Best wishes

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, best wishes for whichever holiday you celebrate! Whether you go for a queit celebration or the bet party ever, enjoy these dark weeks (or if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy Summer).

Things are quite at the auction front, so I'll probably not post a lot until the second week of 2017. 2016 has been a nice year for the blog, with page views booming, many contacts with readers (always nice to hear from you), and some nice finds.

Follow-up: "Abraham van Beyeren" may be a Pieter van Rijck after all

In October 2015, I wrote a lengthy post about a luxurious still life which was being sold in Belgium as "environment of Pieter Cornelis van Rijck", but which I described as closer to Abraham van Beyeren. Estimated at 2,000 Euro, it sold for 3,300 Euro, about a third of what I thought it was worth. 

In an update, I pointed to "Galerie FC", which sold the painting for (at first) 15,800 Euro and (later) 11,800 Euro.

A kind reader now has informed me that they have bought the Galerie FC painting, but that it is not the same as the De Vuyst work but a slightly different version.

On the right, another object (a cake) is added on the cupboard. Other differences are a lot more subtle.

Very interesting is that the work also has a signature (or more precisely a monogram), and a date. It seems to say PVR fc. 1599, which owuld logically stand for Pieter Van Rijck fecit 1599.

If this signature is authentic (and I have no way to judge this), it would mean that both works are indeed by Pieter Van Rijck (god job by the auction houses, not so much by me). Sources indicate that he indeed signed some works PVR (and used fecit and a date in them as well), so all this seems to point to a possible genuine signature.

We can compare it with a signature on a drawing in the Rijksmuseum. The basic system is the same (with the integrated P and V), the execution somewhat different, but we are comparing a fast drawing with an oil painting here, so this seems normal.

If the signature gets authenticated by some expert, this signed and dated work should be worth at least 20,000 Euro. It would also increase the value of the De Vuyst work, as that can then be compared to a real Van Rijck and possibly more firmly attributed to him as well. In any case, whoever bought that one for 3,300 Euro had a good buy for little money.

I do wonder, considering where I went wrong, whether there are any older examples of Puckelbokal still lifes, or whether this would be the first one.

Antoine Léon Fleury

Göteborgs Auktionsverk, from Göteborg (duh), Sweden, sells on 22 December 2016 an "Antoine Léon Fleury" portrait of a woman, estimated at 515 Euro.

The description seems correct, the painting is of high quality and in the style of Fleury. The only reason I post it here is because it is cheap, in a somewhat unexpected auction, and there are few interesting auctions at the moment anyway.

François Antoine Léon Fleury (1804-1858), from France, is best known for his landscapes (which can be found in the Met and the National Gallery, and fetch 10,000 Euro at Christie's), but has painted a few portraits as well. This one is probably the best of those I could find online.

It reminds me of the works of Corot, who was an influence on the landscapes of Fleury as well, and who also painted many reading girls and women. Corot was obviously the superior artist, but then again his works are hardly affordable for most of us. 

I would estimate this one at about 1,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 786 Euro, halfway between the original estimate and my estimate.

Beautiful frame

Allgauer, from Germany, sells on 12 January 2017 a "French, 19th/20th century" Genre scene, estimated at 5 Euro.


This small work (diameter of 9 cm only) has a wonderful frame, made from leather. I know nothing about frames, but I can't easily find other examples of such an elaborate frame, with nice Orientalism influences which are reminiscent of Art Nouveau (though too symmetrical for that).

The painting is a typical sweet French romantic park scene, well executed in a sketchy style which seems influenced by Impressionism. I guess the work is from about 1910-1920.

As a curiosity of serious quality, it should fetch a few hundred Euros probably, but it is hard to predict such a thing when, like I said, one knows next to nothing about it. I'll probably tweet this one to the Frame Blog, perhaps they have more information on this!

"Lombard School, 16th": intriguing Feeding of the Swaddled Cat

Dorotheum, Austria, sells on 22 December 2016 a "Lombard School, 16th century" satirical banquet scene, estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro.

The painting seems like a copy after an unknown better work, as it has the telltale signs of a good composition and rather poor execution.

Intriguing is the central element, of a cat which looks remarkably like a swaddled baby being spoonfed. The man feeding it is masked. On the left, another man is brandishing a pig's foot. Some people have oversized cutlery

At first the painting reminded me of Dutch works, e.g. by Jan Steen. The composition and the satirical character are similar, and it also has a family of cats in it (though they are treated normally).

To my surprise, I learned through some further searching that the image of the swaddled cat appears in many Western European countries. It must be based on some well-known satire or fable to have such a widespread appeal.

In Italy, we have Bartolomeo Passarotti or Passerotti (1529-1592), a painter from Bologna (so not too far from Lombardy): someone from his circle is supposed to have painted the above. This was sold at Sotheby's in 2013 for $9,000.

The same image was also the basis for a French engraving, ''L'éducation du Matou'' by Leblond. It sadly doesn't mention an original author for the composition. The text reads:
"Avec que raison je puis dire / Que les visages que voicy / Qui n'ont point de soing que de rire / Me contraignent de rire aussi. // Esti quelque mélancholie / Qui vaille celle de ce fou / Qui veut donner de la bouillie / A ce ridicule matou. // Mais je trouve encore plus sotte / L'extravagance de Margot / Qui l'embéguine et l'emmaillotte / Plus estroittement qu'un fagot. // Un badin leur donne une aubade / Afin d'honnorer ce beau jeu / ou plustost pour faire grillade / Il prend les pincètes du feu."

Amateur translation, with the aid of Google translate:
"With good reason, I can say / that the faces that are here / that have nothing but laughter / compel me to laugh too. // Is there any melancholy / matching that madman / Who wants to give porridge / To this ridiculous tomcat. // But I find even more foolish / Margot's extravagance / Who covers and swaddles it / More narrowly than a fagot. // A joker gives them an aubade / In order to honor this beautiful game / or better to make grill / He takes the pincers of the fire."

Note the appearance of Margot la Folle, which is also the name of Brueghel's masterpiece "Dulle Griet" in French.  

In England, we have some curious woodcuts about "O Rare Show, or the Fumblers Club". Apparently a fumbler is an impotent man; the woman takes a cat instead, and people bring birthday presents for the cat as if it was a baby  These are supposedly from ca. 1660-1700. Note how in the topmost image, on the right, a fool plays the gridiron as if it was a fiddle, indicating the connection between the French image and these ones.

This then changes in later depictions in England, e.g. in this 1772 engraving (mezzotint) by W. Humphrey after J. R. Smith, showing the longevity of this particular iconographic element. It is titled "Miss Sukey and her Nursery".

In Flanders, we have David Ryckaert III with his "Old Woman feeding a cat", from the Hermitage. The English and Flemish examples show how the image evolved from a general satire on human folly, to one of silly older woman treating cats as if they are babies. 

And then finally, through some luck, I struck gold and found an original version of the work for sale.  It graced the cover of the 2009 issue (the 7th issue) of "Studiolo", the art magazine of the Académie Française in Rome - Villa Médicis. Presumably the above is a fragment of a larger work matching the one for sale here, but the quality is clearly superior. The theme of the issue was "Le comique dans l'art", "the comical in the arts", and this subject is of course perfectly suited for it. Sadly, the linked page has no information on who painted this or where it is kept.

The price for the work for sale seems about right, it is a copy but relatively large, painted well enough, and with a very intriguing image, which helps (many people would rather have this than some boring run-of-the-mill subject of course).  

UPDATE: a keen-eyed reader sent me the link to the original painting: it is housed at the Museum of Nantes and attributed to Northern Italy, second half of the 16th century. This confirms the work for sale as a good copy, but clearly not an original (especially some of the faces are clearly inferior to the Nantes version). 

The same reader also pointed, apart from the already mentioned Passerotti, to Vincenzo Campi as a possible artist for the original. He is known for similar satirical works. I found the above, attributed to a follower of Campi, which was sold at Gros & Delettrez in 2012 with an estimate of 2,000 to 3,000 Euro. It shows another version of the same story.

An original by Campi in the same vein is his "Ricotta-eaters". The style seems to be somewhat different to the Nantes work though. 

While looking at all these, I can across two French works (a beautiful drawing by Fragonard, and an engraving after Jean Baptiste Huet), showing the same basic idea but now as a piece of child's play, without any (apparent) satirical message.

UPDATE: not sold

UPDATE: another, very similar version was sold for 35,000 Euro at Debaecque (France) as "Italian School; circle of Niccolo Frangipane". (Information communicated by AuctionRadar who keeps a watchful eye  on mainly the French auctions).

Variation on the Tower of Babel, probably from the Francken clan

Dorotheum, from Austria, sells on 22 December 2016 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Tower of Babel of unusual dimensions (25 by 76 cm), estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro.

I could find no other examples of this composition, which may be a (large) fragment of a bigger (higher) work: the cutting off of the top of the Tower is a bit strange.

The closest examples are some works by Frans Francken (I or II). The remarkable blue roofs on the Tower can be seen in the above Francken from ca. 1620.

The use of big figures in the foreground which nearly dwarf the actual tower is also rather unusual, but has been practiced most often by Francken.

The work for sale seems, looking at both the composition and the style, to have been inspired by the works of Frans Francken, and is good enough to be by one of the lesser or later members of the clan, like Frans Francken III.

E.g. the  boy on the left can be compared with similar figures in other Francken works.

The King, and his turban / crown, also is comparable to other works by one of the Franckens.

In 2008, it was for sale in Italy at Blindarte as a work by Frans Francken II with an estimate of 25,000 to 35,000 Euro, which was a bit too much. However, the current estimate seems too low,  more of a come-and-get-me one, and the work should be worth about 8,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 5,000 Euro only.

"Flemish School" is copy after Dürer

Dorotheum, from Austria, sells on 19 December 2016 a "Flemish School, 16th century" Virgin and Child in a landscape, estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 Euro.

The work seems at first to be inspired by and close to Albrecht Dürer. His engraving of the Virgin and Child with the monkey shares some characteristics.

Further searching revealed the actual basis for this work; the "Virgin among a multitude of animals", a 1503 watercolour which is the subject of an interesting blog post at Alberti's Window. The copy for sale is of course simplified and not by Dürer, but it is an interesting work nevertheless, and not very common. It may be Flemish, since Dürer was very popylar in 16th century Flanders, but with copies it is hard to be certain. The blog post mentioned that Jan Brueghel made a painted copy of the watercolour, but from both the description and looking at the quality of the copy for sale, it is unlikely that they are the same (the one for sale is clearly simplified).

But that doesn't mean that this copy is devoid of character or quality. The above details show a reasonably skilled painter, but some awkwardness in the face of the Virgin.

The estimate seems a bit too high now that it has become clear that this is a copy; but as it is an old copy, and apparently a rather rare one, and not without charm, it should still be worth about 3,000 Euro.

UPDATE: not sold, as expected.

UPDATE 2: for sale at Hampel on 5 December 2019, still no mention of Dûrer strangely, estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 Euro so should struggle.

Rembrandt's "Ecce Homo" hundred years older than previously thought!

Duran, from Spain, sells on 22 December 2016 a "Lucas van Leyden" Christ before Pilatus (i.e. an Ecce Homo), estimated at 18,000 Euro.

Lucas van Leyden is a great Dutch engraver who has also left a limited number of paintings. An original painting by him like this should be worth 500,000 Euro probably, if not much much more (the estimate is what good followers or "circle of" works fetch: no real Leyden painting has come on the market in years it seems).

Lucas van Leyden made a few Ecce Homo's, like the Large Ecce Homo (image from the Met), which directly influenced Rembrandt (work from the Rijksmuseum shown below).

The work for sale here is a painted version of another Rembrandt depiction of the Ecce Homo scene: this version comes from the National Gallery.

Could it be that this one as well is based on a Lucas van Leyden painting, and much more closely still than the other one? Do we need to rewrite art history and severely diminish the genius of Rembrandt, who was often simply a copyist? Probably not.

The painting for sale has little resemblance to other Van Leyden works, and is much more in the dark style of the Dutch Golden Age, where colour takes precedence over line (unlike the work of Van Leyden).

So, can it be an unknown Rembrandt? Well, I did fail to spot the "Senses" sleeper that shook the auction world recently, but still I'm fairly certain that no, this isn't a sleeper Rembrandt. The work for sale is fairly well painted, but I think it is 18th century, and worth a few thousand Euro at the very most.