The Burning Castle And The Fire In The Village – Attributed To Daniel Van Heil (1604 – 1662)

Pair of oils on oak panel. Flemish school of the 17th century.
The spectator who abandons himself to contemplate these precious paintings can almost hear the crackling flames which devour the houses and smell the acrid odor of the smoke which invades the atmosphere, so realistic are the scenes and the dramatic intensity is pushed to its climax. At first glance, and because the fire scenes have made their reputation, we inevitably think of Egbert van der Poel (1621 – 1664) or Daniel van Heil (1604 – 1662). But the opening of the composition on distances lit by the light of the moon and the subtle chiaroscuro can lead us to another master of the genre, Aert van der Neer (1603/04 – 1677), who also painted nighttime fire scenes. Moreover, an annotation in ink on the back of one of the two panels mentions the latter. However, by examining more precisely the works and the technique deployed by our painter, the mark of van Heil becomes evident with regard to the following elements: an extra thick dark bold line outlines the silhouettes and decorative elements, from the figures to the typology particular which are not those of van der Poel and the redness of the fire which opposes the light of the moon and which brings warmth in the cold night. One of the two compositions that we are presenting is halfway between Daniel van Heil's two favorite themes: the winter landscape and the fire scene.

Rarely, both paintings are presented in a genuine pair of 17th century Dutch ebonized wood guilloche frames.
Dimensions: 23.2 x 30 cm the panels

Biography: Daniel van Heil (Brussels 1604 – Id. 1662) is a Flemish artist. We know nothing about the apprenticeship period of the painter's son Leo van Heil, but we know that he was accepted as a master at the guild of Saint Luc in Brussels in 1627. Among the six students trained in his workshop, four became masters at their turn. His brothers, Leo and Jan-Baptist, and his son Théodore were also painters. Praised during his lifetime, Daniel is known for his compositions representing fires, snowy landscapes or landscapes with ancient ruins, pretexts for illustrating mythological scenes (the Fall of Troy, the Flight of Aeneas with his father) in which he likes to create vivid contrasts of light. His landscapes are often winter views where he likes to contrast the white of the snow with the ocher tones of the earth. He does the same by contrasting the cold grays of the night with the orange-yellows of the flames in his nocturnal fire scenes. The different genres tackled by Daniel van Heil show an obvious sense of composition and a job well done.

Bibliography:
- Schulz, Wolfgang, Aert van der Neer, Davaco Aetas Aurea, Vol. XVIII, 2002.
- Brown, Christopher, Dutch Landscape, the early years, Haarlem and Amsterdam 1590 – 1650, National Gallery, 1986.
- Thiery, Yvonne, Flemish landscape painters in the 17th century, the Antwerp Baroque and the Brussels school.