A look behind the scenes of my blogs

Nachtmann, from Germany, sells on 10 April 2019 a "Gothic portrait, dated 1535" (Gothic as in the late Medieval time period, not the 19th century horror style), estimated at 1,500 Euro.

I notice such works either through general auction bundling sites (Lottissimmo, the Saleroom, invaluable, interenchères, Drouot, Lauritzen, ...) or at a specific auction, which is the most exhausting part; going through hundreds or thousands of (usually small) pictures, filtered to increase the chances of finding what you like most (but also increasing the chances that you will miss the mislabeled and thus extra interesting ones). Opening the ones that seem interesting. Discarding 95% again as either much worse up close than in miniature, or as correctly described and priced. This part requires experience, knowledge, and luck (as even with experience and knowledge you're bound to dismiss sleepers at this stage).

Then start doing some research on the other 5%. Find a balance between spending too much time on a single one (a syou only have limited time), and discarding one too fast if you don't immediately find an interesting starting point for your research.

Good things to research are paintings with a clear, recognisable subject (bible stories, mythological stories, ...), with clearly describable aspects (an animal, something in a still life or memento mori) or with an inscription. Recognising  or partially deciphering signatures which the auctioneer either has misread or described as "undecipherable" is also a good way to find hidden gems. Of course, when you recognise the style, the artist, or even the painting, it gets a lot easier still.

So, for this one, it was immediately obvious that it was made by a very good artist, and needed further research. And it had a date and an inscription, which gave good possibilities.

At first, the inscription looked like Fl Exyscoxf de resester / ???seihd JE Covgf Com 1535. Which, apart from "1535" (or 1525), doesn't really rang any bells.

But then I reread the "Exyscoxf", and realised that instead of "x", it might be a "g" or a "p": and "Epyscopf" suddenly made sense, as it seemed to refer to a bishop.

Initials, bishop de "recester"? A place ending in "cester" sounds very British, so I looked on Wikipedia at the list of English dioceses, and "Rochester" was the closest match. Remember that in those days, there often wasn't one fixed spelling, so as long as it is similar enough, it is a good possibility.

Next step? Go to Google Images, and type in bishop Rochester 1535. Bingo!

Other versions of the same drawing, showing that the sitter is John Fisher (1469-1535), bishop of Rochester, and the drawing is the work of Hans Holbein the Younger. It is part of the Royal Collection (from Windsor Castle).

While the work for sale is beautifully drawn, it is of course rather problematic that we have another version with the same inscription but presumably better provenance. The one for sale also seems to show a different technique in shaping the face, with many short lines in all directions creating volume and shadows, which seems to my eye not the usual technique of Holbein. But not the work of a simply copymaker either, this is someone who knows very well how to draw, and can even improve on a Holbein (I prefer the eyes in the work for sale to the original).

So, what do we have here and what is it worth?

If it would be an original by Holbein, priceless. Only two "real", certain drawings have come onto the market in the last two decades, and they were a lot smaller and in my opinion more boring and still fetched around 100,000 Euro.

If it is a 16th or 17th century copy, up to 5,000 Euro. Only a few copies of this drawing seem to be known, including one in the British Museum which is good but not as good as the one here.
If it is a much more recent copy, I guess the estimate is about right. 

UPDATE: sold for 8,000 Euro!