This pdf is a digital offprint of your contribution in C. Currie (ed.), The Bruegel Success Story, ISBN 978-90-429-4332-2 https://www.peeters- leuven.be/detail.php?search_key=9789042943322&series_number_str=21 &lang=en The copyright on this publication belongs to Peeters Publishers. As author you are licensed to make printed copies of the pdf or to send the unaltered pdf file to up to 50 relations. You may not publish this pdf on the World Wide Web – including websites such as academia.edu and open-access repositories – until three years after publication. Please ensure that anyone receiving an offprint from you observes these rules as well. If you wish to publish your article immediately on open-access sites, please contact the publisher with regard to the payment of the article processing fee. For queries about offprints, copyright and republication of your article, please contact the publisher via peeters@peeters- leuven.be THE BRUEGEL SUCCESS STORY Papers Presented at Symposium XXI for the Study of Underdrawing and Technology in Painting, Brussels, 12–14 September 2018 Edited by Christina Currie, in collaboration with Dominique Allart, Bart Fransen, Cyriel Stroo and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe PEETERS LEUVEN – PARIS – BRISTOL, CT 2021 Contents Editors’ Preface IX PART 1 DULLE GRIET 1 The Surprises of Dulle Griet Leen Huet 3 2 Lifting the Veil: The Dulle Griet Rediscovered through Conservation, Scientific Imagery and Analysis Christina Currie, Steven Saverwyns, Livia Depuydt-Elbaum, Pascale Fraiture, Jean-Albert Glatigny and Alexia Coudray 19 3 The Coloured Drawing of the Dulle Griet in the Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf: New Findings on its Status and Dating Christina Currie, Dominique Allart, Sonja Brink and Steven Saverwyns 45 PART 2 PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER: MAKING, MEANING AND COPYING 4 T he Adoration of the Magi in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium: Overview and New Perspectives Véronique Bücken 63 5 The Final Piece of the Puzzle: Bruegel’s Use of Cartoons in the Battle between Carnival and Lent and Reflections on his Preparatory Work for Painting Christina Currie 81 6 Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Triumph of Death and Versions by his Sons: The Creative Process and the Art of Copying Christina Currie and Dominique Allart 105 7 Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Copenhagen Oil Sketch of the Strife between Carnival and Lent, 1562 Anne Haack Christensen, Eva de la Fuente Pedersen, Aoife Daly, David Buti, Gianluca Pastorelli and Jørgen Wadum 129 8 Is Bruegel’s Sleeping Peasant an Image of Caricature? Yoko Mori 147 9 The Afterlife of the Detroit Wedding Dance: Visual Reception, Alterations and Reinterpretations Yao-Fen You, Ellen Hanspach-Bernal, Christina Bisulca and Aaron Steele 169 VI contents 10 The Antwerp Wedding Dance: A Little Studied Copy after Bruegel the Elder Marie Postec and Pascale Fraiture 191 PART 3 JAN BRUEGHEL IN CONTEXT 11 Copia, Copying and Painterly Eloquence Elizabeth Alice Honig 207 12 The Master of the Dresden Landscape with the Continence of Scipio: A Journeyman in the Studio of Jan Brueghel the Elder? Uta Neidhardt 227 13 Examination of the Brueghel Holdings in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich Mirjam Neumeister, Eva Ortner and Jan Schmidt 243 14 Jan Brueghel the Elder’s Oil Sketches of Animals and Birds: Form, Function and Additions to the Oeuvre Amy Orrock 261 15 Sibling Rivalry: Jan Brueghel’s Rediscovered Early Crucifixion Larry Silver 279 PART 4 THE BRUEGEL NETWORK AND LEGACY 16 Peasant Passions: Pieter Bruegel and his Aftermath Ethan Matt Kavaler 289 17 Behind the Scenes in Pieter Bruegel’s ‘Success Story’: Pieter Coecke’s Networks and Legacy Annick Born 319 18 Bruegel and Beuckelaer: Contacts and Contrasts Lorne Campbell 343 19 Max J. Friedländer’s Perception of Bruegel: Rereading the Art Historian from a Historical Perspective Hilde Cuvelier 359 20 Erasmus’s De Copia and Bruegel the Elder’s ‘inverted’ Carrying of the Cross (1564): An ‘abundant style’ in Rhetoric, Literature and Art? Jamie L. Edwards 369 21 Pieter Bruegel the Elder and France Patrick Le Chanu 385 22 In Search of the Bruegel Family’s Homes and Studios in Antwerp Petra Maclot 397 contents VII 23 Bruegel’s Patrons: How ‘Close Viewing’ May Reveal Original Ownership Tine Luk Meganck 413 24 Pieter Bruegel’s The Heath: Collectors and Connoisseurs Jan Muylle 425 25 Bruegel across Modes and Materials: Notes on a Painted Palace in Sixteenth-Century Segovia Daan van Heesch 435 26 An Enigmatic Panel-Maker from Antwerp and his Supply to the Bruegels Ingrid Moortgat and Jørgen Wadum 453 27 View of the Strait of Messina, by Circle of Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawing Techniques and Materials Examined Lieve Watteeuw, Marina Van Bos, Joris Van Grieken, Maarten Bassens, Bruno Vandermeulen and Hendrik Hameeuw 465 ADDENDUM The Dulle Griet: A Thematic and Synthetic Analysis Gaston Vandendriessche († 2002), with a foreword by Dominique Vanwijnsberghe 477 Bibliography 511 Contributors 543 Photographic Credits 549 a b Fig. 3.1 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Dulle Griet, 1563, oil on panel, 116.4 × 162.1 cm, Antwerp, Museum Mayer van den Bergh (inv. 788) (a) After Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Dulle Griet, undated, pen and ink and gouache on paper, 394 × 535 mm, Düsseldorf, Kunstpalast, collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (NRW) (inv. KA (FP) 4838) (b) 3 The Coloured Drawing of the Dulle Griet in the Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf: New Findings on its Status and Dating Christina Currie, Dominique Allart, Sonja Brink and Steven Saverwyns ABSTRACT: The Düsseldorf coloured drawing of the Dulle was transferred to Munich, but some pieces Griet was examined at the Royal Institute for Cultural remained in Düsseldorf and became part of the col- Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels in collaboration with lections of the Kunstakademie. The Dulle Griet the Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, using infrared reflecto- graphy, infrared photography, transmitted light photo- drawing could have been one of the works of art graphy, macro-XRF and micro-Raman spectroscopy. that stayed in Düsseldorf. Another possible prov- The study of the paper revealed the watermark of enance is the collection of painter and art collector Niklaus Heusler, a Basel paper manufacturer, giving 1578 Wilhelm Lambert Krahe (1712–1790). His collec- as the earliest possible execution date for the drawing, tion was acquired in 1778 by the Duchy of Berg and thus confirming its status as a copy. Examination and analysis of the colours suggest that they are most for use at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, of which likely original. Various hypotheses are proposed as to Krahe was the first director. The drawing is listed the drawing’s original function, attribution and context, in an 1883 inventory of the Kunstakademie, where taking into account the early history of Bruegel’s Dulle it is given to Pieter Brueghel the Younger.2 Since Griet. Thanks to its early dating, the drawing is a key 1932 the Krahe collection, which forms the w itness to the appearance of the Dulle Griet painting at an early stage in its history, and as such it provided nucleus of the collections of the Kunstakademie, fundamental help during the conservation campaign. has been on permanent loan to the Kunstpalast in Certain colours and motifs that have altered over time Düsseldorf. in the painting remain more legible in the drawing. The Düsseldorf sheet has suffered years of —o— neglect by art historians. Georges Marlier men- tioned it in his book on Pieter Brueghel the Younger Introduction as a ‘dessin intéressant, mais d’attribution difficile’ The Dulle Griet drawing1 is on permanent loan to (interesting drawing, but difficult attribution).3 the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf from the collection The only authors to have discussed it in any detail of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (fig. 3.1b).2 Its are Lutz Malke in 1975, Alexander Wied in 1997 earliest provenance is unknown, but it is likely to and Margaret Sullivan in 2004. Malke saw it as have been part of the collection of Prince Johann a copy after Bruegel’s (Museum Mayer van den Wilhelm von Pfalz, Elector Palatine, who started Bergh) painting of the Dulle Griet, while Wied collecting art, especially Flemish and Dutch paint- c onsidered the drawing of excellent quality but did ing, around 1684. Most of the prince’s collection not see any characteristic features of the Brueghel 46 CHRISTINA CURRIE, DOMINIQUE ALLART et al. sons. Indeed, he felt that, on stylistic grounds, the Paper Support sheet might be older than the sons’ copies after their The large coloured drawing of the Dulle Griet father. He considered that an artist in Emperor (39.4 × 53.5 cm), which is about a ninth of the size Rudolf II’s circle capable of imitating Bruegel’s of Bruegel’s panel painting (116.4 × 162.1 cm), is drawings might be responsible, such as Roelandt made on a single sheet of laid paper, with horizon- Savery.4 Sullivan instead favoured an attribution to tal laid lines and vertical chain lines. There are Pieter Bruegel the Elder himself. She identified some horizontal losses, perhaps due to rolling. small differences in motif between the drawing and R aking light also reveals considerable cockling and the painting and interpreted them as creative signs that it was attached to something at the changes by Bruegel the Elder, concluding that the reverse along all four edges. This probably corres- drawing must be a preparatory study for the painting ponds with the fact that the drawing was glued (fig. 3.1a).5 In 2002, Nils Büttner suggested that the to a wooden support at some point before 1930.8 drawing was a coloured model for future copies of This support was removed by 1934, according to an the Dulle Griet.6 Most recently, in 2012, Christina inventory of the Kunstakademie’s collections.9 Currie and Dominique Allart reassessed Sullivan’s In transmitted light, a large laid watermark can arguments and concluded that the drawing was be made out in the centre left, measuring 14 cm unlikely to be by Bruegel’s hand.7 Nonetheless, the from top to bottom, which had never been noticed present authors always intended to examine the before. It was difficult to read in its entirety due to drawing in the flesh at some point, as it had never the presence of the painted image. The mystery was been subject to an in-depth stylistic-technical ana- resolved by taking an infrared photograph of the lysis. The 2017–18 conservation treatment of the reverse side, which revealed the mark without Dulle Griet painting at the Royal Institute for Cul- interference (fig. 3.2b). tural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) was the spur to this The watermark shows a crowned eagle with the research, and it turned out to be more useful for the Basel crozier in its breast. The ‘NH’ initials and restoration than could possibly have been imagined. mark at the bottom clearly point to the papermaker The questions we had at the outset were sequen- Niklaus I Heusler. He used this mark from the time tial. We wanted to find out whether the drawing he took over the Zunziger papermill (St Albantal could be a coloured model for the Dulle Griet by no. 39) at Basel in 1578, which gives a terminus post Bruegel himself, or whether it was a copy after quem for the production of the paper.10 The most the painting. If it was not a preparatory drawing, frequent recorded occurrences of this watermark we wanted to investigate the possibility of it being are in the 1580s, as in an example from a 1585 a record copy by Bruegel himself, and if not by Missivenbuch (fig. 3.2c),11 but it is likely that him, then consider other possible candidates. The the mark was used up until the death of Niklaus dating and place of production of the paper and the Heusler’s son, also named Niklaus, in 1626. identification of the pigments were thus key to This terminus post quem for the paper already the investigation. We were uncertain as to whether answered two of our questions. The drawing is not the colours were original or added later, which was a preparatory drawing by Bruegel the Elder for the crucial as this would determine the nature of the painting, dated 1563, nor could it have been a relationship of the drawing to the original colour record drawing by his hand, as he died in 1569. scheme of the Dulle Griet painting. To answer these questions, the KIK-IRPA Transfer, Drawing and Painting Techniques initiated a study of the drawing in October 2017 In infrared, and faintly visible with the naked eye, with the full collaboration of the Kunstpalast in there are traces of squaring-up behind the paint Düsseldorf. layer. Since these lines are quite widely spaced it THE COLOURED DRAWING OF THE DULLE GRIET 47 a 2 cm b 2 cm c Fig. 3.2 Diagram of watermark on transmitted light image (a); infrared detail of reverse, inverted (b); page from online Gravell Watermark Archive , showing diagram of Niklaus I Heusler’s watermark on a 1585 Missivenbuch (c) seems likely that they were made in relation to a corresponding grid placed over Bruegel’s original painting. They are not to be confused with the ver- tical chain lines of the paper, which fall in different places. The material seems to be some sort of dry black medium, probably charcoal or black chalk, and the grid was no doubt deliberately erased after drawing and prior to colouring. The drawing of the design is in pen and brown ink. In places the line appears to be split into two, a suggesting a pen rather than a brush. The lines are slightly stippled in places. Parts of the drawing line appear darker than others, suggesting two stages of application. Both stages could be pen and ink, but it is possible that the darker lines could be remnants of a black chalk underdrawing. These would have been partially effaced after the ink drawing stage along with the squaring grid. A high-resolution macro-X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) scan of the green mantle of the giant on the roof indicates the presence of iron in the ink b of the drawing lines, suggesting the use of an iron 12 Fig. 3.3 Detail. Giant on roof, showing iron gall ink outlines (a); gall ink as drawing medium (fig. 3.3b). In places MA-XRF mapping of iron (b) there are longer and somewhat wider-spaced brown hatching strokes, prob ably also iron gall ink. These 48 CHRISTINA CURRIE, DOMINIQUE ALLART et al. strokes are completely invisible in infrared photo- complete drawing was scanned with macro X-ray graphy and reflectography, suggesting that they are fluorescence (MA-XRF),13 providing elemental part of the second drawing stage, during which the information on the pigments’ composition. In artist added indications of tone. the limited time available only a few spots were The colouring stage consists of a straightforward further characterized with micro-Raman spectro- application of flat planes of colour in a water-based scopy (MRS), delivering molecular information medium, with occasional hatching strokes in grey and confirming or refining MA-XRF results.14 paint, as seen in Dulle Griet’s helmet (fig. 3.4a). A selection of the main MA-XRF results are Delicate touches of pink and orange mark flesh summarized as element distribution maps in fig. 3.6. tones. Further outlining and final details are applied The higher the signal intensity of the element in dilute brown paint applied with a brush. under consideration, the whiter the colour in The black border was examined with the bin- the map. ocular microscope. In many areas it appears to be Lead can be detected in many places through- reinforced. Indeed, it is much blacker and lacking out the drawing. It is present as lead white the wear and tear of black areas in the body of the (2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2) in some bright white high- drawing. In the lower left and at the bottom left, lights: for example, in the nightcap of the creature there seems to be grey paint instead of black paint. sitting on the wall next to Hell and in the border The border may therefore be a later addition. of the cauldron of creatures and soldiers near the tavern on the right. However, the off-white Closeness to the Model colour is generally obtained by leaving the paper The drawing precisely follows the motifs in Bruegel unpainted. In most cases, lead is found mixed with the Elder’s Dulle Griet painting. Close comparison other colours, to influence their final tonality. Lead of certain motifs demonstrates that the drawing is might also originate from other sources. Red lead a copy of the painting rather than being copied (Pb3O4) might have been used in parts of the glow- after a lost preparatory drawing by Bruegel. Where ing sky or in fires, where the lead concentration is Bruegel modified his painting slightly during exe- high, although a mixture of a red pigment with lead cution, the drawing follows the final appearance of white is also possible. As MA-XRF is an elemental the form: for example, the feeding bowl of the technique, a distinction between lead white and Bosch-like bodiless creature in front of the entrance red lead cannot be made. MRS measurements were to Hell, which in Bruegel’s underdrawing is wider, not performed in the orange-red areas. A final less tilted and with something inside it (fig. 3.5). source of the lead signal is lead-tin yellow Another example is the flag in the upper right (Pb2SnO4). Although weak, signals for tin could be of the scene, where the Düsseldorf drawing imitates detected and MRS analysis further refined the Bruegel’s painted solution rather than the flag’s results and identified the pigment as lead-tin underdrawing. Clearly, the aim was to make yellow type I rather than type  II (Pb(Sn,Si)O3). as faithful a reproduction as possible, but on a The yellow colour is very pale and hardly distin- smaller scale. guishable from the yellowish background of the paper. It is used in the metal decoration on the Pigment Analysis small box underneath the left arm of Dulle Griet, We carried out scientific analysis of the pigments the drapery on the trumpet held by a flying insect to verify where the colours could have been applied monster, parts of the eyes of Hell, the round at the same time as the pen and ink drawing lines. window of the tavern, the sky near the upper Sampling of the drawing was not possible, so right corner, the laundry in a basket, the sleeve of only non-invasive analyses were carried out. The a woman to the right of the laundry basket, the THE COLOURED DRAWING OF THE DULLE GRIET 49 a b Fig. 3.4 Detail. Dulle Griet in Düsseldorf drawing, under normal light (a) and UV illumination (b). The pale pink flesh tones produce a strong fluorescence under ultraviolet light 50 CHRISTINA CURRIE, DOMINIQUE ALLART et al. Fig. 3.5 Bosch-like creature in Bruegel’s Dulle Griet, with IRR insert showing original position of bowl and dropped motif inside it (a); and in Düsseldorf drawing, imitating original’s paint layer (b) THE COLOURED DRAWING OF THE DULLE GRIET 51 a Pb b Hg c Cu d Sn e Fe f Fig. 3.6 XRF maps for lead (b), mercury (c), copper (d), tin (e) and iron (f) 52 CHRISTINA CURRIE, DOMINIQUE ALLART et al. content of two pots left and right above the laundry no further information on its exact composition basket, a small part of the sky to the right of can be obtained. Under the set conditions, MRS Hell’s cap, the outlines of the toad on the tree gave no further clues on this green pigment either. and some small patches next to the left eye of Hell. In some brown-greenish parts of the drawing, In the original Dulle Griet painting (fig. 3.1a) c opper is detected in lower intensity, again with- these zones are indeed all yellow, with the excep- out lead-tin yellow, such as in the vegetation tion of the toad, where it is hard to see possible around the roots of the tree on the left, the dress yellow outlines. of the woman next to the left foot of Dulle Griet The use of lead-tin yellow is not only limited to and the creature with a helmet hanging on the light yellow zones. It is also found in green colours, bridge. Could this be the same green as in mixed with a pigment rich in copper. This might be the laundry basket, but more thinly applied or azurite blue (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2) mixed with lead- degraded? Close observation of these zones shows tin yellow to produce a green tone, or a true copper- predominantly green-brownish areas, with some green pigment, mixed with lead-tin yellow to greener patches, which could point to the degra- influence its tonality. Unfortunately, the drawing dation of an originally green pigment. could not be studied by digital microscopy, which Blue parts are rich in copper, indicating the use could have allowed the visualization of pigment of azurite, the presence of which was confirmed by grains in the green colour, determining whether MRS analyses. No smalt is detected in the drawing. azurite is present or not. Green paint with lead-tin Azurite is also noted in the sky, in the right part of yellow has been found around the egg and the con- Hell’s cap, in the blue dress of Dulle Griet and in struction with the three circular levels above, in the dresses of some women in the background. the green mantle of the giant, in the green border The use of vermilion (HgS) was proven through of the left eye of Hell, in the green frog in the red the detection of mercury in most red parts of the river and in the vegetation painted on the red river drawing. In the vivid red colours it is present as next to the right foot of Dulle Griet. Interestingly pure whereas in some darker tones (such as the the green around the egg and the construction with darker parts of the red river) it is mixed with an the three circular levels above is coloured using the iron-rich pigment, a red ochre. In some red parts of same pigment mixture, giving a very similar colour the painting, such as for the ‘barrel man’, the dress for both parts, while in Bruegel’s original Dulle of the woman with the axe on the bridge, and the Griet painting the colour of the green around red small tower next to the tavern, the red paint the egg and the circular levels above is clearly dif- only contains red ochre, with no vermilion. By ferent. This implies that colour changes in the oil adding red ochre to vermilion, or by using these painting took place after the artist of the drawing pigments in their pure form, the artist created saw the painting. d ifferent shades of red. Different green hues can be observed in the The highest concentration of iron is detected drawing. The green around the egg is rather dull, in brown colours, such as in the basket on Dulle while some parts of the mantle of the giant are Griet’s arm, the left eye of Hell, the beehive, the vivid green. A higher level of copper in the vivid bowl in the hand of the creature with the spoon in green parts seems to be the reason for this differ- his anus and the man next to the beehive. In these ence. The green of the basket with laundry and cases, a brown ochre was used. the sleeves of the women left and right of the Calcium is detected throughout the drawing, no basket contain copper with no lead-tin yellow, doubt mostly coming from the paper itself. In some suggesting a true green copper-based pigment. spots the concentration of calcium is notably However, as MA-XRF is an elemental technique, higher, such as in the bell, in the laundry in the THE COLOURED DRAWING OF THE DULLE GRIET 53 green basket, and in the raised arm of a woman to to have faded as well, such as in the reflection in the right of the basket. This calcium likely origin- the sphere in the boat. Here, only a white colour is ates from chalk (although the use of gypsum cannot observed in visible light, while a faint orange fluor- be excluded). The chalk does not seem to be used escence is noted under ultraviolet illumination. as white pigment, as the colour of the paper itself is There is also orange fluorescence in the glow used for white colours, and sporadically some lead caused by fires, suggesting the use of madder lake white. The chalk could therefore be pres ent as and implying that the original tinge was initially substrate for a yellow lake.15 In Bruegel’s original redder. Unfortunately, only a destructive analysis of Dulle Griet painting, the laundry and the raised arm a sample can prove the presence of madder lake. (and perhaps also parts of the bell) are indeed The key pigment present in the drawing that y ellow. These parts in the drawing contain lead-tin proves an early date for the application of the yellow as well. During the period, yellow lakes were c olours is lead-tin yellow, a pigment popular in often used in mixtures to produce greens or to give western painting since at least the fourteenth cen- life to a duller yellow pigment. They have also been tury. It was hardly ever used after the beginning reported in combination with lead-tin yellow.16 In of the eighteenth century and disappeared from the clothing of the woman on the bridge to the far the artist’s palette around 1750, only to be redis- right, grabbing a pack, in the d rawing no lead-tin covered in 1941.18 Also relevant, however, is yellow is detected, but higher calcium levels can be the fact that we detected none of the synthetic noted; in the Dulle Griet painting the clothes of inorganic pigments introduced since the early this woman are yellowish in colour. It is possible eighteenth century. The painting palette therefore that the sleeve in the drawing was originally y ellow, corres ponds with the manufacturing period of the but that the dye faded over time. The presence of paper s upport. a yellow lake, however, can only be confirmed by destructive analysis of a sample, and sampling was Origin and Function not feasible in the case of the drawing. Attribution is difficult due to the wear and tear of Degradation of other pigments is likely as well. the sheet and because the copyist aimed at repro- The leaves of the tree before Hell are brownish in ducing his model as faithfully as possible rather the painting (and believed to be originally green), than affirming his own personal style. whereas in the drawing the trees seem to be bare. Nonetheless, the drawing is of high quality and Only under close observation do some traces of shows considerable vivacity and expressivity, leaves become visible. No copper was detected in despite the constraints of working within a grid. these leaves, leading to the assumption that an The draughtsman seems to have a certain familiar- unstable green organic colourant was used. ity with Bruegel’s graphic style and mimics some of Finally, under ultraviolet illumination, there are its features. Similarities with Bruegel’s drawings signs of the presence of a red lake. We noted an include short stippled lines and dots, especially in orange fluorescence in different reddish colours in the far distance, and in the rendering of materials the drawing. This is especially pronounced in the such as furs (fig. 3.7). The portrayal of eyes is also flesh tones of Dulle Griet, corresponding with a comparable. However, the Düsseldorf drawing does pale pink colour in normal light (fig. 3.4). Madder not have the same level of subtlety, finish and rich lake, a red lake pigment that derives its colour from graphic effects as Bruegel’s drawings, most of which the roots of the madder plant (Rubia Tinctorum L.), are preparatory sheets for prints, intended to give is known to produce an orange hue under ultravio- precise guidance to engravers. It was planned from let light.17 Orange fluorescence indicates where the outset as a tinted drawing, in which colour was madder was used, although in some cases it seems an integral part. 54 CHRISTINA CURRIE, DOMINIQUE ALLART et al. a b c d Fig. 3.7 Detail from Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Luxuria, pen and grey-brown ink on paper, 1557, Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, KBR (inv. S.II 132 816) (a) Detail from Düsseldorf drawing (b) Detail from Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Justicia, pen and grey-brown ink on paper, 1559, Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, KBR (inv. S.II 133 707) (c) Detail from Düsseldorf drawing (d) THE COLOURED DRAWING OF THE DULLE GRIET 55 As we have seen, its dating rests largely on the would have played an important role in transfer- watermark of Niklaus Heusler, also used by his son, ring what remained of Bruegel’s studio materials which gives a possible period of execution between to his sons. Pieter the Younger and Jan Brueghel 1578 and 1626, although the paper could have are evidently also potential candidates, after com- been stored and used a little later. This does not ing of age. But the drawing is unlikely to be by provide us with any information on the place where either of them, as there is no known copy by their the drawing was made, since Basel papermakers hands, nor echoes of motifs from the Dulle Griet exported their goods all over Europe. The answer in their works. Pieter Brueghel the Younger in should therefore be sought via the provenance of particular would have seized any opportunity to the original painting and thus where it could have work directly after an original painting by his been copied. father and produce copies. The earliest mention of the painting is in a Therefore, it is unlikely that between 1563, the l etter to Rudolf II from Count Simon VI of Lippe, date of the Dulle Griet painting, and 1600, the year which states that in 1600 the Dulle Griet passed of its entry into the imperial collection, the paint- into the hands of merchants from Emden, Lower ing was accessible to the Bruegel family. It could Saxony. These merchants made a gift of the paint- have passed from collector to collector, in which ing to the emperor shortly afterwards.19 The Dulle case the drawing could have been carried out in the Griet was most likely the painting described by context of a commercial transaction. It might have Karel van Mander in Rudolf II’s collection in been produced as a reproduction to entice a poten- Prague as ‘een Dulle Griet, die een roof voor de tial buyer of the painting, or as a substitute for the Helle doet, die seer verbijsteert siet, en vreet op costly painting itself. zijn schots toeghemaeckt is: ick acht dees en ander The large format of the drawing, as well as the stucken oock in s’Keysers Hof zijn’ (a Dolle Griet possibility that it was originally attached to a carrying away plunder in the face of Hell, who wooden support, may suggest that it was intended looks quite crazy and is weirdly kitted-out in a to be viewed as a finished work of art in its own higgledy-piggledy way. I believe this, as well as right. If this is the case, the northern provinces some other pieces, to be in the emperor’s palace merit particular attention. In Amsterdam, for too).20 It is thought that the painting was looted example, a possible artist is Jacob Savery, a talented from the imperial palace in Prague in 1648 by the draughtsman working in the Bruegel tradition. troops of Queen Christina of Sweden and taken to Savery produced drawings in the style and spirit of Sweden. It was purchased by Fritz Mayer van den Bruegel, such as Village Kermis, recently acquired Bergh at the Lempertz auction house in Cologne by the Victoria and Albert Museum (fig. 3.8). It is in 1894, having been previously in the collection also a pen and ink coloured drawing on paper and of Christian Hammer, a Swedish jeweller based its large format is very close to that of the Düssel- in Stockholm.21 dorf copy.22 Savery understood perfectly Bruegel Unfortunately, prior to 1600, it is not known the Elder’s graphic technique. He is well known where the painting was or who commissioned it. for having imitated Bruegel’s style to perfection, The painting could have remained in the Bruegel using the great master’s characteristic small dots. family after the death of Pieter the Elder in 1569, A series of drawings previously considered to be or it could have been in a collection accessible to works by Bruegel the Elder himself, with ‘Bruegel’ the family. In both these possible situations, signatures and dates corresponding to his lifetime, the drawing could have been made by Mayken are probably forgeries by Savery.23 Verhulst, widow of Pieter Coecke van Aelst and As suggested by Alexander Wied, the other likely an artist herself, notably in watercolour. She context for the making of the Düsseldorf copy is the 56 CHRISTINA CURRIE, DOMINIQUE ALLART et al. Fig. 3.8 Jacob Savery, Village Kermis, 1598 (signed and dated in gold ink), pen and grey ink, with watercolour and some gold on paper, 371 × 535 mm, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. DYCE.513 imperial court at Prague, where the original painting painting prior to the latter’s colour alterations, ended up around 1600 and p robably remained until increased translucency and localized damages. 1648.24 Copying after old masters was a common Although the drawing itself has suffered wear activity at that court. Rudolf II loved Bruegel’s paint- and tear and some fading, certain colours are in fact ings, and surrounded himself with artists working in much better preserved than in the painting, which the Bruegelian tradition – such as Pieter Stevens II, is due to the different pigments used and the water- Joris Hoefnagel and Roelandt Savery, brother of based medium. This is the case for the blues in Jacob and author of the notorious ‘naer het leven’ Dulle Griet’s skirt and shoulders, which have a drawings and perhaps also of the famous Alpine much bluer hue in the drawing, and also for her Views.25 The Düsseldorf drawing could have been white veil, which has become completely transpar- carried out there by one of the emperor’s artists or by ent in the oil painting. Hell’s hat is clearly blue in a visitor to the imperial collection. the drawing, whereas it is pale with a dark shadow in the original painting. Certain dresses in the The Düsseldorf Drawing: Clues to the female army are also blue in the drawing and faded O riginal Appearance of the Painting in the painting. The drawing therefore represents Quite apart from the question of the attribution a glimpse of how the Dulle Griet’s colours would and function of the drawing, its early dating makes have looked at the outset and during its time in it a key witness to the original appearance of the Rudolf II’s court. THE COLOURED DRAWING OF THE DULLE GRIET 57 a b c d Fig. 3.9 ‘Barrel man’ in Düsseldorf drawing (a); in painting before cleaning, IRR (b); in painting before cleaning (c); in painting after treatment (d) Some of the original colours in the painting After removal of the overpaint, it recovered its were hidden behind later overpaint, but visible in original appearance, which is red for the most part, the Düsseldorf drawing. The sky, for example, was edged with green.26 In the drawing, the likely green uniformly red in the painting, but red punctuated parts have faded completely, probably due to the by a central patch of cool blue in the drawing. Livia use of an unstable organic green pigment. Depuydt-Elbaum, who restored the painting, was Many motifs are also clearer to read in the draw- able to uncover the concealed original hues of the ing. Again, the juxtaposition of drawing and paint- sky in the light of the appearance of the drawing ing facilitated the restoration process where there and MA-XRF imagery of the painting. were losses or ambiguity in the painting. The most The same discovery applied to the toad in the interesting example of this is the ‘barrel man’ lower left of the composition, which is predom- (fig. 3.9). In the painting, he had been given a sad inantly red in the drawing. Before cleaning the face by a former restorer who was not able to under- painting, the corresponding toad was dark brown. stand the motif, due to paint damage along a crack 58 CHRISTINA CURRIE, DOMINIQUE ALLART et al. in the panel. In the infrared image prior to treat- In places, losses in the original painting could ment, something different is clearly visible in the be retouched with the knowledge of what was ori- mouth of the creature, but it is the drawing that ginally there in the drawing: for example, the leg of tells us that this is a two-part spigot. A similar motif a flying frog in the sky, which was mostly missing, is seen in Bruegel’s earlier Flemish Proverbs (1559), and a woman’s sleeve in the lower right crowd, only where a pig is seen biting the spigot of a barrel in traces of which remained. In the cauldron of crea- order to release the liquid inside. tures and soldiers, the dark-haired creature with a Other motifs in the drawing clarifying those in long snout to the far right appeared in the painting the painting include the Bosch-like creature with to be looking forward towards the viewer, whereas a head, legs and a long cap just below Hell’s ear. in the drawing he faces right in three-quarters view. In the drawing, he has a distinct face and sits on a Depuydt-Elbaum discovered during cleaning that globe, both of which are impossible to make out in his incongruous eye was in fact a later retouching the painting due to the fact that the creature was and that the original profile corresponds to that in added late on during execution, on top of the dark the drawing. background paint and without a reserve. There is a Finally, the original appearance of the small flag creature at the edge of the river in front of Hell at the top of a mast of a ship in the upper right is with a small cup (suction device?) on his helmet in revealed through the Düsseldorf drawing. In the the drawing that is an indistinguishable dark swirl drawing, the flag shows a coat of arms with a fer-de- in the painting. Two additional figures sit in the moline (millrind) and a white-spotted red border, boat held aloft by the giant in the centre in whereas in the painting the motif has been the drawing; these are only faintly visible in the repainted during a former restoration to show five infrared image of the painting. black shields on a white background with a red bor- Certain better-preserved details in the drawing der and no spots (fig. 3.10). Our efforts to identify enable us to better identify motifs in the painting. the original coat of arms proved fruitless and it is For example, the small black treasure or money likely that the design is fictive and simply decora- chest carried by the woman following Dulle Griet tive, as with the other flags in the painting that is shown in the drawing with reinforcement depict a cooking pot and a horn.27 slats, whereas in the painting it is now plain black. Another intriguing motif is Dulle Griet’s tongue In the upper right, the anchor of the boat is clearly (see fig. 3.4). Maximiliaan Martens pointed out delineated against the background in the drawing, that Bruegel originally planned to paint her tongue whereas in the painting the anchor merges imper- hanging out but changed his mind during paint- ceptibly into the dark wall behind. ing.28 Indeed, there is a form that appears to be a a b c d Fig. 3.10 Flag in Düsseldorf drawing (a); in painting (b); in painting, X-radiograph (c); in painting, IRR (d) THE COLOURED DRAWING OF THE DULLE GRIET 59 tongue in the infrared and X-ray images. In the function of the drawing remain a mystery. The fact drawing, there is a pink stroke corresponding to that it is coloured excludes it as a model for an a barely visible stroke in the painting, which indi- engraving. It could have been a record drawing by cates the far side of her mouth, but not the tongue. a Bruegel family member, a reproduction to entice Therefore, the tongue may indeed be part of a an early buyer of the painting, a copy commis- preliminary stage in the painting, dropped by sioned by an early owner of the painting or a copy B ruegel during painting, and therefore not present made by a Bruegel imitator for their own purposes. in the Düsseldorf copy. Possible authors include Jacob Savery, an artist working in the Bruegel tradition in Amsterdam, or Conclusion one of Rudolf II’s numerous court artists or visitors The Düsseldorf drawing cannot be by Pieter to the imperial collection in Prague. Bruegel the Elder, since he was already dead by The drawing represents a unique record of the the time the paper was made. The presence of appearance of Pieter Bruegel’s Dulle Griet at some the watermark of Niklaus Heusler, a Basel paper point during its early history. Many of its colours manufacturer, gives 1578 as the earliest possible and motifs remain fresher and more legible than execution date. It is nonetheless a beautiful and they are today in the painting. The drawing is high-quality drawing in its own right. Pigment ana- therefore a key witness for interpreting the paint- lysis and close visual examination of the paint layer ing and understanding its original colour scheme suggest that the colours are most likely original. and motifs and as such was of fundamental help Although clearly an accurate copy, made with during the 2017–18 conservation campaign. the help of squaring up, the attribution and ori ginal NOTES We would like to thank the Kunstpalast 2 Levin 1883, p. 41. php?RECID=4259>. (Watermark from D üsseldorf for allowing the KIK-IRPA to 3 Marlier/Folie 1969, p. 449. St Albantal papermill no. 41, Rychmühle examine and analyse the drawing. The week [der Rychen Muelin]. Papermaker: Niklaus of intense research carried out on the drawing 4 Malke 1975, cat. no. 88; Wied 1997. Heusler. Staatsarchiv Kanton Basel-Stadt, at the KIK-IRPA with Dr Sonja Brink was a 5 Sullivan 2004, p. 62–65, and Sullivan AA II 2.) truly collaborative venture. For help investi- 2009, pp. 109 and 112–13. Alexander Wied 12 High-resolution MA-XRF scan condi- gating the Heusler family of paperm akers, we also cites B. Claessens and J. Rousseau as tions: spot size 150 μm, pixel size 125 μm, would like to thank Dr Erwin Frauenknecht supporting an attribution to Bruegel himself dwell time 25ms. of the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, (B. Claessens and J. Rousseau, Unser Bruegel, 13 MA-XRF, Bruker M6 Jetstream, Stuttgart, and Martin Kluge of the Swiss Antwerp, 1969, cat. no. 24, cited in Wied 1997, p. 18). Rh-tube, 50kV acceleration voltage, spot size Museum for Paper, Writing and Printing, 400 μm, pixel size 400 μm, dwell time 15 ms. Basel. For discussions on Bruegel’s Dulle Griet 6 Büttner 2002. painting and its alterations in relation to the 14 We used a Renishaw inVia instrument, 7 Currie and Allart 2012, vol. 1, p. 316, Düsseldorf drawing, we thank Livia Depuydt- coupled to an optical probe, and the analysis note 79. Elbaum, Head of Painting Conservation at was carried out directly on the drawing. the KIK-IRPA, who was in charge of the 8 Budde 1930, cat. no. 808. Conditions for Raman spectroscopy: 785 nm c onservation treatment of the painting. We 9 The collections of the Kunstakademie laser excitation, reduced laser power to avoid would also like to thank Jean-Luc Elias and have been integrated into specific museum any damage to the drawing, measuring time Sophie De Potter (KIK-IRPA) for the high- departments. The Dulle Griet became part variable in order to obtain an adequate quality technical imagery. of the Department of Prints and Drawings, signal-to-noise ratio. where it appears in the handwritten inven- 1 After Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Dulle 15 Spring and Keith 2009. tory of 1934. Griet, undated, pen and ink and gouache on 16 David Peggie, ‘Fading of Yellow and paper, 394 × 535 mm, Düsseldorf, Kunst- 10 Tschudin 1958, pp. 23 and 41. Red Lake Pigments’, National Gallery, palast, collection of the Kunstakademie 11 Gravell Watermark Archive (online), London, 2013 . ‘JAQUE/SAVERY’ and dated 1598, pen and gesting this avenue of research in the hope of 17 See De la Rie 1982 and Costentino grey ink, with watercolour and some gold on identifying the original patron. We also 2014. paper, 371 × 535 mm, London, Victoria and thank Dr Dominique Vanwijnsberghe, of Albert Museum, inv. DYCE.513. the KIK-IRPA, for his identification of the 18 Kühn 1993. 23 On Jacob Savery’s fake Bruegel draw- fer-de-moline motif; Dr Christiane Van den 19 We thank Lorne Campbell and Alice ings, see Mielke 1996, A21-44, pp. 210–21, Bergen-P antens, of the Centre International Hoppe-Harnoncourt for drawing our atten- and Rotterdam/New York 2001, pp. 276–7. de C odicologie, for researching the possible tion to this first mention of the painting coat of arms; and Guus van Breugel, of the (see Fusenig 2002, p. 119; Fusenig 2012, 24 Wied 1997, p. 18. CBG Centruum voor familiegeschiedenis, p. 98; and Kaschek 2007). 25 On Roelandt Savery’s possible author- for his opinion that the banner is meant to 20 From ‘The Life of Pieter Bruegel’ in ship of the Alpine Views, see Mielke 1996, be decorative. Karel van Mander’s Schilder-boeck, 1604 A1-20, pp. 200–09, and Rotterdam/New York 28 Martens 2012a, p. 43 and ill. 21. (transcription and translation from Miedema 2001, pp. 266–7. 1994–9, vol. 1, pp. 192–3). 26 In the painting, this green pigment is 21 Antwerp 2012, p. 7. The Lempertz copper resinate, whose green hue has partially auction house in Cologne was known as survived. J. M. Heberle prior to 1845. On the prov- 27 We thank Guy van Wassenhove, of the enance of the Dulle Griet, see also De Coo Baillet Latour Foundation, for pointing out 1960. the difference between the flag in the