Copy after Schwartz

Yet another "Flemish School", this time "ca. 1620, Proserpina abducted by Pluto", at Drouot (lot 51, 27 March 2015). Estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro, this seems rather expensive.

No opinion on the date or region of this copy, but the original is German and some 50 years older: Christoph Schwartz (1543-1592), now in the Fitzwilliam Museum. The reversed copy, different colours, ... all indicate that this is a copy after an engraving. During the process, it lost all power. The horses, instead of frightening wild animals, seem now to be frightened of the water; the fierce mountains in the background have turned into rolling hills, the fast flowing river has become a pond with some wrinkles from the horses and chariot.

Note that Lambert Sustris either also has painted a version, or is an alternative attribution for the original painting. Schwartz and Sustris have collaborated for a while, their work can be very similar sometimes.