1,500 Euro in 2015, now 20,000 Euro?

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 28 March 2019 a "Frans Francken II" Preaching of Saint John the Baptist, estimated at 20,000 to 40,000 Euro (which is quite a wide margin).

The painting looks awfully close (also in dimensions) to one I already discussed in 2015, when it was for sale in Ireland (at Sheppard's) as a "Seventeenth-century Dutch school" with an estimate of 1,500 to 2,500 Euro, after having been offered in 2014 already for 3,500 Euro.

It looks as if after the 2015 sale, it has been unframed (revealing slightly more to the sides), and lightly cleaned, and my tentative attribution to Francken confirmed.

Good lots at Wendl (part 1)

Wendl, from Germany, sells on 2 March 2019 a large selection of Old Master paintings, often with low estimates. I've selected a few that caught my eye.

Lot 3663 is a Dutch still life, ca. 1700, estimated at only 280 Euro.

It is close to the work of someone like Martinus Nellius (died 1719) or the slightly earlier Harmen Loeding (ca. 1637 - ca. 1673, example via RKD).

The lot for sale should fetch 800 to 1,000 Euro without any problems.

I have trouble finding an artist for lot 3819, but at 750 Euro it is a bargain in any case, as a late 17th or early 18th century Flemish painting, a good example of the post-Rubens, more sentimental style which is a lot less popular (and important),  but still interesting enough.

Lot 3852 is described as an "unsigned genre painting, 19th century", and estimated at 800 Euro.

It is a good but fragmentary old copy (probably 17th century) of an Adoration of the Shepherds, known from a version in the Royal Castle in Warsaw. If it had been complete, it would have been worth 1,500 to 2,000 Euro, but as it stands, the estimate is probably about right. Still, a rather incorrect description for this one.

Tomorrow: three further paintings from the same auction.

UPDATE; the first sold for 14,000 (280 est.), the second for 7,000 (750 estimate), and the third for 1,100 Euro (800 est)

Horta part 4: an unattributed version of a Frans Francken and Abraham Govaerts painting

Horta, from Belgium, sells on 25 February 2019 a "17th century Flemish School" Flight to Egypt, estimated at 3,500 to 5,000 Euro.

It is a good version of a painting by Frans Francken II and Abraham Govaerts, known from a sale at Christie's in 1995.

That version was signed FFF (Frans Francken Fecit), and this one seems to bear something resembling a signature at the rock on the right (I think I can see an F there, and then some scribbles, but they may be figments of my imagination).

This version lacks the beautiful large hat (for a while common in many Flemish and Dutch paintings), but is otherwise fairly faithful to the original. As a bonus you get a nice painting of the "Miracle of the statue" or "Miracle of the idol" (as it is more commonly known), where a "pagan" idol statue falls down when Jesus passes by. This part of the story is rarely represented in old paintings. Note the shadow of the statue, giving it a much more realistic 3D effect.

An almost identical version of this work, this time attributed only to Frans Francken II, can be found in the Uffizi (image from the RKD). The dimensions are nearly identical, but the Uffizi one is on copper, while the Horta one is said to be on panel (wood). So imagine if you buy this, you can casually drop that there are only two versions of this painting known (to me), and the other one is in the Uffizi... Impressive!

 The value seems about right, seen up close the work isn't very well painted.

UPDATE: sold for 2,800 Euro.

"Dutch School" is copy after Frans Francken II

Simpson Galleries, from Texas, sell on 8 November 2015 a "Dutch School, 17th century (dated 1672)" Flagellation of Christ, estimated at $400 to $600.

It is a copy after a Frans Francken II work sold by Bonham's in 2012 for £5,400. The Bonham's version is clearly better painted, and if the date on the work for sale is authentic, it can't be a Francken II in any case. It isn't good enough to be attributed to one of the other known Francken's either and should be considered an anonymous Flemish work. The differences between the original and the copy may be due to a creative copier, or because there existed other currently unknown versions from the Francken workshops (which would be rather standard practice for them). It isn't the most common Francken work (and I'm always a bit suspicious if a work is unknown, but a few years after an original appears suddenly some weak old copies come on the market), so if you want to have a complete collection of Francken compositions but can't afford an original, here's your chance! It should fetch the top estimate but not much more, as it is interesting but not very well painted.

UPDATE: sold for $1,400, the one time I predict a painting will at most make its top estimate it of course more than doubles it.

Third offer: result

I made a third offer, at DVC in Ghent, for what they described as a "German School, 16th or 17th century" Adoration, oil on copper, 35 by 28 cm, estimated at 700 to 1,000 Euro.

I was a bit amazed that an auction house in Flanders didn't recognise the style as that of Frans Francken II (by now well known to readers of this blog). Francken II (and by extension all the Franckens) commonly reused their more succesful compositions many times. For this one, I only found two other examples.

First I found this lot from Christie's, sold as Studio of Francken II (perhaps Hieronymus Francken II or Ambrosius Francken II) in 1997 for £2,875. It is a simplified version (loses some parts of the composition), but somewhat better painted in some details.

Some further searching revealed what may be the original version of this painting, this time in a flower garland. The flowers are attributed to the Circle of Jan Brueghel II, and the interior again to the Studio of Francken II. It sold at Christie's in 2002 for a nice £18,800. It has the exact same composition as the one that was for sale at DVC, with the seethrough to the palm tree on the right, and the God-the-Father above, which were both missing in the 1997 copy.

Another version, very comparable to the one for sale, is, according to the RKD, kept in the Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht, but I can't find it on the website of that museum.

I would estimate the one for sale at DVC at at least $2,000.

And sure enough, I lost it as it ended at 2,200 Euro, which seems to be a correct, somewhat low price but no longer a true bargain.

Francken II, King Midas

At Goya, they sell on 27 April 2015 a "Flemish School, 16th century" "Royal banquet", estimated at 18,000 to 20,000 Euro.

It is a work by Frans Francken II (for once, not a copy after but apparently the real deal), depicting the "Meal of King Midas" where he realizes that everything he touches, even his food, turns to gold.

The last one I could find was a Francken I sold at auction at Christie's in 1999, making £23,000. It has about the same dimensions as the one  for sale now, but is quite different and perhaps better (it lacks the somewhat garish colours of most Francken II paintings, perhaps due to discoloured varnish, but looks to be somewhat better anatomically).

The one for sale now seems to be the same that is listed in the RKD, and which was last noted in 1989 in Galerie Dejonckheere. No idea what price it fetched back then. It is listed there as Frans Francken II, without any reservations. If it had had the right attribution and provenance, it should have made 25,000 Euro or more. With no provenance, vague attribution, and wrong date and subject given, it might struggle of course. It was for sale at Goya already in 2013, then estimated 35,000 to 40,000 Euro, with the same description. It obviously failed to sell then.

Wise and foolish virgins

At Vanderkindere, they sell on 21 April 2015 a painting of "Ladies of class playing music", attributed to Frans Francken II and estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro. UPDATE: as predicted below, sold for $5,000.

While it looks to be from the Francken "stable", it doesn't look good enough to be truly by Frans Francken. More on the attribution follows below though. Let's first start with the subject. This painting is actually a depiction of the "Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins" (or "parable of the 10 virgins" as it is also known), comparable to e.g. the same subject treated by Hieronymus Francken and now in the Hermitage.

On the left (in the painting now for sale), we have the 5 wise virgins (who get the least attention, officially because the painting is a warning against the actions of the foolish virgins, in reality because showing girls having fun is much more saleable than girls being good...); they are praying, working, reading, ... in short: behaving themselves. This is reflected by the pious paintings above them, including a Sacred Heart and a Jesus.

The foolish virgins, on the other hand, do all kinds of outrageous things: playing music, dancing, showing their ankles, drinking, playing cards, ... and neglecting their work (on the table, with the large peacock (subtle...) is also something that looks like a birthday cake, but is probably a lace-making tool which isn't used, as that would be a proper activity for a lady). The difference between the two groups is also reflected in their clothing and hairdo: much more luxury, colour, exposed flesh; vanity (or joie-de-vivre).

These sins, and the dangers of such lifestyle, are also reflected in the paintings above them: a burning city, reminiscent of some paintings by Jan Mandyn or the Dulle Griet by Breughel; a nude woman, looking like a Lucretia; a "Lot and his daughters" (pictured); and a carnival scene. The painting is filled with lots more symbols, some of it clear, like the oysters on the stool in the front, some of it more obscure.

ATTRIBUTION

The work is attributed to Frans Francken II, which is understandable considering the subject and style of painting (though not the quality). But it turns out to be a copy of a work by another Antwerp painter of around 1620; either Pieter Lisaert III (1574-1604/1620), his son Pieter Lisaert IV (1595-1630) or Philips Lisaert II (1590-1632), son of Abraham Lisaert (brother of Pieter III). The painting certainly isn't good enough to be the work of Pieter III, but either of the other two may be the painter: we simply don't have enough material to compare with.

The above was offered for sale as by Pieter IV at Dorotheum in Vienna in 2014. Estimated at $34,000, it didn't sell. The composition is nearly identical to the one for sale, apart from the paintings above the foolish virgins, which are a lot tamer (two ruins, and an old man and a nude woman, not certain which story is depicted). The overall painting here is better, but some aspects (like the greenish dress with the white crosses, on the right) are better in the one for sale.

Another, apparently better version, but for which I have only the above small image, was sold at Tajan in 1996 for 34,000 Euro. It is somewhat more remote from the one for sale, but obviously still the same basic composition.

But wait... Another variation of the same painting is kept in the Statens Museum for Kunst in Kopenhagen. But it is attributed to Hieronymus Francken II, and dated 1593-1623. So the date stays roughly the same, but we are back to Francken. It is clearly superior to the one for sale of course, no matter who painted it. The paintings above the foolish virgins are remarkable though; suddenly we again have the nude woman (left one here, second to left on the one for sale), and another version of Lot and his daughters. Other things, like the table with food, are completely different though, even though it still includes the empty lacemaking tool.

So, does all this make any difference to the estimation? Probably not, it will not be worth much more than 5,000 Euro, but it is an interesting picture, both iconographically as artistically, and much more fun than most copies after old masters.

Francken II

A very nice composition and interesting painting, sold as "Workshop of Frans Francken II, called the Younger" with a Crucifixion surrounded by passion scenes, measuring 95 by 71 cm. At Drouot Richelieu, 25 March 2015, estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro. The auction catalogue describes a signed similar work in the Louvre with 8 grisaille scenes, and the fact that a figure from the painting for sale also appears in another Francken work. UPDATE: sold for 11,100 Euro, or way above estimate!

What the auction catalogue doesn't mention is that the above composition, but in a much better condition, has also been for sale at Hampel Auctions in Munich in 2009, as "attributed to Frans Francken II", with an estimate of 20,000 to 25,00 Euro. As that catalogue correctly indicates, it is an original variation of the trompe-l'oeil, with the central panel not between but above the twelve surrounding ones, obscuring them slightly.

Whether the one for sale is of the same quality as the one from Hampel is hard to judge in its current state, from what I can see it looks either as good or perhaps slightly less detailed, but it obviously is in a much worse condition. Most of this can be solved by a good restoration (or even a simple cleaning), but it remains a gamble what will be the end result. Probably, you will end for your 4,000 to 6,000 Euro plus cleaning costs with a very nice and more valuable Francken II painting of considerable quality and originality, much more so than the very frequent rather mediocre Francken II (style, attributed, circle) that are for sale constantly for similar prices. Below are some other Francken II (or workshop or the like) paintings similar to the one for sale, for comparison.

A similar composition of the Mocking of Christ, but only a third as large, was sold at Dorotheum for nearly 15,000 Euro.

On the other hand, yet another (more traditional,without the trompe-l'oeil effect) variation, depicting the life of Alexander the Great, was not sold at Bonham's with an estimate of $10,000.

A "Mary mourning the dead Christ" (49 by 36 cm) was sold at Mathias and Ribeyre for 16,000 Euro.

A simpler "Crucifixion", perhaps less well painted as well, measuring 64 by 50 cm, only fetched 2,400 Euro at Segre in 2011.