Le départ pour le baptême

Florent Willems studied at the Academy of Maligne and worked as a restorer to support himself and pay for his education. At the age of 16 he had already sold one of his works for a respectable 250 francs, quite a sum at that time. In 1842 he received a medal during an exhibit in Brussels. The King of Belgium bought one of his works thus confirming him as one of the leading artists of his time. Thereafter Willems was often commissioned by the court to paint 16th and 17th-century costume paintings. The present lot is an important example of Willems skill in both the rendering of fabrics and figures and the creation of a historical setting. He succeeds at invoking the atmosphere of a historical scene as if the spectator were a firsthand witness. It has been suggested that the central figures in the present composition depict Archdukes Albert and Isabella of Austria, Governors of the Low Countries at the beginning of the 17th Century. Please compare to the oil painting 'Le départ pour la chasse au faucon' sold at Christie's, King Street, London, 23 January 2008, lot 84.