What's with the many artists making still lifes with blue ribbons?

Schlosser, from Germany, sells on 27 March 2020 as lot 19 a "Flemish Master, 17th or 8th century" still life, estimated at 3,000 Euro.

It is an attractive work, which looks well painted: but the image is not good enough to be certain, and it looks somewhat overcleaned as well. If you would like to bid on it, best to ask for better images first. For my blog I like to base myself solely on what the auction houses present online though.

It seemed easy enough to search: while there have been countless good still life painters, the use of such a distinctive blue ribbon should narrow it down considerably. And indeed, I soon came across Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), who used this device repeatedly. The above example, from Bowes Castle, also has it combined with grapes, so now I only had to look a bit more in detail to see if it would be a work by him, from his workshop, a follower, ... and then to decide the value.

I found other works in the same vein by De Heem, like this one offered at Lempertz with a 30,000 Euro estimate, or another one from the V&A.

But that further look also showed me works by Christiaan Luyckx, Joris Van Son, Laurens Craen,...

And then I start looking for details which are even closer to the work for sale. Isn't the ribbon rather similar to the one in this work by Pieter Gallis (Christie's, sold for £27,000)? Well, it's closer than the other ones, but the material seems different, and the remainder is also too pale to be comparable to the (too?) warm colours in the work for sale. Other details can be matched to other artists and works, like the opened pomegranate (De Heem and Luyckx for example).

So I have to step away from my favourite method, looking for similar compositions, elements, ... and focus a bit more on the tricky subject of style. And to me, among the many late 17th century artists in Flanders and the Netherlands using this device, the closest is Maria van Oosterwyck (1630-1693), one of those 17th century women artists who were easily the equal of most male painters, but were too long forgotten (or at least ignored).

She was a student of Jan Davidsz de Heem, the father of, yes, Cornelis de Heem. Oosterwycks work is characterized by bright, strong colours, shining out against the dark background. The main difference is that Oosterwyck usually painted flowers, not fruit, but there turn out to be some works by her combining grapes and a blue ribbon after all.

Bonham's sold a work for £56,000 in 2013. I have added a detail from the work for sale below it, for comparison.

Another one, with grapes, was sold by Christie's in 2003 for £20,000.

The RKD lists a similar one which was for sale with Richard Valls.

So, is it an Oosterwyck painting? I would love it to be, but I'm not convinced. A "Circle of Cornelis de Heem", that's for sure, but anything more precise than that is, based on the not-so-good painting and my limited knowledge, just guesswork. Still, it seems an interesting work for its price, it introduced me to the omnipresent blue ribbon in these works, and perhaps someone else will know who painted this.

Flemish "Lamentation": many copies, where's the original?

Schlosser, from Germany, sells on 27 March 2020 as Lot 3 an "Early Netherlandish Master, 2nd half of the 16th century" Lamentation, estimated at 4,500 Euro.

This composition exists in many versions, but there doesn't seem to be an actual original. It does hark back to a Joos van Cleve composition now in the Städel in Frankfurt, as the RKD notes, but some intermediate step is missing to explain how all these poorer copies made the exact same changes (e.g. in the position of the head of the Virgin).

Most copies are somewhat closer to the Cleve in the figure of the Magdalen on the right: in the work for sale, this has been modernized somewhat, and perhaps this version must be dated closer to 1600 than the others.

The two anonymous versions from the RKD show how much closer these are to the one for sale than to the Cleve. The first one was sold at Sotheby's in 2010, the second one was with art dealer Van der Lubbe in The Hague in 1941

Another version was for sale with Promenade Antiques, as "circle of Van Cleve, ca. 1530". All these versions have a "table" or similar in front of the Christ, with elements of the Passion; the one or sale has lost this aspect.

A very nice version was sold at Sotheby's in 2012 for $8,750 Euro, good value for money there. it is very close to the two RKD examples, but better executed.

The one for sale will probably struggle to meet expectations, as it is not the best copy, and slightly later than hoped for.

"17th century Master from Kronach" is a copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder

Schlosser, from Germany, sells on 5 April 2019 a "17th century Master from Kronach" Jesus and the adulteress (or "He who is without sin..."), estimated at 5,000 Euro.

The work is a good copy after Lucas Cranach. It looks slightly more modern than the original, but whether it is by Lucas Cranach the Younger or another follower is not clear to me. As the Cranachs were from Kronach (hence the name), the description clearly hinted at this, but it could have been clearer...

Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 1532

Kronach Museum, ca. 1520

 National Gallery, Canada, ca. 1535-1540

 National Gallery, Prague, after 1537

National Museum, Stockholm

Cranach the Elder (or his workshop) has made multiple, slightly varying versions of this work. The Prague version is one of the closer versions, with e.g. the two bearded heads left and right of Christ almost identical to the one for sale. On the other hand, the Christ is closer to the Stockholm version (e.g. holding the hand of the adulteress).

A more complete overview of Cranach's versions can be found at the "Corpus Cranach" at the University of Heidelberg.

There I fould the closest match to the work for sale; a version from the Aschaffenburg Museum. I show the one for sale beneath it for easy comparison. The major visual difference is the colour of the dress. Apart from this, the paintings are very comparable, perhaps the one for sale is somewhat harsher in the treatment of contours and shadows. Since the other colours are so close to the original, the changed dress is not due to this being a copy after a drawing or an engraving, but a deliberate choice by the artist. Another version of this work was in the Pinakothek in Munich in 1937 (no idea if it is still there, destroyed during the war, or otherwise changed hands), but that one was enlarged at the top. A third version, with what looks to be a more violet-coloured dress, is said at the Cranach Corpus to be in private hands. It has the same dimensions and is otherwise very comparable as well, so it might be the one for sale, or just another version. The Corpus considers the Aschaffenburg one as a genuine (workshop or Cranach), they have no opinion on the Munich version, and they consider the third one as ''not from the workshop''.

I would call this a somewhat later copy, perhaps workshop or perhaps a close follower, and it should be worth closer to 20,000 Euro as such, as Cranachs are always popular.

UPDATE: sold for 5,000 Euro, exactly at the auction estimate and way below mine.

"Flemish, ca. 1520" was previously sold as "Style of Van der Goes", is copy after Van der Weyden

Schlosser, from Germany, sells on 5 April 2019 a "Flemish Master, ca. 1520" Descent from the Cross, estimated at 15,000 Euro.

It is a work I previously discussed in 2016 when it was for sale (repeatedly) at Hampel as a Circle of (or later Style of) Hugo van der Goes. The first sale had an estimate of 40,000 to 60,000 Euro, and sold for 36,000 Euro. It then was offered again for 20,000 to 25,000 Euro, and I presume failed to sell.

And now it appears again with an even lower estimate, which is actually a very interesting price for a high quality copy after Van der Weyden, in a style reminiscent of Quentin Massys.

UPDATE: sold for 17,000 Euro. 

"Circle of Frans de Momper" is another Circle of Hendrick van Cleve III Tower of Babel

Schlosser, from Germany, sells on 25 March 2017 a "Circle of Frans de Momper" Tower of Babel as lot 707, estimated at 5,800 Euro.

It is a weaker copy of some works I already showed in a previous blog post, the first of which was sold at Sotheby's in 2016 for 37,500 Euro. The current work uses some of the elements on the right especially, like the arched bridge and the white mountain behind it.

Some other elements come from another Cleve III, this time from the Kroller Muller Museum. Most striking is the arched raised path on the left, with the surrounding buildings. But also the small round pavilion at the corner of the Tower reappears, somewhat to the right, in the work for sale. The Tower itself is closer to the Sotheby's version though.

The work for sale is a bit more sketchy and unfinished than many other Babel paintings, and seems to be a copy: still it is a perpetually popular subject so the estimate may well be right.

UPDATE: the same work is now for sale, on 26 June 2017, at Millon, as a Folllower of Hendrick van Cleve III, estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 Euro. Nice to see my attribution confirmed here!

UPDATE 2: and now, 25 April 2018, for sale at Bonham's as "Circle of Hendrick van Cleve III", estimated at £6,000 to £8,000, or a bit above the original estimate but way below the Millon one. Being offered for sale in Germany, France and the UK in slightly over one year: let's hope it sells now and gets some rest, as it is too good a work to remain unloved.