"Circle of Hondecoeter": original is in the Museum of Ghent

Dorotheum, Austria, sells on 18 October 2016 a "Circle of Hondecoeter" pelican and other birds, estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 Euros.

While the auction catalogue indicates in general that it relies on paintings by Hondecoeter, it doesn't note that this is a for the most part faithful and good, but very dirty copy of an original from the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, which was one of the highlights of their late 2015 - early 2016 Golden Age exhibition. The painting was one of the leading images of the exhibiion, and has now a very nice place in the permanent collection, facing a glass cupboard with the same animals in taxidermy. I'm always a bit wary when a painting comes to auction shortly after the original either has been discovered or has received a lot more attention, but in this case, considering the quality of the copy, this may be unwarranted (or at worst it is made by a very good forger).

How good it will turn out to be after cleaning remains to be seen, but it looks as if you will get a very fine painting (much better than most of the Hondecoeter copies one gets at auction) for a reasonable price.

UPDATE: sold for 35,000 Euro, so others saw the potential (and perhaps the origin) as well.

"Caravaggesque School" is one I located close to Valentin de Boulogne instead

Dorotheum, from Austria, sells on 18 October 2016 a "Caravaggesque School, 17th century" Bacchanal, a large work (142 by 217) estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro.

It is a work I posted about on 22 January 2016, when it was for sale in France with an estimate of 4,000 to 7,000 Euro (which I thought was about right). It has since been restored quite intensely, and this is reflected in the new estimate. The auction house has no real idea who made it (Italian, Dutch (Bentvueghels), influenced by Spain), but my suggestion of the school of Valentin de Boulogne is not shared apparently.

While the work in its current condition is a lot more attractive, the deficiencies of the original largely remain. I wouldn't estimate it higher than 15,000 to 20,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for a whopping 54,000 Euro! I wonder who it will eventually be attributed to.

Former "Brueghel the Younger?" now for sale as "Brueghel the Younger"!

Dorotheum, from Vienna, Austria, sells on 18 October 2016 a "Pieter Brueghel II" Flemish proverb tondo, estimated at 180,000 to 220,000 Euro.

It is the same painting I highlighted in my 25 May 2016 post on an auction by Wannenes. It was then "Attributed to Pieter Brueghel (1564-1638)" and estimated at 1,600 to 1,800 Euro only. I discussed the painting and other examples of the same image (engraving, drawing) extensively, but didn't dare to conclude that it really was by Pieter Brueghel II (stating "it seems quite certain that the painting for sale is either by Brueghel II or more likely a direct copy after a painting by him". However, I indicated that the estimate was way too low in any case (even as an old copy), and said it "should be worth a lot more than the estimate, at least 10,000 Euro." I haven't been able to confirm it online yet, but a good source tells me it eventually was sold for 60,000 Euro.

Dorotheum, which doesn't seem to list any provenance, not even the Wannenes sale, had it expertised by Klaus Ertz, who is the current leading expert on Brueghel the Younger, and he has confirmed it as an original work by Brueghel (and also probably an original composition by him, not a copy after his father). It has also been reframed inbetween, the current frame looks more like the original probably. The work may also have been lightly cleaned, or the picture is simply somewhat lighter.

The auction catalogue offers a detailed description of the work and its origins, listing some other versions I hadn't found. It doesn't seem to list the above drawing from the Museum in Dresden though, which is somewhat strange. While I'm a bit disappointed that the one time I had the chance to discover a real Brueghel II, I was too cautious and didn't believ it wise to promote it to you as the real deal, I'm still glad that I did post about it and indicated the origins and qualities of it (and the way too low estimate of the original auction). Very curious to see what it will fetch now of course! The estimate seems cautious for a newly discovered Brueghel II original.

UPDATE: sold for 216,000 Euro, good estimate by the auction house, serious profit for the seller and a bit sour for the seller at the previous auction of course...

"Style of Pieter Coecke" compared to an original by Master of 1518

Neumeister, from Germany, sells on 28 September 2016 two wings of a triptych "in the style of Pieter Coecke", estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 Eur.

The panels are 77 cm high . Possibly they were a lot higher and not square originally: other triptych with the same or similar wings usually have sculpted, gothical frames.

These may be the work of the so-called Master of 1518 (who is probably Jan van Dornicke), the father-in-law of Pieter Coecke van Aelst.

The center of the triptych was probably an adoration of the magi (which fits chronologically nicely between the nativity/adoration of the shepherds on the left, and the flight to Egypt on the right). Other comparable works have the same iconography, or replace the Flight to Egypt with a Circumcision.

In 2010, Sotheby's New York sold a great triptych by the Master of 1518 (exceeding the estimate at nearly $700,000). The wings of that triptych are slightly larger than the ones here (43 cm wide instead of 25 cm), but the composition is identical. This gives a good idea what kind of central panel you have to find to complete this triptych again...

The left wing (Sothebys left, for sale right). It varies in details (the poor child has no cloth beneath it in the version for sale), but is otherwise clearly the same. The new version seems to be slightly more modern (the flesh tones in the faces) and painted a bit less precise, but is still a work of high quality and looks to be authentic.

The right wing (again Sotheby's left, version for sale right) as well is clearly the same work: here though the new version seems to have made more accommodations for the smaller format, slightly turning the ass to the spectator. This shows the skill of the copyist and indicates that he was an artist in his own right. This also indicates clearly that the smaller format is not due to cutting down the panels, but was the intention from the start.

In the background, and more visible in the new version, one can see a  decapitated statue (in the new version one can identify the other half lying on the ground). The exact meaning is unclear to me, but presumably this is either evil or the devil defeated by the birth of Christ, or a symbolic representation of the death of the innocent children (the immediate cause for the flight to Egypt).

Other versions of these wings have been attributed to Circle of Master of 1518 (RKD). This one is even smaller than the one for sale, and less well painted or preserved. It was coupled with an annunciation in this case.

Most versions attributed to Coecke or his studio have some differences (e.g. at the Nativity Maria and Joseph sit on the same side of the child), but a few are clearly the same composition. The top one (Circle of Coecke, RKD) is a smaller and simplified version, missing e.g. the angel above the Nativity. The second picture is from a better painting, attributed to the Studio of Coecke (RKD). Again, the angel flying above the Nativity is missing. Both versions also have a different monument in the background of the Flight to Egypt. In that image, Maria hasa whote cloak instead of a blue one. Other differences also connect the two above triptychs but somewhat distance them from the one for sale.

The one for sale seems to be the closest to the original of the Master of 1518, and probably painted directly from it. Copies from Pieter Coecke and his studio, even the most faithful ones (like the ones displayed here), tend to have more differences already, staying less close to the original.

The two wings for sale are clearly by the same hand (as could be expected). Whether they are copies by the Master of 1518, copies by Pieter Coecke, or made by someone else in that circle, is hard to tell. But they are very cheap and should easily fetch 10,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 8,255 Euro, more than double the estimate, so they were indeed very cheap.

"L. Clary" is Eugène Clary, sitter is Suzanne Valadon

Ribeyre, division of Drouot from France, sells on 23 September 2016 a "French School, 1900, signed L. Clary" portrait estimated at 180 to 220 Euro.

The signature doesn't start with an L but with a stylized E, for Eugène Clary, French landscape painter (1856-1929). It can be compared with other signatures from him (the middle two seem to be somewhat older than this work, which is probably from around 1900).

Another portrait (or genre scene with female presence, these aren't really portraits of course) by him was sold at Sotheby's this year for £20,000, but that one was a lifesize work while the one for sale is small (55 by 36cm), which usually is reflected in the value. It is a more lively work, with the birds, but to me it is less appealing.

More interesting is a work by Clary in the Musée d'Orsay, in Paris. This work clearly shows the same model, in a very similar pose (and similar dimensions) as well. It is a ca. 1887 portrait of Suzanne Valadon, famous model for the avant-garde in Paris at the time, who can also be seen in works by Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and so on. She was a good painter in her own right, and the mother of Utrillo, so truly a central figure in the Paris art scene then.

The depiction for sale here, with Suzanne holding a flower, may be a reference to the story of Ophelia: I have found that Clary exhibited an Ophélie at the 1886 Salon, but I haven't found an image of it so whether the painting for sale is related is pure speculation at the moment. 

This work indicates how Clary was at first a rather progressive and interesting painter, before he became a more conventional landscape painter (more boring now, but presumably more profitable then). Compared to e.g. the work from Sotheby's, the one for sale is much better, vigorously painted.

The painting should be worth 2,000 Euro at least.

UPDATE: wow, sold for 7.200 Euro!

UPDATE 2: I missed it at the time, but a few months later it was offered at Christie's, with a background and description which completely matched my above blog post, and sold for £13,750. A nice return in a few months time. 

"17c. Venetian" is poor copy after Rubens (plus cheaper and better "Italian" copy)

Viscontea, auction house from Milan, Italy, sells on 26 September 2016 a "17th century Venetian School" Judgment of Solomon (120 by 91 cm), estimated at 1,500 to 3,000 Euro.

While it may have been painted by someone from Venice, it actually is a very poor and dark copy of a rather famous work by Rubens from about 1617, now in the Statens Museum for Kunst in Denmark.

It will struggle to sell for more than 1,000 Euro.

On the other hand, Pforzheim (also from Germany) sells on 1 October 2016 another copy of the same work, described this time as "Italian School, 2nd half 17th c.", but estimated at 800 Euro only (and it's bigger as well, 159 by 150 cm!).
It still is a pretty weak copy, but much better and more attractive than the Viscontea one.

Topsy-turvy

Lux, from Germany, sells on 24 September 2016 an "Unknown master, 19th century" Drehbild, a type of trompe-l'oeil which gives a different image right way up or upside down. "Turn image" would be the literal translation, I don't know whether a real term for this exists in English. The estimate is only 150 Euro.

This type of painting seems to be very rare. A famous early example are the "Reversibe Head" and "The Cook" by Giuseppe Arcimbaldo (who loved to play with images). In Germany, the satirical magazines like the Fliegende Blätter often had

The one for sale here is somewhat forced, neither image is terribly convincing (the pig is good enough, but the face has some very strange aspects), but as a highly unusual example of this specific type of trompe-l'oeil I believe it should be worth closer to 1,000 Euro than the very low estimate.