Marten Van Cleve I workshop, last third of the 16th century

Workshop of MARTEN VAN CLEVE I (Antwerp, c. 1527-1581)
It follows the homonymous model of the author preserved in the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg).
"Carnival in a village with dancing beggars."
Oil on panel.
Good state of conservation according to its age. Small losses of pictorial layer are appreciated in the lower right area.
Measurements: 72 x 106 cm; 97 x 130 cm (frame).

Scene of genre characteristic of the Flemish painting of the XVI century, based on one of the most diffused models of Marten van Cleve, conserved in the Museum of the Hermitage ("Carnival in a Village with Beggars Dancing", 1579). The densely populated composition articulates multiple simultaneous episodes that reflect the festive and satirical character of popular culture.

The scene alludes to the Koppermaandag, a traditional festival in which the social order is symbolically inverted. The beggars and cripples with fox tails -symbol of deceit and madness- stand out, as well as the presence of meat and food that evoke the abundance prior to Lent. The dynamism of the figures and their caricatured features evidence the clear influence of Pieter Brueghel the Elder.

A representative example of Antwerp workshop production, conceived to satisfy the demand for successful popular compositions, while maintaining a remarkable technical quality and fidelity to the original model.

Marten van Cleve I was a Flemish painter and draughtsman active in Antwerp between 1551 and 1581, considered one of the leading artists of his generation. Specializing in genre scenes with peasants and landscapes, he developed compositions of great narrative richness influenced by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, although with a descriptive rather than allegorical approach. He ran a very productive workshop that widely disseminated his models, in turn influencing later artists such as Pieter Brueghel the Younger.