CARL GUSTAF PLAGEMANN (SÖDERTÄLJE, SWEDEN 1805-1868 ROME) Mad Meg (Dulle Griet) signed and dated 'Carl Plageman. / 1829' (lower left) oil on canvas, unframed 52 x 49 cm.  Mad Meg or Dulle Griet is a much debated subject, which is best known through Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s (1525-1569) interpretation in Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp. In the present lot Mad Meg fiercely takes on demons in hell and, like in Brueghel’s picture, she is depicted as an aggressive and deranged figure clutching her loot. The first question that arises is, how can a mortal woman move in and out of hell freely? Perhaps magical powers and wizardry are at play and the artist is commenting on the witch hunts that swept across Europe in the middle ages. Or perhaps the subject Mad Meg delves deeper into the perception of women at the time. Dulle Griet was a term used for women with undesirable qualities and when Brueghel painted there were several powerful women on thrones throughout Europe, which could imply that Mad Meg was a personification of the concern that women were not staying in their places and taking over roles that were traditionally destined for men alone - a lasting concern throughout centuries for many. Mad Meg’s masculine features in the present lot could certainly point towards such a line of thought. On a more positive note Mad Meg can be seen as a brave hero, retrieving treasures that were stolen from or squandered by humanity. Another interpretation could be that the delusional and dishevelled looking woman suffers from a mental illness, such as schizophrenia.  (see: The Witch, The Weird and The Wonderful ‘Dulle Griet: The Many Faces of Mad Meg’ http://winsham.blogspot.co.uk/)