Attributed to Sebastiaen Vrancx, 'Labours of the month'

This work is presumably part of a series of 12 paintings depicting the labors of the month, rural tasks that were typically carried out in a specific month of the year. The slaughtering of pigs, cows and sheep typically started at the beginning of winter.
The Brueghelian influences in this work, especially those of Pieter Brueghel the Elder,
are clear. This is to no surprise considering that Sebastiaen Vrancx was well-acquainted with the family. Two very similar compositions of the months January and September are preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest.

Vrancx was born in Antwerps where he became a pupil of Adam van Noort. During this period, Vrancx was mainly painting stylized rural scenes and allegories of the seasons, as seen in this specific painting. It is believed that Vrancx visited Rome and Tivoli some years later, where he took great inspiration from the architectural remnants of the Roman Empire, as seen in the drawings that are known from this period. In 1600, he joined the St. Luke’s guild in Antwerps, where he became chief dean in 1611. Over the years, Vrancx style developed to a more detailed style of painting, capturing many legendary battles in his works.