Auction of March 30, 2016: MOA: Furniture, Paintings, Works of Art “Abel GRIMMER (Antwerp, ca. 1570 – before 1619) Five Months: February, March, April, October, and December. Set of five tondi. Diameter: 25 cm. Some lifting and missing areas. Provenance: The Drouhot family collection in Villersexel, Franche-Comté, most likely since the early 17th century; passed down through the family to the collection of Claude Drouhot (1907–2006); kept by Madame Claude Drouhot in the family home until 1946; then kept at the official residence of her husband, Baron Gilbert de Dietrich (Chairman and CEO of the de Dietrich company in Alsace near Niederbronn-les-Bains, from 1946 to 1969); subsequently kept at Madame Claude Drouhot’s estate in Burgundy until 2006; has remained with her descendants ever since. Front: Signed and dated at the bottom ABEL GRIMMER 1609. On the reverse, an old inscription in white paint: Abel Grimmer. 1609 and a wax seal. March: On the reverse, an old inscription in ink, “Mars,” overpainted in white: MARS / Abel Grimmer. 1609 and a wax seal. April: On the reverse, an old inscription in ink: “Avril,” overpainted in white: AVRIL / Abel Grimmer. 1609 and wax seal October: on the reverse, an old inscription in ink: October, overpainted in white: "OCTOBER / Abel Grimmer. 1609 and wax seal. December: signed and dated ABEL GRIMMER 1609. On the reverse, an old inscription in ink: “December,” repainted in white: “DECEMBER / Abel Grimmer. 1609 and wax seal”; label reading “Bonvoisin, Master Painter-Gilder, & Art Dealer, Place du Vieux Louvre ...”. Subjects depicted, taken from the Gospels: February: at the bottom, reference to verses in Mark 1 (the calling of the first disciples); March: at the bottom, reference to verses in Matthew 21 (planting of the vineyard in the parable of the murderous tenants); April: at the bottom, reference to Luke 8 (parable of the sower); October: at the bottom, reference to Matthew 21 (end of the parable of the murderous tenants); December: at the bottom, reference to Luke 2 (census of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem) These five previously unseen panels beautifully complement the series depicting the twelve months of the year painted by Abel Grimmer in 1609, of which six panels—sold at Sotheby’s (Paris auction of June 17, 2015, for €819,000) from the same provenance as ours, framed in a similar manner, and in the same exceptional condition. Those panels depicted the months of January, May, June, July, August, and September. Only the month of November remains to be found. Following in the footsteps of his father Jacob, Abel Grimmer created several series depicting the twelve months of the year. Three complete series have survived: the best-known, in a rectangular format, signed and dated 1592, is housed at the Church of Notre-Dame in Montfaucon (Haute-Loire). The other two are executed in the tondi style: the one from the former Schloss collection, also from 1592, is now scattered among various collections; the third dates from 1599 (art market). For his compositions, Grimmer drew inspiration in part from Adrian Collaert’s engravings (1585), which were based on Hans Bol’s rectangular compositions that set episodes from the New Testament within Flemish landscapes. Abel Grimmer adopts the tondo format, incorporating the yellow-brown-green color palette and rustic details of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, in a schematic and somewhat naïve style that is so highly appreciated today. Expert: Mr. Stéphane PINTA, Cabinet Turquin, Paris.”
