Wednesday 15 June 2016

"Flemish" annunciation is a loose copy of an old Italian example

Pays de Loire, from France, sells on 21 June a "Flemish School, 17th century" Annunciation, a small oil on copper estimated at 800 to 1000 Euro.

It is a relatively weak painting, but I wonder why it is being described as Flemish? The composition is purely Italian, with few or no Flemish elements. The first that came to mind was this Fra Angelico. The opened up interior, ending at half a column on the right, and with some exterior to the left, with the sun streaming in from the upper left. There are a few Flemish works which share some of these characteristics (by Robert Campin and by the Master of the Barbara Legend); but these are all further removed from the Italian examples, for starters by having Gothical architecture instead of Renaissance one.

Something like the above by Vittore Carpaccio (1465-1525) also is quite similar. Rather archaic, but Italian, not Flemish, and 16th century, not 17th.

Some searching unearthed the above by Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1427) from the Pinacoteca Vaticano. The painting for sale is a copy with variations, but remains fairly close to the original overall, repeating many details from the book on the pillow to the sunlight / holy ghost through the roset window. It's obviously not some long-lost Da Fabriano or even close to it in origin, but it seems a lot more likely that this is a ca. 1500 Italian painting than a Flemish one of 100 to 200 years later. The only thing in favour of Flanders is the "oil on copper" aspect, but this was employed in Italy often enough. Whether this work will sell at the estimated price remains dubious, it isn't very attractive but if it truly dates from around 1500 it should be worth something anyway.


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