GASPAR PEETER VERBRUGGEN THE YOUNGER (FLEMISH, 1664-1730)

Provenance
With Doig, Wilson & Wheatley, Edinburgh;
Thought to have been acquired from the above by the grandfather of the present owner;
Thence by descent

Exhibited
Mottisfont Abbey, Hampshire, circa 2005-2025

Footnote
On an impressive scale, the present work depicts a profusion of flowers surrounding a flowing fountain carved with a satyr.  Exuberantly rendered, but with a meticulous attention to horticultural detail, the flowers represent different seasons of the year, with tulips and crown imperials from spring, through to roses and peonies from high summer and lilies and fruit from early autumn.  The present work hung for the last couple of decades at Mottisfont Abbey near Romsey and comes to market for the first time since being acquired by the grandparents of the present owner from Doig, Wilson and Wheatley in the early 20th century.

Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen the Younger was born in Antwerp, the son of Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen the Elder and his first wife Catharina van Everdonck.  Verbruggen the Elder was a successful artist, painting the same subject in similar style, and trained his son from an early age.  Verbruggen the Younger enjoyed early success becoming a master of the Guild of St. Luke.  He collaborated with various prominent artists of the age including figure painter Peter Ykens (1648-1695) and Jacob Leyssens (1661-1710) and taught his half-brother, Balthasar Hyacinth Verbruggen.  In June 1700 he married Dymphna van der Voort but he was widowed only two years later.  Despite his success he fell into debt and sold his house along with numerous paintings in 1703.  Relocating to The Hague in 1705 he recovered financially for a brief period before running up further debts and returning to Antwerp where he remained until his death.