Jan Breughel the Younger at new auction house?

At Cnock, a new auction house in Brussels, they sell as lot 64 a very nice Jan Breughel the Younger. The very same painting was sold in 2011 for 220,000 Euro. Why someone would sell this work four years later at an auction in a brand new auction house and not with some internationally known house is not clear to me though, it doesn't seem a good way to get maximal exposure and your money back (unless it is an attempt to give the auction house maximal exposure of course).

The website gives no estimates and no indication of a reserve price, so perhaps (but unlikely) this is your chance to get a good Jan Brueghel at a bargain price!

The same auction also has as lot 130 a Hendrick de Meyer which was sold at Christie's 8 years ago for 7,450 Euro. The one at Christie's looks a lot cleaner though, but perhaps that's just the lighting of the photo.

Manner of Sano di Pietro

Correctly described, but interesting and unusual: at 25 Blythe Road, a London based auctioneer, they sell a Madonna and Child painting in the Manner of Sano di Pietro, estimated at £800 to £1,200. If the painting has anything resembling the age of a real Sano di Pietro or is even slightly younger, it is a nice bargain. Of course, if it 19th or 20th century, then it depends on whatever you believe it is worth as decoration.

A real Sano di Pietro is better, but it is a simplified kind of painting which lends itself to copying. The one for sale looks convincing enough to me from a picture (high resolution, check out the link), but it's a style I like but don't know enough about, so judge for yourself. The one for sale is highly detailed, for a fake or copy a lot of effort has gone into it, and I would guess that it is really an old and fairly skilled follower of Di Pietro. In that case, it should be worth a lot more.

Copy after Van Dyck, Virgin and Child

At William Bunch in Pennsylvania, 31 March 2015, they sell a "Continental School, 19th century" Madonna in Red with Jesus, estimated at $600 to $1,200. UPDATE: sold for $3,000!

It is a reasonably well executed copy of a Virgin and Child by Van Dyck, with some condition issues. The original is in the Walters Art Museum.

The next lot in the same sale is also described as Continental School, estimated at only $200 to $400. It is a copy after Murillo, quite easy to find so I'll not bother with a comparison image this time. UPDATE: they changed the description to indicate the Murillo link, and it sold for $1,300

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.

Copy after Ponziano Loverini

At Colasanti, auction house in Rome, they sell on 27 March a good copy after Ponziano Loverini, Italian artist, a work which is held in the Vatican Museum. Strangely, the auction house doesn't seem to be aware of this and simply calls it "French School, 19th century", without a subject (it looks at first like a Judith with the head of Holofernes, but it is Saint Grata collecting the remains of Saint Alexander). Measuring 100 by 60 cm, it is estimated at 600 to 800 Euro, which seems reasonable. UPDATE: not sold.

The original (here pictured in its location, photo from Wikimedia Commons) is not only a lot larger but also a lot more detailed: the copy is good, but starts to fail when seen in closer detail (which the auction site luckily provides!).

If you do prefer a Judith and Holofernes, the same auction also holds a decent one for an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 Euro. UPDATE: not sold. No idea who painted it though, they give it as Italian School, 17th century. The head of Judith is a bit strange though, although I love they way she looks, as if saying "Happy now?"

Even though many Judiths are quite similar of course, the closest I could find was strange enough the Judith by Rubens. Whether there is any reason for this, and in what way the connection works, is not clear to me though.

Flemish allegory of touch

At Artcurial, 27 March, they sell a Flemish "Allegory of Touch", described as Antwerp School ca. 1600. Measuring 95 by 80 cm, it is estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro. UPDATE: not sold...

It looks to be a copy after or a school of Marten de Vos painting. The above was described as "Workshop of Marten de Vos" when it was sold at Bonhams for £4,200 in 2011, and was a better picture than the one for sale now, but it helps in attributing the current one. Especially the face is nearly identical.

A "real" or at least Studio of Marten de Vos painting of similar subjects is still a lot better (and more expensive), like the above related "Allegory of Smell", so please don't judge Marten de Vos on the two first images.

Unlikely paintings

At Marques de Santos, a Portuguese auction house, they sell two Italian School 16th-17th century paintings, lot 374 and 375, with an old(?) attribution to Bernardino Campi. They are estimated at 2,400 Euro each. UPDATE: not sold, apparently most people had misgivings about these...

It seems unlikely, and I couldn't immediately find other examples, that upper-class women (viz. the clothing, especially the lace collar) would be painted doing the work of maids. The type of jolly plump girl with rosy cheeks at work is well-known, in the work of e.g Joachim Beuckelaer or indeed Bernardino Campi. But these girls are clothed as lower-class people (with often some spice added by strategic unbuttoning), not the nobility or rich bourgeoisie that wore the more elaborate clothes.

So why the discrepancy here? My gut feeling is that some faker (19th century or much more recent) wanted to give his paintings all possible checkmarks on the 16th century box, by style of painting, subject, and clothing, but didn't realise that some of those didn't match.

Whatever the case, the quality is certainly not good enough to warrant any attribution to Campi, which the auction house wisely didn't do.