The Chimney Sweeper

In this winter scene a chimney sweeper carries his tool over his shoulder as he leaves a village on a snowy road. He must have completed his work successfully as smoke is coming out of the chimneys in the background.

This painting, once titled Winter, was paired with Autumn (DPG341) and thought to belong to an allegorical series of the Four Seasons. However, during conservation it was revealed that the canvas was enlarged on two sides to make it match the dimensions of DPG341, probably during Sir Francis Bourgois’ time. It seems more likely that the painter wanted to represent an independent genre scene. The figure of the chimney sweeper also appears in a drawing by Teniers in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. 

After attributions to both David Teniers the Older and the Younger, The Chimney Sweeper was reattributed to the studio of Teniers the Younger in the 1990s.