1601 by Nicolaes de Bruyn after a drawing by David Vinckboons. Size: 44.8 x 66.5 cm.

We see a party of an elegant company at the edge of the forest. There is eating, drinking, dancing, and music. The famous depiction of a fantasy castle on the right was likely an inspiration for the painter Roelant Roghman. Besides being a safe refuge, a castle was also seen as a “minneburcht” [love castle]. In this print, Maria Magdalena (on the left in the foreground) and her entourage linger in the forest. The clearly sensual atmosphere contrasts with the three crosses in the distance (on the mountain behind the castle), a reference to the suffering of Christ.

After the Fall of Antwerp in 1585 and the persecution of Protestants in the Southern Netherlands, the Vinckboons family settled in Amsterdam. David Vinckboons (1576-1632) mainly painted landscapes and genre scenes, the latter often outdoors. Vinckboons was also active as a draftsman and designer of prints.

Vinckboons gave a twist to the theme of peasant feasts, for which Brueghel is particularly known. Together with his pupil Esaias van de Velde, Vinckboons depicted festive companies of fashionably dressed, affluent bourgeoisie, situated in gardens resembling parks bordered by many trees. Also, in this print, one can see Vinckboons’ signature: a small inconspicuous finch (“vink” in Dutch) sits on a branch in the front left tree.

Price: Euro 2.850,- (incl. frame)