Monday 7 March 2016

Two copies after Teniers' Temptation of Saint Anthony

In the Louvre one can see the "Temptation of Saint Anthony" by David Teniers II. It was one of his most popular paintings, and was often copied already during the 17th century, e.g. one version sold in 2015 at Lempertz for 10,000 Euro, which I discussed here.

Now there are two copies for sale, both reversed and with comparable estimates.

Lamas Bolaño, from Spain, sells on 14 March 2016 a "Flemish School, 17th century, circle of Teniers" version estimated at 800 Euro. It is a rather crude copy, lacking the refinement of the original.

Much better is the version for sale at Cambi, Italian auction house, on 9 March 2016: "Flemish School, 17th century" (no mention of Teniers here), estimated at 800 to 1,000 Euro, so the same as the Spanish version. It's twice as large, and much thinner painted (the structure of the canvas is quite visible through the painting), but it is a much more attractive version. It's not by Teniers of course, and seems to be after an engraving of the work, but value for money it is way better than the Bolaño version, which is boring. This one is lively, done by a very competent artist, with an eye for detail and colouring. It should be worth closer to 2,000 Euro probably, while the Spanish one should struggle to get the bottom estimate.

It is interesting to see how such popular works spread across the whole continent throughout the centuries (and often soon after they were made); while every country or even region had its own specific style, they weren't isolated from the remainder of European art.

1 comment:

  1. here is one more copy or the same one at 6500 eur now, http://en.anticstore.com/53689P

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