Attributed to Gysbrecht Leytens

Attributed to GYSBRECHT LEYTENS (1586 - before 1656).
"Firewood gatherers near a river".
Oak panel, two boards, unglued.
Certificate from François Heim dated October 7, 1988 (as Alexander Keirincx).
Provenance: Acquired by the present owner in 1988 at the Robert Mikaeloff Gallery (as Keirincx).
Measurements: 40 x 58.5 cm.

This work is an example of the quality of the Flemish landscape painting of the first half of the 17th century, where nature becomes the real protagonist of the scene. In this work, the human motif, some peasants busy collecting firewood next to a river course, appears subordinated to the vastness of the environment, which displays a carefully structured composition, rich in atmospheric and chromatic details.
The landscape dominates the painting, not only in its physical dimension, but also in its emotional character. The light, cold and diffuse, seems to filter through dense clouds, accentuating the melancholic tone of the scene. The characters, reduced in scale, are harmoniously integrated into the environment, fulfilling a more narrative than expressive function. Their presence refers to daily work and the intimate relationship between man and nature, a recurring theme in the Flemish art of the time.
Stylistically, the work is close to the painting of Gysbrecht Leytens, a painter originally from Antwerp, the city where he trained and developed most of his career. A member of the guild of St. Luke from 1611, he specialized in landscape painting, particularly the so-called winterlandschappen or winter landscapes, a genre in which he achieved a high degree of stylistic refinement. Although his figure has remained partly overshadowed by other contemporaries such as Joos de Momper or Jan Brueghel the Elder, his work reveals a particular sensitivity to the effects of light and atmosphere, as well as a remarkable compositional skill. His ability to organize the landscape planes with balance and to delicately represent the texture of vegetation and snow places him among the leading names in Flemish late-Mannerist landscape painting.
In this work we can clearly perceive this concern for spatial structure and the almost lyrical representation of nature. The viewer's gaze is guided from the foreground, where the harvesters and monumental trees are located, to a more open background where the river meanders, creating a sense of depth that envelops the scene in an atmosphere of contemplation.