"Master of the Loire Valley" is Master of the Magdalen Legend

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 7 December 2017 a "Second half of the 15th Century French Master, probably a Master of the Loire Valley" Virgin and Child, estimated at 15,000 to 25,000 Euro.

The composition is a version of a work by the Master of the Magdalen Legend: the position of the child, the way the breast is held, and the jewel on the forehead of the Virgin. The main difference is the thickness and darkness of the shadows, creating a much heavier (and somewhat later) effect than the usual versions by the Master of the Magdalen Legend.

One version (attributed to the Workshop) was sold at Sotheby's in 2013 for $46,000.

Another version was sold again at Sotheby's, in 2010, for $134,000.

Other versions can be found according to the RKD at the Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp, on the art market in Berlin, ... Some have a background, most are on a gold ground; most are rounded at the top, some are squared, some are tondos.

This particular version is either the same as or very, very close to one sold by Sotheby's to art dealer Wildenstein in 1948, and was by Friedländer attributed to the Master of the Magdalen Legend (information and image from the RKD). Most telling is the background: it has the same lighter stripe horizontally at the height of the jewel, and the same lighter on the top left and top middle (other lighter patches in the black and white photographs are due to the RKD watermark, the main disadvantage of using pictures from the RKD).

Even though this is one of the most common 15th century Flemish works, and the Master of the Magdalen Legend is a poor man's Hans Memling, it still is a very good and rare example of true Early Netherlandish Painting; and with a provenance going back to at least 1948 (plus the chance that Sotheby's or their 1948 catalogue will have more information), and an attribution by Friedländer himself (he isn't infallible, but he remains the greatest art historian for this period), you can't go wrong at the estimate, and this can easily fetch 50,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 120,000 Euro, more than even I expected!