"Attributed to Peter van Bredael" is copy after Andreas Martin

Sarl May, from France, sells on 17 October 2016 an "Attributed to Peter van Bredael (1629-1719)" theatre in the village market place, estimated at 2,500 to 3,500 Euro. (Lot 144 in this online catalogue).

The same work was, according to the RKD, sold by Phillips of London in 1997 as "Peter van Bredael".

At first I thought it was by a follower of Theobald Michau, as the whole scene and especially the street theatre showed remarkable similarities with the more famous painting by Michau of the same subject.

While such influence is still a possibility, I meanwhile have found that many other paintings of the subject show similar theatres (though most are somewhat more remote cousins). Late 17th century examples from the RKD are by Matthijs Neveu and Gerrit Berkheyde.

But this search unexpectedly lead me to the real origin of this painting. It is a simplified version of a work by Brussels artist Andreas Martin (1699-1763) from ca. 1725 (according to the RKD) or 1750 (according to Christie's, where it was sold in 2009 for £10,000). (Work for sale and a detail from the Martin given for comparison).

Theoretically it could have been another painter painting a similar scene from the same vantagepoint, but having the same theatre at the same spot, with the same principal actor in black (and the same man with cello on the right side and pointing man on the left side of the stage), and the same watchful girl with vegetables in the front right, is just a bit too much...

All this means that it can't be by Peeter van Bredael, and it doesn't look good enough to be by Martin. So, a mid- to late 18th century copy after Andreas Martin in a 17th century style. Value? Certainly not more than the estimate, I guess. But charming nonetheless.