D’Aremberg Collection, Paris;
By whom sold in 1847 to A. Baude, Paris;
Mrs. Arthur Corwin, Greenwich, Connecticut;
With Newhouse Galleries, New York;
By whom sold to the present collector, September 1974 (as by David Vinckboons).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is on a single piece of oak which is unbroken and flat, with a perfectly stable paint layer. It is painted quite thinly in places. While much of the background and landscape is in extremely good if not perfect condition, there is thinness in the ground beneath the figure and here and there within the figure group itself. This is not unusual, unexpected, or even a detriment. Retouches would be removed if the work were cleaned, but it is possible to perhaps be slightly more exact in eliminating some of the thinness in the lower portion of the picture. The work could also be dusted off and hung in its current state. The condition is very presentable.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Unlike many other works in the Brueghel corpus, The Whitsun Bride bears particular importance given that it is an original composition by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (as opposed to deriving from a prototype of his father), and the fact that is known in just two other autograph versions. One signed picture was formerly in the Metropolitan Museum Art (sold New York, Christie's, 6 June 2012, lot 74, for $686,500); and the other, also signed, is in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Gemäldegalerie, Dessau.¹ Ertz lists ten further versions for which he reserves judgement or doubts.² 

This version of The Whitsun Bride is absent from the relevant Brueghel literature, a fact which can be explained by the fact that it has remained in private hands since 1974, and because of its misattribution during its entire modern history. When acquired by the present owner, the picture was given to David Vinckboons, an attribution which is untenable given its clear departure from Vinckboons' distinct style and handling. However, this earlier erroneous attribution is understandable given not only the number of compositions with which the two artists share, but also that a number of versions of The Whitsun Bride have been tentatively associated with Vinckboons in the past, though no signed versions by him has emerged.³ Among the closest to Vinckboons' hand is a picture which was sold, London, Christie's, 4 July 2012, lot 160, as by Vinckboons in full, but which Ertz cites as a follower.⁴ Comparison between that picture and the present example reveals an extremely clear distinction in both brushwork and color palette, as this work emerges as being directl🐼y alligned with Brueghel's character and the aforementioned signed pictures. 

The subject depicts the Flemish celebration of Whitsuntide, which took place the week following Pentecost, or Whitsunday, and commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples (Acts of the Apostles, 2:1-31). In Flanders, village members would collect Pinksterbloem--the Whitsun flower-- and with them adorn a chosen young girl, the Whitsun Bride, along with her young attendants. As is depicted here in a typical Brueghel fashion, the decorated girls are paraded through the village as they sing songs about the Whitsun flowers. Passersbys of all ages partake in the revelry as they hand out more flowers and gifts to the children, while others go about daily activities in the background. Certain motif's found here draw directly upon the work of Pieter Breugel the Elder. Specifically, the motif of the girls in the foreground who have turned their skirts over their heads to create impromptu capes can also found in Bruegel's Children's Games&n🌜bsp;of 1560 (Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna). 

1. K. Ertz, Pieter Brueghel der Jüngere (1564-1637/38): Die Gemälde, mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Lingen, 2000, p. 764, cat. nos. E1042 and E1043. 
2. Ibid, p. 764-5.
3. Ibid, cat. nos. 1052, 1047. 
4. Ibid, cat. no. A1050.