"Style of Van Reymerswael" is a copy after Quinten Massys (or Van Eyck?)

Van Ham, from Germany, sells on 30 January 2019 an "In the style of Martin van Reymerswaele" Money changers, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

While one of the well-known compositions by van Reymerswaele is a similar work, this actual composition is not by him but by Quinten Massys, from 1514, now in the Louvre. The work for sale is clearly not of the same quality, but it has some interesting differences. Most noticeable is the Eyckian mirror, which is no longer placed on the table but now hangs on the wall, and shows the two main characters instead of a third figure (the artist?). The remainder of the background has become a lot more bland as well, and the woman now has a ledger instead of a beautiful prayer book, which is perhaps more realistic but less appealing.

The work by Reymerswaele (here shown in the version of the Prado) is also based on the Massys, but diverges on many points not copied by the version for sale. A copy of the Massys seems to be much rarer than one of Reymerswael, and the changes in this version may point to a lost Massys original, as they seem beyond the grasp of the copiist. As there is speculation that the Massys is a copy after a lost Van Eyck, it might even be that the work for sale is based on the Van Eyck, but now I'm being very optimistic.

The estimate is probably about right, but the work is more interesting than the description indicates.

UPDATE: sold for 3,800 Euro!

"Flemish painter, ca. 1520" is copy after Quinten Massys

Lempertz, from Germany, sells on 14 October 2018 a "Netherlandish Master, ca. 1520" Lamentation, estimated at 20,000 to 25,000 Euro.

The work is a somewhat awkward copy after Quinten Massys, a Lamentation from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

The Lempertz catalogue mentions a sale of the work in 1976, but it is also included at the RKD which shows that it was known to Friedländer in 1967. The estimate seems rather high, even though it is a large, well preserved early work. But it really isn't well painted, the figures and faces seem wooden (on its own, and certainly when compared to the original).

Lost and found: could this be the long-lost original Quentin Massys known through many copies?

Duran, from Madrid, sold on 27 September 2018 a "Flemish School, 19th century" Lamentation, 98 by 68 cm, oil on canvas, estimated at 1,500 Euro.

It immediately caught my eye as it has all the characteristics of a good Early Netherlandish painting from the early 16th century, and looks way too good to be a 19th century copy / fake / pastiche.

I contacted another lover of these paintings, and together we went searching for more information and clues. They soon found other versions of the same composition, attributed to followers of Quentin Massys. These ranged from much reduved ones, e.g. a "Circle of Massys" at Christie's, (sold for an excessive £26,000) to much more similar ones like this "follower of" at Koller (sold for 12,000 Swiss Francs).

Comparing the work for sale with other Massys works, and the copies we found, I got convinced that this was an original ca. 1500 work, either the actual (lost) original by Massys, or a very good workshop copy. My contact pointed out one major problem though; all known Massys works are on panel, and this one was on canvas.

This probably was the reason the auction house thought it to be a 19th century copy, but close analysis of the work (not live, but through detailed images) made it much more likely that this beautiful painting had suffered the dreadful fate many similar works had suffered in the 19th century, and was transferred from panel to canvas. This damages the painted surface and destroys things like the underpainting, and of course removes many aids in actually dating the work, e.g. through dendrochronology.

The closest version we found was through the RKD,  a copy for sale at Charlton Hall Galleries in 1950: it had nearly the exact same composition right down to the details, but the execution was less precise, less convincing, especially in the face of the virgin (work for sale added below it for easy comparison).

I loved the painting, but didn't dare to believe that it was the actual original. Perhaps the hands of the virgin weren't executed with enough skill? But it seems that at least a few buyers went all the way as it sold for 110,000 Euro. Which would be escessive for a relined good copy, but for an actual original, even with these problems, would be a good buy, whether it is for a collector, a museum, or someone hoping to make a profit by bringing it to a major auction house with a better description.