Tuesday 11 September 2018

Interesting moralistic work: 16th century instead of 17th?

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 12 September 2018 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Card players, estimated at 600 to 800 Euro.

It is an interesting moralistic work. The text at the top, "Jan Jan peist om den ouden man", is in Dutch and means "John, John, think about the old man", i.e. think about your old age, don't spend everything now on gambling and games. The work isn't the most subtle, but I like these works which combine art and cultural history more than is usually the case.

 Man in comparable clothing, ca. 1545-1560, Tate Britain
I presume the painting is based on an engraving, but I haven't been able to find it. The clothing of the rich man seems to suggest the middle of the 16th century more than the 17th century though, in which case this work really should be worth more (even though it has some damage), probably closer to 2,000 Euro instead.

UPDATE: sold for 6,200 Euro, ten times the estimate and still way above my estimate as well!

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