Two related drawings in the Rijksmuseum, Inv. #s A 130 and A 131, cataloged as copies after Pieter the Elder.

Ertz calls this work a watercolor on panel but that is not a possible technique. However, mixing some watercolor with oil paint is not uncommon. If Jan did this here, perhaps he was inspired by a watercolor painting by his father. As described by Jan the Younger at his estate sale, Jan had owned a “waterverf doec van mynen grootvader” which was valued at fl.300, higher than any works except for some flower garlands: Denucé, Brieven en documenten, 140. Perhaps this was the “Peasant Fight.” It could also have been his father’s version of the Wedding Procession, which might explain why the quite oblong proportions of this work are so different from Pieter the Elder’s other images of peasant life, and more like his larger watercolor Blind Leading the Blind in Naples. My thanks to Odilia Bonebakker for sharing her expertise on technical issues.

A very large version of this composition (canvas, 155.3 x 256) attributed to Martin van Cleve was with Johnny van Haeften in 2015. His catalogue suggests that Van Cleve's version is a "missing link" between Pieter the Elder's version and those of his sons. I would wonder, rather, how Van Cleve got access to whatever studio materials were used for producing this work. This "Van Cleve" work was formerly attributed to Pieter the Younger (Ertz 2000, cat. #A830).