The Jordaens Singing Band

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Jacob Jordaens lived in Antwerp, like Rubens, and his work was just as varied. For the genre, his favorite subject was the illustration of a Flemish proverb : soo d'oude songen, soo pepen de jongen. The interpretation of the text is as subtle as that of the image. D'oude songen: the old are singing. Soo pepen de jongen: During this time, the young ... play the fife? twitter? get drunk? It seems that the artist was trying to combine the three interpretations prior to waive the last one.

This singing assembly consisted of the artist himself and his family. The image is read in different ways depending on viewing the whole, very happy, or viewing details, innumerable and often extravagant or caricature.

Jordaens made on this topic several compositions based on the same general idea and the same characters. On 22 June 1990 in Paris, Ader Picard Tajan received 4.2 MF excluding costs of one of these paintings, 189 x 211 cm.

On June 26 in Paris, Piasa sells another painting, 165 x 237 cm, made circa1642-1645, and estimated 1.2 million €. Long kept in a princely collection, it is fresh on the market. Even better, it had not been seen since its last exhibition in Antwerp in 1905.

Among the details, there is the reflection of a character in a mirror. We all remind Las Meninas, of course, but this top work is more than ten years later than Jordaens' painting.

Do not miss the video in French presented by Mr Turquin on Interencheres.tv.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Excellent result for this prestigious work of a great master: € 1.75 million premium included.