Frans Francken III.: Floral wreath with Madonna, child and angels, framed by four putti

Frans Francken III.
Floral wreath with Madonna, child and angels, framed by four putti
oil on copper; framed
35 x 28 cm

Dorotheum, Vienna, September 18, 1973, lot 17 (colour ill. pl. V, ill. pl. 8; wrong medium given in the catalogue: oil on panel, as Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601 - 1678) and Frans Francken the Younger (1581 - 1642));
since then private property, Austria

As the son of Frans Francken II (called the Younger, 1581-1642) and Elisabeth Placquet, Frans Francken III was born into one of Antwerp's most famous dynasties of painters in the early 17th century. His father's flourishing workshop not only trained his sons Frans, Hieronymus and Ambrosius Francken III, but also employed numerous other workers. In accordance with the common working practice of the time, which involved several specialised painters, the Francken workshop maintained close contacts with that of Jan Brueghel the Elder and his son, Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601-1678), but also with other flower painters such as Andries Daniels and Philipp de Marlier (see Ursula Härting, Frans Francken the Younger (1581-1642). Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Freren 1989, pp. 264ff., WVZ no. 117-127). The former attribution of the present work to Frans Francken the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Younger is probably also due to this tradition.

However, the floral wreath with Mary and Child, angels, and putti, which has been in private ownership for 50 years, can now be attributed entirely to a single artist's hand - that of Frans Francken III. The medallion with the Christ Child standing on Mary's lap, who is being offered food by the angel on the left while the angel on the right plays a string instrument, bears witness to his looser brushstroke, which was trained by his father. The four putti, which enliven the composition right down to the spandrels, also testify to his mastery of figure painting with their movement and detailed modelling of the muscles (as in the Christ Child).
Frans Francken III is also documented as a flower painter by a source from 1662. D.F. Hagens (probably Daniel Hagens, another former apprentice of Frans Francken II) wrote to the art dealer G. Forchoudt: "I ask you to enquire whether Mr Francq (Frans Francken III), the painter in the Camerstraet next to the Augustiners (the Augustinian church), has done the flower piece for me that I asked him to do, for which I (still) have to pay him." ("Ick bid Ul. Eens te vragen aen Monsr Francq den schilder in de Camerstraet naest den Augusteynen oft hij een stuckien van blommen voor my gemaeckt heeft als ick hem gebeden hebbe op dat ik hem moet betalen.") There is no doubt that only Frans Francken III can be identified with "Monsr Francq", especially as he was resident in the Camerstraat after the death of his mother, who was already a widow, after 1655 (cf. Härting 1989, p. 185f., p. 218 footnote 890). In addition to its excellent execution, the present bouquet of flowers bound into a wreath captivates with its botanical diversity: hazelnuts, which are rarely found in pure flower still lifes, are visible alongside decorative, red-marbled leaves. Furthermore, the flowers are enlivened by a variety of insects such as butterflies, caterpillars and even ants.

The skilful way in which the winged putti positioned in the corners and surrounded by fabric sashes are integrated into the floral wreath is demonstrated by the hand positions of the two upper putti: while the one on the left is pointing at the small forget-me-nots hidden between larger flowers, the one on the right appears to be holding a bouquet himself. By embedding the lower putti at the edges of the wreath and pointing them towards the centre scene, the artist has united the depiction of the figures and the wreath of flowers into a single unit.

Differenzbesteuert (28%) / differential taxation (28%)