JAN VAN DER VENNE DIT PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (MALINES (?) VERS 1600-AVANT 1651 BRUXELLES) - photo 1
JAN VAN DER VENNE DIT PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (MALINES (?) VERS 1600-AVANT 1651 BRUXELLES) - photo 2
JAN VAN DER VENNE DIT PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (MALINES (?) VERS 1600-AVANT 1651 BRUXELLES) - photo 3
JAN VAN DER VENNE DIT PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (MALINES (?) VERS 1600-AVANT 1651 BRUXELLES) - photo 4

JAN VAN DER VENNE DIT PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (MALINES (?) VERS 1600-AVANT 1651 BRUXELLES)

Lot 8
11.06.2025 00:00UTC +01:00
Classic
Sold
€ 88 200
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1437170
Lot 8 | JAN VAN DER VENNE DIT PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (MALINES (?) VERS 1600-AVANT 1651 BRUXELLES)
Estimate value
€ 20 000 – 30 000
JAN VAN DER VENNE DIT PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (MALINES (?) VERS 1600-AVANT 1651 BRUXELLES)
Tête de fou, vue de profil
huile sur panneau
18,5 x 18,9 cm (7 ¼ x 7 7/16 in.)




Provenance

Collection particulière, Madrid.



Further details

JAN VAN DER VENNE, CALLED PSEUDO VAN DE VENNE (CIRCA 1600-BEFORE 1651), A FOOL, SEEN IN PROFILE, OIL ON PANEL

Representations of madness and madmen have spanned the centuries, reflecting society's changing perceptions of insanity. The Musée du Louvre (Paris) recently explored this theme in its exhibition Figures du fou - Du Moyen Âge aux Romantiques (October 2024-February 2025).

In the Middle Ages, the madman was often seen through a religious lens. He embodied the fool who turned away from God, a depiction inspired by Psalm 52: ‘The fool said in his heart: There is no God!' Over time, the figure of the madman moved out of the strictly religious sphere and into the secular realm. Novels of chivalry depicted heroes such as Yvain and Lancelot sinking into amorous madness, illustrating the fine line between passion and madness. At the same time, the court jester emerged as a key figure in royal courts, serving both as entertainment and as a veiled critic of the powers that be. During the Renaissance, the figure of the fool became omnipresent, thanks in particular to works such as The Ship of Fools by Sébastien Brant (1458-1521) and the hellscapes of Jérôme Bosch (c.1450-1516), which use madness as a metaphor for human failings and the disorder of the world.

In the 17th century, Flemish painting took a close interest in the margins of society, and madness played a key role. Influenced by the legacy of Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525/1530-1569), who were interested in the famous Extraction of the Stone of Madness (Fig. 1), Jan van der Venne (c.1600-before 1651) followed in their visual tradition by exploring deviant, grotesque or exaggerated behaviour in his work, sometimes associated - as in the case of this painting or the figure of the little madman in the Musicians in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (inv. GG_77) - with madness. His figures, with their grimacing features and distorted postures, whose caricaturial appearance is accentuated by a skilful play on light, embody a form of theatricalisation of the abnormal.
Applied technique:Oil on panel
Art style:Old Masters
Genre:Portrait
Place of origin:Belgium, Western Europe, Europe
Auction house category:Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings, Paintings
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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