Thursday 19 February 2015

Unrecognised (and rather poor) copies galore

Sometimes (well, quite often), you encounter copies which are only good enough for the dustbin. I'll collect a few here, not bothering to post them before the end of the auction because, well, they aren't worth bidding on...


This is being offered as "head and shoulder portrait of a bearded gentleman wearing a hat", 20th century. It's actually a copy of sorts of a famous self-portrait by Rubens.

A much better painted copy, but in very poor condition, was sold as "19th Century School - Oil painting - Shoulder length portrait of a man in 17th Century dress with wide brimmed hat" at the Canterbury Auction Galleries as well. You'ld think that these very famous and very often copied works would be recognised by auctioneers...



Similarly, the above was offered as "portrait of the Madonna and child with the infant John the Baptist", without any reference to the original "Madonna della tendo" by Raphael. Especially the Child in the copy is fascinating.


Somewhat better, but equally unrecognised though there was only one painter with this style and subject: a copy of Fragonard's "La chemise enlevĂ©e" from the Louvre is offered by Deutsch Auktionen in Austria (24 February 2015, lot 59) as "French School late 18th Century, Naked lady on her bed struggling with Amor". A wide estimate of 700 to 1,400 Euro, seems more than enough. UPDATE: sold for 1,800 Euro!


Oh, and I have no idea why, but the above is given at Dreweatts and Bloombury as a "Follower of / After Van Dyck". I don't see the resemblance here... 

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