“The People’s Lawyer” dated between 1615 – 1617, is an original composition by the artist, born in Brussels, Pieter Brueghel “the Younger”. The family that owns the painting, since 1900, had the work hanging on a wall behind the door. Although the painting made by the Flemish painter is recognized, its origin and how it arrived at the family residence in the north of France, remains a mystery.
The 17th-century artist’s painting, described as “exceptional,” will go up for auction in Paris later this month. The work, which measures 112 cm high and 184 cm wide, and is valued at up to 800,000 euros, is a version of “The Avocat du village”a subject that Brueghel reproduced up to 90 times and is believed to have been painted between 1615 and 1617.
Bad Lussac, specialist of the Auction House Daguerre Val de Loire, who found the painting during an appraisal visit requested by the family, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he could hardly believe what he had found. “In the family he was known as ‘the Brueghel’ but they had no idea he was real. They thought it was a copy; just a bit of decoration that wasn’t worth much,” De Lussac told the British newspaper The Guardian.
“When we sent it to Germany for verification by experts who confirmed that it was a Brueghel and understood the importance of what they had, they asked us to take their picture in front of the painting they had lived with all those years. It was both funny and moving. It’s one of those unique finds that happen once in a career. It is a very unusual painting in terms of its size and the fact that it is in exceptionally good condition,” the expert explained to the English media.
Pieter Brueghel “the Younger” was the eldest son of the 16th-century Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel “the Elder””. His younger brother, Jan Brueghel, was also a painter. The “rediscovered” artist painted landscapes, religious subjects, including various depictions of hell, village scenes, and flowers, but he was also a prolific copyist of his father’s most popular works.
Picture “The People’s Advocate” sometimes known as “The Tax Collector’s Office”, “The Notary’s Office”, “The Tithe Payment” or “The Lawyer for Bad Cases”is one of his original compositions and shows a chaotic scene with villagers queuing at the lawyer’s offices, many carrying gifts including eggs and poultry.
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