On 9 June 2015, I posted an auction of what I considered a cheap "Follower of Cranach" painting. Some further research seems to indicate that I have been duped (as was the auction house now, and many auction houses and dealers in the past).
The painting for sale (left picture) is exactly the same as one shown in an article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of 20 November 2014 about Christian Goller, notorious German Cranach forger (right picture). The added third apple to the right of the head of the Virgin, the shape of the rocks on the left, every detail seems to be the same. The one in the article was sold for 900 Euro, so below the estimate of the one for sale at Jackson's in Iowa. The Jackson's one eventually sold for $3,500, which would mean a nice profit for the seller if it is the same painting (and possibly a rather dubious practice to buy it as a known fake but sell it as a Follower of...)
And it clearly is the same painting. Apart from the obvious visual similarity, there are more damning aspects. In the catalog for the sale in November 2014 (lot 21), the dimensions were given as 54,5 by 77 cm; in the Jackson's sale, it was 78 by 54 cm.
And below you can see the back of the paintings, from the two catalogs. So, obviously the same painting.
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ReplyDeletei see tons of paintings appearing with this type of verso, there must be a factory somewhere :
ReplyDeletehttps://auctionata.com/en/o/93748/portrait-of-an-elderly-woman-with-bible-dutch-school-17th-c?utm_source=auctions&utm_medium=www.barnebys.com&utm_content=paintings-from-old-and-new-masters&utm_campaign=barnebys
for a 1.000- 2.000 eur those are pretty good fakes
ReplyDelete