(Mechelen 1600–1652 Antwerp)

Pan with his retinue

Oil on panel.

19.7 × 13.8 cm.

Provenance:
European private collection.

The panel offered here is probably one of the models painted by Pieter van Avont that Coenraet Waumans (1619–1675) took up as a design for his prints (see Hollstein's Dutch & Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, c. 1450–1700, vol. LI, Rotterdam 1998, pp. 124/125, no. 22). There are no other hitherto known models for this series.

Dr. Bert Schepers finds notable parallels between the faces of the young satyrs in the present work and the putti in Van Avont's signed works. It can be assumed that the grisaille was created between 1633 and 1637, the years during which Waumans also worked in Antwerp.

Particularly known for his portrayals of putti, the Flemish artist Pieter van Avont often worked together with Pieter Brueghel the Elder, whose influence is correspondingly apparent within Avont’s oeuvre. Circa 1622/23 Avont became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp.

We are grateful to Dr. Bert Schepers for his analysis of the painting on the basis of a photograph.