Frans Francken d. J., zugeschrieben

Attributed to Frans Francken the Younger Allegory of the four elements Oil on wood (parquetted). 35.2 x 27.5 cm. Provenance Private collection (Maria Almas-Dietrich), Munich, around 1933 (?). - Evacuated to the alternative camp in Greimharting (near Prien), before 20.4.1944. - Central Collecting Point Munich, secured and kept there for Mimi tho Rahde (daughter a. Returned to the private collection of Mimi tho Rahde, Munich, 5.2.1947, - Leo Spik, Berlin, auction 676, 3.12.2020, lot 210 - Belgian private collection, since 2020. The Antwerp panel mark with castle and hands on the reverse. The figures are closely related in style to the work of Frans Francken the Younger, while the still life elements in the foreground are reminiscent of Jan van Kessel. The figures are the Nereid Amphitrite, holding a coral and representing water, the muse Urania, holding an armillary sphere as a symbol of air, the goddess Vesta, whose torch symbolizes fire, and finally the goddess Ceres with her traditional cornucopia as the element of earth.