A previously unknown painting by the famous Flemish landscape artist Paul Bril has been discovered.
The artwork, called ‘Coastal Landscape with a Harbour, Fishermen and Merchants on the Shore’, has been discovered in Salisbury.
The painting was brought in for valuation at the Salisbury-based Woolley and Wallis auctioneers, after it was previously miscatalogued by another auction house.
This find is a huge addition to the work of Bril, who was one of the most influential painters in late 16th and early 17th-century landscape painting in Italy and Northern Europe.
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The painting by famous Flemish landscape artist Paul Bril was discovered following a valuation by Salisbury-based Woolley and Wallis auctioneers. (Image: Woolley and Wallis) Art specialists Victor Fauvelle and Ed Beer were the ones who made the discovery.
Mr Beer said: “The coastal landscape had all the hallmarks of a work by Bril; the luminous skies, rhythmic composition and delicate atmospheric depth.
“The painting stood out straightaway as something special.”
This find led to a consultation with Dr Luuk Pijl, the world’s leading expert on Bril.
Dr Pijl confirmed that it was an original work by Bril and emphasised its historical importance.
The painting was previously unknown to Bril scholarship and has never been recorded in any existing catalogues or academic publications.
It will now be published in Dr Pijl’s forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Bril’s work.
Dr Pijl said: “The present coastal landscape is a fine and significant addition to a small group of oil on canvas harbour landscapes painted on canvas by Bril (his early works were painted on copper).
“None of the small group of harbour landscapes were dated, but in the context of Bril’s overall stylistic development, a date of 1610-1615 is feasible for this painting.”
It has an estimate of £15,000-£20,000. (Image: Woolley & Wallis) Specialist Mr Beer said: “This rediscovered painting sheds new light on a transitional period in Bril’s career, revealing his growing interest in classical narrative and the poetic potential of landscape.
“The work has never before been exhibited or published and we expect it to attract strong institutional and private interest at auction.”
The painting, which shows a natural harbour on the Mediterranean coast, comes from the private collection of the Charrington family of Winchfield House in Hampshire.
It carries an estimate of £15,000-£20,000.
It will be offered in a sale of Old Masters, British & European Paintings at Woolley and Wallis on Wednesday, September 3.