Alex Cooper, from Maryland, sells on 3 October a "Manner of Jan Mostaert (Dutch, 16th / 17th century)" portrait of a man, a small oil on panel (40 by 28 cm) estimated at $2,000 to $3,000.
I have a friendly debate with a blog reader whether it is indeed closest to Mostaert (his opinion) or closer to the Master of the Magdalen Legend (my opinion). These 16th century Flemish portraits are hard to place exactly, many painters had similar styles and qualities, with some Massys paintings also resembling these works.
Comparable to Mostaert are paintings like the above portrait, from the
Rijksmuseum. Things like the hat are comparable, but that (in my opinion) is more due to the time (it's the clothing of the period) than to the artist.
My hunch that this might be a (circle of) Master of the Magdalen Legend
painting comes from paintings like the above (courtesy
RKD). He has a
very comparable way of painting faces and skin, although the Master is
probably a more accomplished, exact painter than the author of the one
for sale, who seems to go somewhat for the caricature, with exaggerated features (detail on the right). The too large eyes may also be a clue as to who is the painter of the work for sale. But in any case, for $2,000 this would be a very nice buy, a strong typical early 16th century Flemish portrait with potential for further research.
UPDATE: sold for $2,000.
UPDATE 2: for sale at
Sotheby's, 27 April 2016, now as "Follower of Jan Mostaert", estimated £6,000 to £8,000!
UPDATE 3: sold for £5,000!
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