Pair Of 17th Century Outdoor Scenes - Flanders

A splendid pair of paintings, oil on canvas, measuring 33 x 43 cm without frame and 40 x 50 cm with frame, depicting two outdoor scenes with a multitude of characters and objects, typical of the works of Cornelis de Wael (Antwerp 1592 – Rome 1667).

Corneils De Wael, son of the Antwerp painter Jean de Wael, travelled to Genoa around 1610 with his older brother Luca, a pupil of Jan Brueghel.
He stayed in Venice from 1610 to 1620, when he settled in Genoa, becoming a citizen in 1642.

At the turn of the first and second decades of the 17th century, the two brothers undertook a long journey through Italy, during which they stopped in Genoa before moving on to Rome.

The numerous works that can now be attributed with certainty to Cornelis, whose production, however, must still be partly separated from the weaker and more repetitive work of his workshop, show how the Flemish artist, both during his long and prolific stay in Genoa and during his shorter stays in Rome, 'with his historical paintings of small, graceful figures' tackled a wide variety of subjects, including religious themes, battles, festivals and seascapes. ù

Using a consistent pictorial language, he composed landscapes or complex architectural structures, sometimes drawn from his imagination, sometimes carefully studied from life, populated by figures defined by compact, meticulous brushstrokes, moving with ease and freedom.

The setting of biblical episodes in everyday life, where the characters are often dressed in 17th-century clothing, is certainly a constant theme in the Antwerp artist's pictorial career, particularly appreciated by the Genoese aristocracy, who, in commissioning works of this kind, never miss an opportunity to reiterate that nobility of rank is also accompanied by nobility of spirit.

The careful choice of colours, characterised by brown and silver tones that further highlight the countless shades of white, the rare touches of red or the lively brushstrokes with which the sumptuous clothes of the nobles are constructed, as well as the diffused light that pervades the entire composition, together with the meticulous definition of the vegetation or architectural elements, are characteristic features of Corneils' language, attentive to the definition of each character's emotions and a punctual chronicler of pleasant contemporary events, as documented by our two wonderful canvases that perfectly express the marvellous qualities and abilities of this great artist, narrator of serene episodes set in the countryside.