Although little is known of the earliest years of this Flemish artist’s career, Pieter Stevens (c. 1567–after 1624) was established in Prague by 1594, when he became court painter to Emperor Rudolf II. He was still in the imperial service in 1612, the year of the Emperor’s death, and apparently remained in Prague until at least 1624. In this thriving artistic environment, he came in contact with the work of a wide range of mannerist landscape artists, including Roelandt Savery (1576–1639) and Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625). Steven’s own landscapes range from busy populated scenes like The Month of February to deserted woodlands. His drawings, especially those dating from the early 1600s, often demonstrate the sensitivity to atmospheric perspective evident in the present work, while the division of the composition into distinct planes and the anchoring presence of trees in the center of the scene are mannerist devices typical of many of his landscapes.(1)
The theme of the Twelve Months, usually depicted in series of six or twelve images, was so popular among Stevens and his Flemish contemporaries that one art historian described their production as taking place in “almost industrial quantities.”(2) The Crocker drawing functioned as a model for the month of February in a series of twelve engravings by Aegidius Sadeler (c. 1570–1629), the main engraver of Stevens’s designs and an important Rudolfine artist in his own right; the drawing is incised for transfer even in minor details.(3) Another drawing for the series survives: January, now in the National Museum in Prague, is closely related to the Crocker drawing in size and composition. In addition, both drawings are surprisingly colorful, featuring Stevens’s characteristic red and blue wash as well as brown ink.(4) The colors help to define space, create a sense of atmospheric perspective, and unify the composition in this complex scene, teeming with diverse activities. The artist’s taste for these delicate washes may have been influenced by the drawings of Brueghel the Elder, who visited Prague around the time of the execution of the present drawing.
Carnival celebrations, taking place in the period before Lent, often represented January and February in depictions of the months.(5) The Crocker drawing is crowded with revelers celebrating with typical carnival activities: in addition to the amorous couples and drinkers in the foreground, a troupe of commedia dell’arte actors appears on the outdoor stage in the lower left.(6) A bull running takes place in the distance.(7) The pole in the center of the composition was used for a competition long associated with carnival: the climbing of the greased pole.(8) The feast taking place in the center of the sheet may be a wedding, which were sometimes held during winter carnivals. Not only does the banner behind the party resemble those traditionally erected behind the bridal couple, but the woman’s pose, with her demurely clasped hands, demonstrates ideal bridal behavior as depicted in German and Flemish art for over a century.(9) The sign of Aquarius at the top indicates that this carnival scene was intended to depict February.
As noted by Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, February must date from before 1607, when Sadeler’s series of prints was published, but demonstrates sufficient affinity to Jan Brueghel’s drawings to suggest that it was created after his arrival in Prague in 1604.(10)
Stacey Sell, in William Breazeale, with Cara Denison, Stacey Sell, and Freyda Spira, A Pioneering Collection: Master Drawings from the Crocker Art Museum, exh. cat. Sacramento and tour, 2010
Notes:
(1) For an overview of Stevens’s drawings, see Praga Magica 1600, L’art à Prague au temps de Rodolphe II, exh. cat. Musée national Magnin, Dijon, 2002, pp. 98-103.
(2) Hans J. van Miegrot, “’The Twelve Months’ Reconsidered: How a Drawing by Pieter Stevens Clarifies a Bruegel Enigma,” in Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, 16, 1986, pp. 33.
(3) Hollstein 130.
(4) Rollová 1993–1994 as in Literature above, p. 117. The colored washes appear in many of his other drawings, including, for instance, A Wooded Landscape with Travelers by a Stream, a Town Beyond, now in the Getty (84.GG.807).
(5) For the place of Stevens’s design in this traditions, see Charles de Mooij et al., Vastenavond—Carnival, Feesten van de omgekeerde wereld, Zwolle, 1992, especially pp. 80–85 and no. 3, and Claude Gaignebet, Les Triomphes de Carnival, exh. cat. Gravelines, 2004, no. 45. The depiction of Carnival to represent a time of year was a relatively recent development: earlier cycles of the months and seasons in manuscripts generally featured the labors of the months instead (Iain Buchanan, “The Collection of Niclaes Jongelinck II: The ‘Months’ by Pieter Bruegel the Elder,” in The Burlington Magazine, vol. CXXXII, no. 1049, August 1990, p.545).
(6) See Katritzky 2006 as in Literature above, p.180.
(7) For similar activity in carnival scenes, see Gaignebet 2004 as in note 5 above, pp. 63–67.
(8) The bird on top of the pole could be decorative, as shown here, or real: sometimes, competitors climbed to the top of the pole to win their dinners. See, for instance, Gaignebet 2004 as in note 5 above, pp. 69–70 and Alison G. Stewart, Before Bruegel: Sebald Beham and the Origins of Peasant Festival Imagery, Burlington, 2008, p. 110.
(9) ibidem, pp. 194–196.
(10) Kaufmann 1982 as in Literature above, p. 160.
Inscriptions: none
Marks: lower left corner: Lugt 2237 (Rolas du Rosey)
Provenance: Franz Graf von Sternberg-Manderscheid; his sale, Dresden, 10 November 1845, lot 742; Carl Freiherr von Rolas du Rosey, before 1862; his sale, Leipzig, Rudolph Weigel, 13 June 1864, lot 4826 (as Sadeler); Edwin Bryant Crocker, Sacramento, by 1871; gift of his widow Margaret to the Museum, 1885
Literature: William Breazeale, with Cara Denison, Stacey Sell, and Freyda Spira, A Pioneering Collection: Master Drawings from the Crocker Art Museum, exh. cat. Sacramento and tour, 2010, no. 18; M. A. Katritzky, The Art of Commedia: A Study in the Commedia dell'Arte 1560–1620, with Special Reference to the Visual Records, New York, 2006, p. 173, 181, and fig. 278; Anna Rollová, "Pieter Stevens Known and Unknown: New Facts Concerning his Drawings," in Bulletin of the National Gallery in Prague, vols. III-IV, 1993–1994, p. 117; Thomas daCosta Kaufmann, "A Census of Drawings from the Holy Roman Empire, 1540–1680, in North American Collections," in Central European History, vol. XVIII, no. 1, March 1985, p. 106; Thomas daCosta Kaufmann, Drawings from the Holy Roman Empire 1540–1680: A Selection from North American Collections, exh. cat. Princeton, 1982, no. 58; An Zwollo, “Pieter Stevens, nieuw werk, contact met Jan Brueghel, invloed op Kerstiaen de Deuninck,” in Leids Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, vol. I, 1982, pp. 108–110, fig. 17; Numa S. Trivas, Old Master Drawings from the E. B. Crocker Collection, the Dutch and Flemish Masters, unpubl. ms., Sacramento, 1942, no. 116; Rolas du Rosey sale, Weigel, Leipzig, 13 June and 5 September 1864, no. 4826 (as Sadeler); Sternberg-Manderscheid sale, Carl Heinrich, Dresden, 10 November 1845, vol. V, no. 742
