Carlo Bonte, from Bruges, sells on 28 October 2015 a "No visible signature, 17th century Animated Scene on a farmyard" oil on panel, 52 by 67 cm and estimated at only 300 to 500 Euro.
If it is 17th century (and not, say, a 19th century copy), then this is a bargain even as an anonymous work, as it is of much higher quality than the countless similar boring works that appear at auction. In fact, it is so good that it may perhaps be attributed to a well-known name instead, or should be situated close to him.
The work for sale closely resembles some works by Isaac van Ostade (1621-1649), a short-lived Dutch (not Flemish) painter from Haarlem, who is one of the early masters of this folksy genre. The above 1641 work, from the Norton Simon Collection in Pasadena, is the closest I could find. The composition, atmosphere, colouring, ... are very similar (without one being a copy of the other), with the typical watching children, the man in the door, the dog, the way the stones in the wall are depicted, ... Some things differ, like the foliage, and the Pasadena work is more lively, but they are either by the same painter or the painter of the work for sale was heavily inspired by Ostade.
Also comparable, though clearly a better work, is the pictured one, sold at
Sotheby's in 2013 for £182,500. E.g. the watching children on the right are close to the ones in the work for sale. Again, the Ostade from Sotheby's is a more lively work.
UPDATE: the work is again for sale at
Herbette, in France, on 19 June 2016, with an estimate of 4,000 to 6,000 Euro and described as "Workshop of Van Ostade". No surprise there ;-)
UPDATE 2: and again for sale at Herbette on
29 January 2017, now for 3,000 to 5,000 Euro.
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