Paolo Fiammingo

He is believed to have passed through Florence where he had contact with artists working in the Studiolo of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.

[2] In Venice he is believed to have been in contact with his fellow countryman Lodewijk Toeput, who was also working in Tintoretto's workshop.

[9] Another important commission was for a painting showing Mercury saving Virtue in a series of the seven planets in the Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice.

The other paintings of this series were made by his master Tintoretto and great artists of his time like Paolo Veronese and Jacopo Palma il Giovane.

The latter were inspired by Giorgione but were treated by Franck with a Venetian softness and grace and set in dreamlike landscapes.

[5] The Fugger family gave various commissions to Paolo Fiammingo for the decoration of their new Castle Kirchheim in Württemberg.

The series was completed by a composition of the Triumph of the Virtues over the Vices (Sotheby's auction in London on 6 July 2011).

In the foreground there are four naked, partly tied female figures lying on sacks and chests, accompanied by a fierce looking dog and cat.

Another female figure with bare breasts resting on a cloud is watching a pot from which smoke is emerging.

[5] It is possible that Carracci's reproduction of Love in the Golden Age was the inspiration for Matisse's Le bonheur de vivre (Joy of Life).

While the landscape component is prevalent in this composition there is a narrative element with nymphs fishing and figures darting from the foreground to the background.

The canvas dates from the later period of the painter's career when he often reflected on the themes of hunting and fishing activities.