"Circle of Master of the Prodigal Son" is copy after Adriaan de Weerdt.

Ader, from France, sells on 4 May 2018 a "Dutch School, ca. 1600, circle of the Master of the Prodigal Son" Ruth and Boaz, estimated at 800 to 1,200 Euro.

The style reminds me more of Frans Floris than of the Master of the Prodigal on first sight, but in the end this is just a decent copy after an engraving by Philips Galle after a design by Adriaan de Weerdt, which is kept in the Albertina in Vienna.

The painting has changed the background though, making it a bit more lively and Flemish (Breugelian) in style. A nice enough painting, and worth the estimate, but nothing more.

"Follower of Pieter Codde" is copy after Anthonie Palamedesz

Ader, from France, sells on 24 June 2016 a "Dutch School, 18th century, follower of Pieter Codde" maternity visit, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

It is a partial copy of a work by Anthonie Palamedesz from the Geneva Art Museum, from ca. 1640 (found at RKD). The only saving grace seems to be the subject, which is of course attaractive; otherwise it would be hard-pressed to reach the estimate as a rather poor painting.

"Flemish School follower of Ryckaert" seems closer to Jacob Grimmer

Ader, from France, sells on 24 June 2016 a "Flemish School, follower of Marten Ryckaert" "The sower", estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

It is another work depicting the Parable of the Pares, which I discussed  in a few posts like this one from March 2015. It even shows the same two-handed sowing, which is probably symbolic and differs from the standard one-handed technique usually seen. The clothing of the Devil also is very similar (the cap, and the long coat ending in a tail)

The RKD lists a very similar work by Jacob Grimmer, but it is about 100 years older than the date given by Ader.

They also list one version of the same story by Marten Ryckaert, but this is a lot less similar to the work for sale than the Grimmer when looking at the composition. Details like the way the tree is painted are more Ryckaert-like though.

In general, the work seems to old to be by a follower of Ryckaert, and looks to me more like a late 16th century work. It should easily fetch the estimate.

Master of the Prodigal Son or Antoon Claissens? In any case, a partial copy after Bronzino

Ader, from France, sells on 24 June 2016 an "Antwerp School, follower of the Master of the Prodigal Son" Passing of the Red Sea, estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro.

It was sold at Christie's New York in 1996 for $10,000 (!), and was then described as Circle of Antoon Claeissens. While the old attribution is listed at the Ader sale, the Christie's provenance isn't. It seems that giving proper provenance happens less and less at auctions, even when it is about a sale of 20 years ago (not some very recent one where they try to avoid price comparisons).

Whether it is by someone from the circle of Claeissens or the Master of the Prodigal Son, what apparently hasn't been noticed is that the work is at least in part copied from a work by Angelo Bronzino from ca. 1540 from the Palazzo Vecchio.

The lower right corner (or about half the painting) is clearly deroved straight from the Bronzino, but with a lot of alterations. It doesn't seem to be based on an engraving, but probably made after copies (made during an Italian trip?). It is interesting to see how the Italian work is adapted and how such Renaissance works influenced Flemish paintings.

The work is known from engravings though, like the above anonymous one (published by Hieronymus Cock and found at the Rijksmuseum). So it can't be ruled out that the influence came indirectly.

As a copy, it is harder to identify the artist; the composition can't be used to determine who may have painted it. The style is a bit more Master of the Prodigal Son than Claeissens, but I'll not risk a guess any further.It should be worth the estimate, but probably not more, unless you try to track the influence of Italian art on Flemish painting in the 16th century.

Sleeper drawing of the year?

A reader kindly alerted me to what may have been the sleeper drawing of the year. At Ader in Paris, in an auction of old drawings, they sold the above study of arms, Italy, 16th century. Estimated at 400 to 500 euro, it apparently (I haven't yet seen it confirmed) sold for 200,000 Euro. That's right, 200,000 Euro for a study of arms!

I suppose some bidders recognised the artist, I suppose we should be looking towards Michelangelo or someone similar. I guess the drawing will reappear in a major sale or exhibition soon with a more spectacular attribution.

Any guesses on who the artist may have been, or what it was a study for, are more than welcome!

UPDATE: apparently (and probably correctly) it has been bought as a drawing by Jusepe de Ribera. Seems a bit expensive, in that case, but a nice discovery nevertheless. I can just imagine the dismay when the bidders realised that they weren't the only ones to have spotted it.