The work is a typical Antwerp work from around 1650, strongly inspired by Rubens and especially Van Dyck, and clearly made by a talented painter.
It doesn't really look like Bosschaert to me, but I have found another artist with a similar style and with some elements in other works which are very close to the one for sale: Erasmus Quellinus II (1607-1678) (I know, it would have been more of a surprise if I hadn't put it in the title of this post, but this make searching for it easier afterwards 😊)
Even in this condition, it should probably be worth 5,000 Euro; and it seems likely that the work will reappear, beautifully restored, at auction or at an art fair next year.
UPDATE: sold for 7,000 Euro!
Thanks for pointing this out. It's a nice painting, but not as good as the one in Madrid. I have not been able to find a single work by E. Quellinus the Younger where he uses such a dull full profile as in the case of Mary on the one for sale. But what worries me more here is the condition. The white haze across the entire surface with its abrupt edges is most unusual, and I imagine that fixing this might not be as straightforward as simply removing the varnish (otherwise, the vendor surely would have done so already). If the pigments themselves are affected, it could become a major operation or be impossible altogether. Unfortunately, there is no way of telling for sure without doing some tests (and I would not happily risk much of my money on it without those!). So, I think that the estimate on such a speculative object is about right, but there might be greater daredevils and gamblers out there ...
ReplyDeleteThe condition is indeed the most worrying aspect. The profile looks to me similar to ones he used in e.g. his Rape of Europe (Prado) or the 6th of the 7 Virtues from the National Gallery, or the Maria Lactans from Warschau.
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