Misattributions

One of the best ways to find bargains are of course misattributed or unrecognised paintings. Many of the posts in this blog are about such things. For example, at Hotel de Ventes Mosan, they sell on 21 January a watercolour by "Herman Veraecke". I can't find any evidence of any painter with that name, but the watercolour is clearly by Herman Verbaere, both in style and lisible on the signature. Now, Verbaere was a very prolific artist, so it's not as if the price will explode by this (it's estimated at 40 to 60 Euro, and a random Verbaere like this makes a few hundred Euros at most), but it's indicative of how one shouldn't trust the attributions of minor auction houses for more minor artists, or how one shouldn't rely simply on auction alerts to be sure to find what you are looking for. Oh, and if you fancy that Verbaere / Veraecke, they have another one as well.

The same auction house also sells an ancient map by "Jean Oman". Nothing can be found on a mapmaker named "Jean Oman", but if you are interested in "Jean-Baptiste Homann", you may find a bargain here. Estimated at only 50 to 100 Euro, this very nicely coloured map of Saxony-Hildburghausen can be found elsewhere for 280 Euro in less impressive colours.

A different kind of misattribution happens at Carlo Bonte, an auction of early February. This painting is described as a copy by C. Juarez of a portrait of Philips II of Spain. It actually is a copy of a famous portrait of John of Austria, half-brother of Philips II and illegitimate son of Emperor Charles V. No idea if the different sitter will change the estimated value of 200 to 300 Euro; it will also depend on the age of this copy probably.