From October 22, 2015 until February 21, 2016 a recently discovered grisaille by Erasmus II Quellinus will be exhibited in the Keizerskapel Antwerpen.
Information from the museum, 9 September 2015
The hereby presented grisaille (oil on panel, 44,6 x 34 cm) recently (2014) appeared in Belgium. It is clearly another version of a modello (oil on panel, 45 x 33,5 cm / signed lower left E. Quellinus) now in the Stadtmuseum Münster (inv. GE-0187-1). And was used by Jacobus Neeffs (1610-after 1660) for an engraving (44,6 x 33,2 cm / signed: E. Quellinus pinxit / Iacobus Neeffs sculpsit).
Both panels can be dated about 1656 and are clearly by the same hand (in this case Erasmus II Quellinus).
In the aftermath of the Quellinus-exhibition in the Musée de Flandre in Cassel (2014), several unknown paintings by this important pupil of Rubens came to light. E.g. the hereby presented grisaille which is in perfect condition.
It represents Saint-Rochus (above, right) and saints Nicolas of Tolentino, Sebastian, Adrian and Antonius Eremit (above, left). Below people praying and mourning victims of the plague.
In 1944 (April 21, cat. nr. 217) an Allegory of plague (oil on panel, 44 x 34 cm, signed by Quellinus) was auctioned in Galerie Athena in Brussels. It came from the Egmont Palace (January 1940, nr. 168) and can almost certainly be identified with the modello in Münster. The latter was acquired through Marcel Diederiks-auctions in Beauraing, Château de Sévry, November 15, 1980, cat. nr. 6 (reproduced) as: attributed to Erasmus Quellinus (1634-1715); wrongly referring to Jan Erasmus Quellinus (1634-1715).
The hereby presented (and unknown) grisaille is an important addition to Quellinus’ catalogue raisonné.