Another copy of the "Triumph of David"

Finally a new post, I have been very busy and so have little time to spare for this blog. I have probably missed a lot of interesting paintings recently...

Hejtmanek, from Czechia, sells on 6 June 2019 a "Circle of Antoon Claeissens" Triumph of David, estimated at 12,400 Euro.

I have already discussed another copy (with the same dimensions) of this painting in November 2018, when I mistakenly thought it was the same version as the one shown on the RKD. That one was sold as "Northern School", and I placed it close to Frans Floris.

Apparently this was again one of those typical popular Flemish paintings from the late 16th century, made in multiple copies of varying quality, but otherwise very close to each other. This is a good but not brilliant copy, and it may struggle to fetch the estimate. I still believe it to be closer to Floris than to Claeissens.

UPDATE: sold right at the estimate, 12,500 Euro.

Workshop(?) copy after Rubens

Maison Jules, from Belgium, sells on 1 June 2019 an "attributed to Jan Thomas van Ieperen, school of Rubens" Finding of Moses, estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro.

It is a rather monochrome, dark copy after Rubens: a much better version was sold at Lempertz in 2017 for 148,800 Euro. The version for sale has about the same dimensions, if one takes into account the missing borders on all sides. Jan Thomas van Ieperen (1618-1673) was probably active in the workshop of Rubens before hje moved to Austria and worked as a court painter.

If the work for sale would clean up to reveal something resembling the Lempertz version, then it is obviously way too cheap now. But that is for me hard to judge from the picture, although it seems unlikely that someone would deliberately have painted a night version of this work.

It wouldn't surprise me if this went for 20,000 Euro instead.

UPDATE: not sold apprantly, I guess it looked worse in reality.

A copy with many originals

De Baecque, from France, sells on 28 Mai 2019 a "Flemish School, early 17th century" Jesus and Caiaphas, a large canvass (113 by 170 cm) estimated at 2,500 to 3,500 Euro.

It has an enigmatic monogram in the bottom right corner.

They indicate that it is a copy after an original in the Saint Omer Cathedral.

The original is a Frans Francken of 3 by 7 metres!

But the RKD gives us the probable origin of that painting, an even older engraving after Marten de Vos (this copy from the Grenoble Museum).

Is the Saint-Omer painting really by Francken? The British Museum has a large engraving showing a rather similar composition, but in this case it is given as "after Claude Deruet".

A reverse image of higher quality can be found at Gallica. This engraving is dated 1617. But though close, it is a different composition still.

The exact same composition though (excluding aspects of the background) can also be found on an engraving at the British Museum, and this time the original artist is given as Ambrosius Francken by the British Museum, although the engraving says it is after Frans Francken. This print is from.the 1760s.

All in all, it is hard to be certain what the actual original is for this work, and when to date it. The Saint Omer page indicates that other copies are known, e.g. in the magnificent Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune, but I haven't been able to find an image of that one. It is supposed to have the higher background we also find in the work for sale and in the bottom-most engraving I show.

UPDATE: not sold.

UPDATE 2: again for sale at De Baecque on 18 November 2019, now estimated 1,800 to 2,000 Euro.

UPDATE 3: sold for 1700 Euro, and apparently now for sale at John Nicholson, in the UK, with an estimate of £3,000 to £4,000 (and a poorer image).

Museum quality works at Vanderkindere

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells some nice works in their 28 May 2019 auction. I already discussed one at some length, but a few others with better descriptions deserve some extra attention anyway.

Lot 97 is "attributed to Joshua Reynolds", an unfinished portrait estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 Euro. I have no idea if it is by Reynolds, but it is beautiful. Only the rather harsh red in the corners of the eyes gives me some pause, but perhaps this detail may be a clue for others to the true identity of the painter?

UPDATE: not sold.

Lot 55 is "attributed to Bartolomeo Schedoni".

It is a copy of a work by him in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. This version has the same dimensions, but is somewhat simpler, so it may not be by him but just a very good copy (workshop version?). It isn't cheap at 40,000 Euro, but it is an impressive work by a very modern artist for his time. I wonder if it has been overcleaned somewhat though, or whether the pale colours are just due to the image?

UPDATE: not sold

 Lot 49 is a very good "attributed to Luis de Morales and Pieter de Kempeneer" Virgin and Child, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro.

This version, in a beautiful frame as well, is very close to the one in the Prado. The auction house correctly states that it looks more Flemish though. It also has some additional artwork at the bottom.

Another, somewhat different version is kept in the Hermitage. The version for sale would be a very nice addition to any Belgian museum of Old Master fine art, but most don't have the necessary budget (perhaps the Fernand Huts collection will buy it?)

UPDATE: sold for 36,000 Euro.

Finally, lot 103, a "workshop of Gerard David" Virgin and child, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro as well. While it lacks the extreme precision and lustre one expects in such an Early Netherlandish work, it still looks to be a good close follower of David, and a very rare work on the market as such. It will probably easily surpass the estimate.

I haven't found an exact example for this work, but it indeed resembles some accepted Gerard Davids, like the above one from the Boijmans Van Beuningen.

UPDATE: sold for 60,000 Euro.

Fathers of Protestantism

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, has an interesting auction on 29 May 2019.

Lot 341 is an "Anonymous, German School, late 16th or early 17th century(?)" depiction of the Reformationists, estimated at 1,800 to 2,500 Euro.

While the original of this work is indeed German (see e.g. the ca. 1625-1650 version from the German Historical Museum in Berlin above), it is more likely that this copy is British and late 17th century.

It is probably based on the engraving by John Garrett from 1673 or later (image from the National Portrait Gallery). The NPG has all information on the different people on the painting, so I'll not repeat that information here.

This can be seen by the reduction of the number of figures at the bottom, and by the reversion of the direction of the image, but even more so by the English text on the table, which would be unlikely in a German work: "The candle is lighted / Wee cannot blow it out".

This image, with the added text, was very popular in late 17th century Britain, and is known from a number of engravings. Paintings from this version seem to be rare though, and a very interesting witness of this important period in English history. The value of this work is largely in that historical aspect, and not so much for the limited artistic value it had.

UPDATE: sold for 2,000 Euro. 

Too unusual and strange to ignore

Mosan, from Belgium, sells on 23 May 2019 a "Death notice, dated 1736", estimated at 30 to 50 Euro.

Now this would normally not be something for my blog, even though the notice has an engraved border signed by some unknown "JBVF" (Jean-Baptiste Van F? Jean-Baptiste V Fecit?). But this death notice is something, well, so weird that I had to share it.

The auction house is francophone, while the notice is in Dutch, which is perhaps why they didn't understand the full contents of the notice.

The original text is
"Men laet aen een ieghelijck weten het droevigh overleijden van / de eersaeme en achtbaere Beeste, in de wandelinghe genaemt Garçon / hondt van nature, Jaegher van sijnen stiele; den welcke op vrijdagh / lestleden, wesende den 27. van de voorlede maent Februarii 1756 schilijck / ende jammerlijck is verongeluckt, in den ouderdom van seven jaeren / salvo justo: tot groote droefhijdt van alle de andere honden, die de eere / hadden van hem te kennen. Men gelooft, dat hij een vindelinck is ge- / weest; alsoo men sijne geboort-plaetse niet en weet, noch sijnen vaeder / ende moeder ons noijt bekent en sijn geweest. Niet-te-min volghens / het gemeijn gevoelen, soo was hij eenen deftighen Haeghelander van / omtrent die vermaerde stadt van Saut-Leeuwe in Brabant; want / hij oock had den oprechten roovers aert van 't Haegheland ingeboe- / zemt. Alle die het geluck hebben gehadt van dese overlede beeste / gekent te hebben, worden tot sijne begraevenisse hertelijck versoght, / soo haest als het doot lichaem sal gevonden sijn. 
D'een segghet d'ander voorts."

I have probably made some transcription errors, and I haven't reproduced all capital letters.

Translation:
"We let everybody know the sad death of / the honourable and respectable Beast, usually called Garçon / dog by nature, Hunter of profession; who on friday / past, being the 27. of the previous month February 1756 suddenly / and sadly died, aged seven years / salvo justo: bringing great sadness to all other dogs who had the honour / of knowing him. We believe, that he was a foundling / because we don't know his place of birth, and his father / nor father have ever been known to us. Notwithstanding this / the common perception was that he was a well-mannered Hagelander from / around the famous city Zoutleeuw in Brabant, because / he as well had the honest character of a robber from the Hageland in his heart. / Everybody who had the luck to know the deceased beast, / is cordially invited to his funeral, / as soon as the corpse will be found. 
Spread the message."

Which is an utterly weird example of 18th century folk humour probably. Zoutleeuw is a very pretty small city in the region Hageland, close to Leuven."Salvo justo" is Latin for "or thereabouts".

30 Euro is of course not a lot of money if you like the quirky stuff.

A 16th century Flemish painting inspired by Lavinia Fontana

Stanley's, from Belgium, has a nice auction on 18 May 2019.

It is the first time I learned of the existence of this Belgian auction house, situated in Diegem (in Flanders) but with a website exclusively in French and English. Doesn't seem very smart to exclude such a large group of potential buyers right at your doorstep, but that's their problem of course (not that people in Flanders or the Netherlands don't know any English, but when looking e.g. for an auction house where they can sell their goods, Dutch language people may be more inclined to contact an auction house which welcomes them in their own language if they are looking for a local auction and not a major international player).

The most interesting is lot 43, a "Flemish School 16th century" Holy Family with John the Baptist, estimated at 1,200 to 1,500 Euro.

It is said to be based on the Loreto Madonna by Raphaël, and it certainly is in the same style;  but it is different enough to be a worthwhile independent work of art. The work has some damage though, which of course affects the value.

It has an inscription in the bottom right corner. The auction house deciphers it tentatively as ""Iu" ou "Ivstdhas Fladr"", I read it as IUST D.MA / FLADER with the M and A in ligature, and perhaps an I or S behind it. Still doesn't really help us. IUST may be for Justus, a common name in this period. "Flader" obviously makes one think of Flanders (or the German Flandern), but would be a strange typo I think. I haven't found any name or other clue as to what this inscription might mean though.

The painting is most closely related to a Holy Family by Lavinia Fontana, it seems. That painting, which is of course a lot better, is housed in the Escorial, and is known in a few variations.

The work for sale seems cheap, but will need some serious research to find out who may have painted it and what the relation with Fontana may be.

Other interesting lots include Lot 95, a typical Flemish Baroque head study of Abraham holding the knife to sacrifice Isaac: the work has some weird damage though, but with an estimate of only 200 Euro it may be a good restoration plan.

And lot 132 was nearly a huge bargain, but isn't good enough to be the real deal. Described as "Belgo-Italian School, 18th century" and estimated at 200 to 250 Euro, it is in origin neither Belgian nor Italian (and might well be 19th century), but a copy after Johann Wenzel Peter (1742-1829).

An original version was sold at Christie's in 2018 for 47,500 Euro, which seems like a lot of money to me. Even so, the copy is probably somewhat underrated and should fetch 600 Euro or so.

UPDATE: I haven't found the result for the first two works, but the copy after Peter went for 1,400 Euro against the 200 Euro estimate.

"German School" is copy after (?) Claude Sevin

Lempertz, from Germany, sells on 18 May 2019 a "German school, ca. 1700" Alexander the Great meets Diogenes, estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 Euro.

The original of the work for sale is kept in the Museum of Fine Arts in Nîmes.

At first I thought it was a copy after a work from Pierre-Paul Sevin (1646-1710), a French painter mostly known for his creations of backdrops and decorations for festivities at the Versailles Palace, and not so much for independent, traditional paintings. This was the name given as artist on commercial sites like Alamy and Magnoliabox.

These are some examples of the more typical work of Pierre-Paul Sevin.

However, some further research showed me that Getty Images gave a different artist, Claude Sevin (1750 - ?). This lead me to an old guide for the Toulouse Museum, which discussed this painting and identified the artist quite convincingly. It was a work intended for the yearly Prix de Rome contest for young artists, which in 1776 had as theme "Alexander and Diogenes". He won a second prize with this painting. He never achieved the first prize, and either ended his career as painter early or perhaps became a minor portrait painter. Basically, this work was the zenith of his career... How and when it moved from the Toulouse Museum to the Nîmes one is unknown to me.

It seems probable that Claude Sevin was a descendant of Pierre-Paul Sevin, as both came from the same city, Tournon (just like Pierre-Paul's father François, another painter).

The copy may seem rather mediocre at first sight, but this is mainly due to the very tiny scale of it: only 10 by 15 cm! When one takes this into consideration, and seeing how little known the painter and this work is (which makes it less likely that someone would have painted a copy of it), I have to wonder if this isn't the original small-scale design for the much larger finished work. Even so, he is a barely known painter, so the price won't be spectacularly changed by finding the artist.

UPDATE: sold for 4960 Euro. I wonder if whoever bought it knew the things I posted here or had read my blog before the sale!