Rogier Van der Weyden: "While nursing your child, regularly switch sides!"

In the current batch of Christie's Old Masters sales, two paintings caught my eye. The topmost picture is of a "Follower of van der Weyden, ca. 1500" and estimated at $40,000 to $60,000. The bottom one is from the "Brussels School, ca. 1500" and estimated at $70,000 to $100,000. It is slightly larger than the first one (36 by 27 compared to 29 by 20).

Looking at them in detail, it is clear that Van der Weyden has been a bit lazy here. The pictures have simply been switched, but the Virgin is identical, with the same hair, falling down exactly the same but on the other side(!), same clothes (though a slightly more decorative border in the Brussels School copy), same lace around the neck, and so on. The background as well is executed with the exact same system. The Child holds a different attribute (a lily vs. a bird), but essentially these are two copies of the same picture. The different estimate may be caused by the different format, there isn't otherwise much to chose between the two. But it is interesting to see how these old masters re-used ideas and motives.