Two animated village landscapes - Jan Frans van Bredael

JAN FRANS VAN BREDAEL
1686 - 1750
Two animated village landscapes
Oil on canvas
We would like to thank Dr. Jan de Maere for his written expertise (Rambrouch, 23 October 2025), confirming the attribution of these two pendants to Jan Frans van Bredael the Elder.
Dimensions: 29 x 41 cm, 37 x 50 cm (framed)


THE ARTIST
According to Dr. De Maere, “the style and ductus, especially in the staffage and foliage, are characteristic of Jan Frans van Bredael and correspond closely to his known works inspired by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Two very similar pendants, both in subject and manner, were sold at Tajan, Paris, 23 March 2000 (lot 11).”
Jan Frans van Bredael the Elder was a prominent Flemish painter of landscapes, hunting scenes, and equestrian compositions. Born into the prolific van Bredael family of artists in Antwerp, he trained with his father Alexander van Bredael (1663–1720) and his grandfather Peeter van Bredael, continuing the family tradition of refined, animated landscape painting.
In 1706, together with his cousin Joseph van Bredael, he entered into a long-term contract with the Antwerp art dealer Jacob de Witte, producing copies and pastiches after Philips Wouwerman and Jan Brueghel the Elder. This early practice sharpened his eye for detail and composition, leading him to develop a distinctive personal style — one that combined Brueghelian clarity with the elegant luminosity of 18th-century Flemish taste.
Van Bredael’s career extended beyond Antwerp: he worked in London before 1716, earning aristocratic patronage from figures such as James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, and even King George I. Later, between 1719 and 1725, he was active in Paris, enjoying the support of several noble patrons, including Louis XV, who is said to have purchased four of his paintings during his visit to Antwerp in 1746.
Returning to Antwerp, van Bredael joined the Guild of Saint Luke in 1725, serving multiple terms as deacon. His paintings were widely sought after across Europe, and though many remained in private collections, a few are now held in museums such as the Louvre, Dresden, and the Rijksmuseum.
THE ARTWORK
These two finely preserved pendants depict idyllic Flemish village scenes animated with peasants, carts, horses, and ferries — motifs typical of van Bredael’s mature style. Both compositions are suffused with delicate light, atmospheric recession, and a masterful balance between architecture, figures, and nature.
The artist’s precise handling of the small figures and animals, his soft transitions in the skies, and the harmonious palette of warm browns, soft blues, and greens confirm his authorship. The pair exemplifies the Brueghelian lineage so characteristic of van Bredael’s generation: ordered yet lively compositions, where human activity and pastoral serenity coexist in rhythmic unity.
Comparable examples include the pair of “Animated Village Views near a River” sold at Tajan, Paris, 23 March 2000 (lot 11), and the “Animated Village Scene on Copper” sold at Sotheby’s, 10 April 2003 (lot 7, signed and dated).