Old fakers trying too hard...

HRD Auctions, from the UK, sells on 13 August 2019 an "attributed to Van der Heyden" View of Amsterdam, estimated at £400 to £600.

It is a good example of something one often sees warnings about: fake labels. This one has an extremely detailed old label on the back, giving not only the artist and subject, but also a provenance: it had been sold at the Erard auction in 1832, and later owned by the Marquise d'Auost in Paris.

There indeed was a similar Van der Heyde at the important Erard auction, so I can imagine someone armed with this painting and the auction catalogue getting away with this in the 19th or early 20th century. But nowadays, certainly with the large Internet repositories, people can check these things, and compare the work much more easily with real works by the artist. I'm glad that the auctioneer didn't fell for it either.

The Erard "Van der Heyde" can now be found in the Museum of Karlsruhe, and I found it through the RKD.

And even better, the RKD lists a "related" work from the Hermitage, which has the exact same image as the one for sale, but just a tad better painted 😁