"Flemish Master" is copy after Joos van Cleve

Hampel, Germany, sells on 5 July 2017 a "Flemish Master, End of the Beginning of the 16th century" (sic!) Holy Family, estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 Euro.

It is a copy after Joos van Cleve, a composition he and his followers used multiple times with variations in background and in the accompanying man (either Joseph or the donor usually, or no one).

This specific copy is listed at the RKD as being for sale in Nice, with dealer Rolan Robert (or Robert Rolan, more likely) in 1950! I don't know whether it has appeared on the market since, but it is nice to provide some provenance and attribution at the same time.

As a well-preserved, good copy with at least some provenance, it should be worth around 10,000 Euro.

Trecento "Noli me tangere" is close follower of Duccio

Hampel, Germany, sells on 5 July 2017 a "14th century Italian painter, possibly Francesco di Antonio da Ancona, active 1383-1393" Noli me tangere, estimated at 15,000 to 30,000 Euro.

The interesting work shows a subject which is not uncommon in Italian art of the period, but the specific composition here seems to borrow heavily from Duccio. His work dates to 1308-1311 and is now conserved in the Museo del Duomo in Siena.

While many depictions show Christ rejecting Magdalen with a somewhat outstretched hand, here his hand rests on his leg. The plants and background are also clearly inspired by the Duccio. The comparison also shows though what a brilliant painter Duccio was (who had to invent much of the "language" of modern painting together with his contemporary Giotto), and how his style was reduced to a caricature some 80 years later.

Courtauld Gallery, Italian School (Vitale da Bologna?)

Barnaba da Modena, mid 14th century

These aspects of the composition (especially the position of Christ, carrying the flag, Magdalen with outstretched arms, a background with rocks and a few sparse trees) ha sbeen reused with more variations by a few other artists in the 14th century, but overall remains a rather rare version of the image. The work for sale here seems to me to be the most faithful to Ducci, with even the position of the hands of Mary Magdalen being very similar; the stiff posture of Christ is also closer in the work for sale than in the two other pictures. These two more closely follow the position of the left hand of Christ though.

Very few works by Francesco d'Antonio daAncona can be found online, the Fondazione Zeri ony lists a magnificent polyptych in the Pushkin Museum. The quality of that work is way above the one for sale, but perhaps it is a bit dangerous to reject the attribution based on only one comparison.

Despite the awkwardness of the work for sale, it still is an interesting and well-preserved example of 14th century Italian painting, and shows the long-lasting influence of Duccio (and let's face it, buying an original Duccio is impossible); so I guess the estimate is justified, even without any attribution.

"Italo-Flemish" work is copy after Abraham Bloemaert

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 5 July 2017 an "Italo Flemish painter, 17th century" The Golden Age, estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 Euro.

In the German description, they tell us "The representation is also found in a similar way in the work of Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651). On the other hand, the depiction of the nudes is due to Venetian painting."

To be more precise, the work is a copy after a beautiful 1603 drawing by Abraham Bloemaert, not just something"similar". It is a nice copy, though I don't see the Italian connection. 

Some aspects of the explanation are alo unsatisfactory, e.g. "the dog lying undisturbed is shown beside a peacock, a symbol of peace among animals". Not really, that would be depicted by a lion some other fearsome predator and a lamb. The peacock, casting his shadow right at the front, is a symbol of the vanity and the folly, which is what this painting is really about: not just a "Golden Age", but a warning against vanity, debauchery, lust, with Time abiding his, well, time. 

The work by Bloemaert was often copied and wa more widely known through an engraving by Nicolaas de Bruyn from 1604. The painting here is not in the same direction as the reversed engraving, but oriented as the original was, so it may be based directly on the original drawing, or on one of the other copies. 

According to the text in the Sotheby's catalogue accompanying another copy, sold in 2016 for $10,000, there probably was no original painting, only an original drawing.

The work for sale is somewhat less faithful to the original, especially in the background. It is also a very large copy, 114 by 174 cm (e.g. the Sotheby's one wsa only 44 by 69 cm). It will probably easily fetch the estimate. But why they hid the connection to Bloemaert in the desscription is not really clear, if a work is a copy just say so, don't bury it in the text somewhere.

"Attributed to Desiderio Monsù" is copy after Jan Brueghel

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 5 July 2017 an "Attributed to François de Nomé, known as Monsù Desiderio" Burning of Troy, estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro.

It is a copy after Jan Brueghel the Elder, who painted the same composition a few times. One copy is in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, while the other was on the market in Amsterdam in 2005 (both via janbrueghel.net which is an interesting site). A third version was for sale at Christie's in 2004 (via RKD).

The works are not completely identical, but it is very clear that they have the same origin. The figures in the Hampel version are not good enough by far to be by Brueghel though. I also doubt that the ork has anything to do with Monsù, who painted usually more abandoned scenes, not a crowded one like here, and who seems to be unlikely as a copyist anyway.

A copy of the Brueghel was sold at Hampel as well, in 2015, and was then attributed to Pieter Schoubroeck (image via RKD)

The work for sale also reminds me of Louis de Caullery, but will likely simply remain anonymous. The estimate may be a bit too high, closer to 3,000€ may be more realistic, but it certainly is an interesting work.

1903 symbolist painting: by Edmond van Offel?

Lauritz, from Denmark, sells on 28 June 2017 an "Unknown artist, 1903, signed E.V.A / G.V.A.?" woman's portrait, estimated at 134 Euro.

The typical symbolist work, coupled with the signature, reminds me most of the works of Edmond van Offel (1871-1959), artist from Antwerp who is mostly known for his book illustrations.

He often worked in an Art Nouveau-inspired style, but his works also can be Symbolist (like here) or more realistic. The above drawing shows a woman who is clearly similar to the one in the painting.

If it is by Van Offel, it should be worth around 800 Euro probably.

Harrowing of Hell miniature may be by the Masters of the Zwolle Bible

Lawrences, England, sold on 16 June 2017 a "Flemish miniature, ca. 1450" Harrowing of Hell, estimated at £150 to £250.

It seemed to me that this is a ca. 1470-1490 miniature of the "Sarijs manuscripts" from Zwolle, in the Netherlands. perhaps even (but this is a wild guess) one of the many missing miniatures from a book of hours sold by Sotheby's in 2013 for £18,750.

The "Sarijs" manuscripts are so called because of a "typo" in them, Sarijs instead of Marijs. They were decorated in a very specific style, described in a 1989 exhibition catalogue (quoted in the Sotheby's auction catalogue) as "...colours are kept pale, and the illumination has a quality of extreme lightness" The work for sale here is described a "faded" by the auction house, but I think this is partially due to the original pale, light illumination and not so much to later fading.

The illustration has other elements typical of the Sarijs manuscripts, ranging from the typical halo of the Christ (with the form of the cross in it) to especially elements of the border decoration.

It certainly isn't part of the manuscript in the Walters, as that one still has its own Harrowing of Hell depiction.

The image here is typical of many such "Harrowing of Hell" depictions, with Christ getting the lost souls back from Hell or Purgatory, starting with Adam. The Gate of Hell is usually shown as either the mouth of a monster or some real gate, and occasionally a combination of both like here.

A very comparable iconography is this image, but I don't know where it actually comes from. The wonders of the internet... The execution of this one is completely different though.

I was quite convinced that the miniature for sale was worth a lot more than estimated, so I kept quiet about it and posted a bid. Sadly, many others had spotted this one as well, and it went for £2,100 (plus costs) or more than 10 times the estimate. I wonder whether it will reappear at auction with a "Master of Zwolle" attribution, or whether someone has bought it for their own pleasure, or even to complete a manuscript they have?

Drawing is by or after Marcello Venusti

Fauve Paris sells on 17 June 2017 an "Italian School, late 16th century" drawing of Christ and the Samaritan woman, quite large (37 by 50 cm) and estimated at 400 to 600 Euro.

The composition is the same as a work by Marcello Venusti (1512-1579). One good copy of it can be seen in Erddig, Wales, in a National Trust museum / house.

The original appears to be in the Museum of Siena.

The drawing is certainly better than e.g. the Welsh copy, and is not identical to the original either, as it has a landscape orientation instead of a portrait one. As far as I can discern it, it even looks better than the supposed original painting from Siena, which makes me wonder whether it could be a final preparatory drawing by Venusti, instead of a copy by someone else after the fact.

I can't find any comparable drawings, so valuing this is hard. It has some damage, so as an anonymous copy the estimate seems right: if it is by Venusti though, the value should be at least 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

UPDATE: a reader pointed out that the painting (and presumably the drawing) are not originally by Venusti, but are copies after (an engraving after) Michelangelo! This version is from the British Museum. This explains the better quality of the drawing, and removes the link to Venusti. Thanks for the update!

"Early 20th century Italian school" a very early Cubist / Futurist drawing?

Joron Derem, from France, sells on 23 June 2017 an "Italian School, early 20th century" study for the movie "Attila - I Nibelunghi", estimated at 800 to 1,200 Euro.

It is a striking image, but sadly I can find very limited information about the movie. The signature on the drawing is hard to read, and the image provided by the auction house is just a fraction too small to get a better idea of what it says.

First, the movie. It is an adaptation of the Wagner opera, written by Mario Bernacchi and produced by Milano Films. And that's about it... It is the first movie adaptation ever of the story, as far as I can tell, so important in that regard. As usual with movies at the time, it is very short (one reel, about 10 minutes or so?). The film is preserved in at least 2 copies (which is quite a success for movies of the period, many are largely or completely lost), and I have been able to find 2 frames of it online here, but these don't look anything extraordinary.

The drawing itself to me looks inspired by Cubism / Futurism, which wouldn't be impossible in Milan in 1910 (where the Futurist Movement was founded in 1909), but certainly very early and almost certainly done by a "real" Futurist, not someone later inspired by them. The "signature" on the work is either the first word (Apuerotonto?), or the word before 1910 (Cari?), or it isn't signed at all. Neither the image nor my Italian are good enough to decide this any more definitively. "Cari" may simply be "Circa", evidence that it was only described afterwards.

Futurist painters include Mario Carli (but he was a writer, not an artist), and Carlo Carra, but I don't think it is their sugnature or (like I said) that it is signed at all, which would make this an unsigned but very early Italian proto-Cubist / Futurist drawing. Truly Futirst films only appeared between 1916 and 1919 and are much more experimental than this 1910 movie (as evidenced by the subject and the two frames, and the fact that it hasn't received more attention), but that doesn't mean that they can't have hired some true local artists to design the costumes and so on for them.

Basically, a lot of this is speculation and needs further research by specialists, but there is a reasonable chance that this is a very early Cubist-influenced Italian drawing, which would make it a rather exceptional find and probably worth a lot more than the estimate.

"Dutch School" may be the work of Gerret Willemsz. Heda

Vanderkindere, from Brussels, sells on 14 May 2017 a "Dutch School, 17th century" still life, estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro.

The work is very close to the famous still lifes of Willem Claesz Heda, but lacks the extreme finesse and brilliance of these. Somehown Heda succeeds in getting his brush strokes exactly right, creating an extremely convincing effect; most followers copy the manners and elements, but don't get the same overall effect even though it is hard to pinpoint which aspects are lacking.

Searching further, I wonder whether this isn't the work of Gerrit (or Gerret) Willemsz. Heda (1625-1649), the son of Willem Heda.Some of his works are very, very similar in composition and execution. The nautiluscup in the above one is identical or nearly identical to the one for sale, but the position has changed just enough that it isn't a simple copy.

The same cup and position also appears in a work by father Willem, but there the difference in execution agin becomes apparent.

There seems to be one other logical candidate for the artist of this painting: Maerten Boelema de Stomme ("The Silent") (1611-1644), another pupil of Heda, who also painted the same cup, and added a ham that looks remarkably like te one in the work for sale. This work sold for £92,500 at Sotheby's in 2013. To me Boelema seems like a slightly better painter than Gerret Heda (who died very young, it ha to be said); and the work for sale feels more like a Heda to me, even though the composition is closer to Boelema (in as far as the compositions of the two differ...)

I estimate this painting at 15,000 to 18,000 Euro.

An anonymous "Saint Luke paints the Virgin" of ca. 1550

Brussels Art Auctions sells on 13 June 2017 a "Flemish School ca. 1500" Saint Luc painting the Virgin, a tondo estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The work is known in a few copies, one very similar (or the same) for sale in London with Knoedler in 1947 (info from RKD), and one sold at Bernaerts in Belgium in 2008, which was slightly better painted (also via RKD).

The origin of these works seems to be a panel by Lanceloot Blondeel (1498-1561), a much better work with some variations but with enough similarities to suppose some link. The way Sint Lucas is positioned, his hat, the panel in front of him, seem to form the basis for the work for sale.

Other elements though seem to come (in reverse) from  a work by Maerten de Vos (1532-1603). These include the backpack (?) of Saunt Luke, and the person to the side pushing something on a table (Saint Joseph at work in this case, an angel n the work for sale).

This would mean that the ca. 1500 date is too early, and that a date after 1525 is much more likely (based on the Blondeel) or even after 1550 (if the De Vos is considered relevant as well). The estimate is a bit steep, it really isn't a very attractive work, but it is not the most common theme and in any case quite old, so still an interesting work.

'Dutch School" shepherdess is a good workshop copy of Paulus Moreelse

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 14 June 2017 a "Dutch School, 17th century" shepherdess, estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro.

The very attractive painting is a copy after Paulus Moreelse (1571-1638), the undisputed master of this kind of work. The original was (or is?) part of the collection of art dealer Agnew's in London; I have no idea of the current whereabouts.

He used the same model in a few other similar works from ca. 1630 as well, no idea if she has been identified (e.g. Rubens often used his own wife as a model). They are probably among the most erotic Dutch paintings of the Golden Age (excluding the really hard-core stuff like some of Rembrandts drawings), and illustrate the division which existed then already between the strict protestantism / Calvinism which lead to things like the Icnoclasm, and the bourgeois hedonism and intellectual freedom which lead to all kinds of good things like these paintings, and excesses like the Tulip Mania. The same usually happy marriage of on the one hand regions famous for nearly unlimited freedom (sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll) and on the other hand regions where the Tour de France may not pass on a Sunday because it would be a sin, still remains one of the quintessential Dutch characteristics to this day.

The version here is not as good as the original, but still a very high quality version, and could easily be described as a "workshop" version (a term which seems to be used for any good, close copy, no matter if the artist actually had a workshop or not). A similar sized comparable work was sold at Christie's in 2015 for 119,000 Euro against a 60,000 Euro estimate, and another one at Christie's Amsterdam in 2008 for 70,000 Euro. A much less attractive "workshop" work was sold at Dorotheum in 2012 for 15,000 Euro, which seems like way too much in that case. Another studio work, quite good but in my opinion not as good as the one we have here, sold at Christie's Amsterdam in 2011 for 8,750 Euro.

I would value this one at 12,000 to 15,000 Euro as a very good studio copy which lacks the finesse of the best real Moreelse works though.

UPDATE: not sold, surprisingly.

"Second half 18th century" harbour scene is work by member of the Grevenbroeck family

Carlo Bonte, from Belgium, sells on 14 June 2017 a "Second half 18th century" Ships in a Levantine port, estimated at 300 to 500 Euro.

It is a work by or after Orazio or Jan Grevenbroeck. Jan II Grevenbroeck is listed as a Dutch painter, even though he was born (1731) and died (1801) in Venice. Orazio Grevenbroeck was the son of Jan I Grevenbroeck and was active in Paris and Dordrecht (around 1670-1690: his date of death is sometimes given as 1730). Whether he was related to Jan II Grevenbroeck is not certain (though it seems likely, considering the name and comparable style). The missing link may be Charles-Leopold Grevenbroeck, son of Orazio, active between 1717 and 1759: he worked as the court painter to Louis XV but afterwards went to Italy and died in Naples in 1759. Another, perhaps even more likely candidate is Alessandro Grevenbroeck, probably the younger brother of Orazio, and active in Venice between 1717 and 1737, i.e. when Jan II was born. The RKD doesn't mention him at the page about Jan II, and lists at the page for Alessandro a certain "Giovanni de Grevembroch" as possibly his son: it doesn't take a genius to recognise Giovanni as the Italian form of Jan though ;-) Giovanni Grevembroch is in multiple sources said to have lived from 1731 to 1807 (so same year of birth, but slightly different year of death, though easily misread), and to have been of German descent (e.g. at the Correr Museum). The link between Giovanni and Jan has been made by other sources already, but a page discussing the full probable lineage, from Jan I over Orazio and Alessandro to Jan II, seems to be missing.

Orazio, Alessandro and Jan II are well-known for paintings like the work for sale, with ships in oriental-looking fantasy ports, often with one big vessel and a high lighthouse or watchtower.

Sotheby's sold in 1999 a work they attributed to Orazio, but which at the RKD is re-attributed to Jan II Grevenbroeck. The similarities with the work for sale are obvious.

The painting should easily surpass the very low estimate and go for 3,000 Euro instead.

UPDATE: sold for 4,500 Euro!