Marten van Cleve d. Ä., 1527 Antwerpen – 1581... Lot n° 373

COUPLE WITH SPINDLE AND HEN Oil on wood. Parquetry. 22 x 30.2 cm. Accompanied by an expertise by Dr. Klaus Ertz, Lingen, dated 14 February 2022 (copy available). According to Dr. Ertz, the interpretation goes back to a copperplate engraving in which the "hen taster" has noticed that the hen is inaccessible and the woman is holding a spindle towards him - as a crude eroticization. A close-up view of the two portrait heads against a light brown background, of which the man on the left with a short snub nose in gray clothing holds a hen in his arms, while the woman in a back view with a white hood holds a spindle and a thread in her hands. Studied under Frans Floris (around 1516-1570) and initially discovered his preference for landscape painting. However, prompted by his brother Heinrich, he soon devoted himself almost exclusively to figurative painting. His mostly multi-figure genre paintings are often only superficially understood as partly humorous scenes, but often conceal a deeper allegorical or socio-critical meaning. He became a member of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1551. (14023238) (10) Marten van Cleve the Elder, 1527 Antwerp - 1581 ibid. COUPLE WITH SPINDLE AND HEN Oil on panel. Parquetted. 22 x 30.2 cm. Accompanied by an expert's report by Dr Klaus Ertz, Lingen, dated 14 February 2022, in copy. According to Dr Ertz, the painting's interpretation goes back to a copperplate engraving in which the "hen toucher" has noticed that the hen is "locked" in response to which the woman holds out the spindle to him as a coarse and crude eroticization.