Spring

With DPG398, DPG386 and DPG422, one of a series which derives ultimately from a set of Seasons painted by Jacopo and Francesco Bassano in 1577. The originals of Summer and Autumn are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Spring and Winter are lost, but known in replicas by Francesco, also in Vienna. The Dulwich copies are probably taken from one of the many series of replicas produced by Francesco and his studio, which omit the small biblical scenes in the backgrounds of the originals. Murray suggested that they might be the work of A. Colonia, who is said to have made copies after Bassano, but they do not seem stylistically compatible with his work.