Wednesday, 29 March 2017

Vertumnus and Pomona

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 30 March 2017 an "Attributed to Jasper van der Laanen" Vertumnus and Pomona, estimated at 12,000 to 18,000 Euro.

It is not clear what the attribution to Jasper van der Lanen (1585-1634) is based on. The composition is known from multiple versions, usually painted somewhat better than this version which is very attractive as a whole, but falls a bit apart when watched up close. The original is by Abraham Govaerts (1589-1626), who was a good friend of van der Lanen. It is still in a private collection. Seen side by side, the difference in quality is amazing. It isn't unlikely that Lanen has painted some Govaerts compositions, and he wasn't the best painter of figures, but this version is inferior to his work and could better be described simply as a Follower of Govaerts. The estimate is too high as well, 5,000 to 6,000 would be better.

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