Lot corrected before I could post my blog :-(

Champion-Kusel, from France, sells on 10 March 2018 a "Dutch School, ca. 1600, follower of Pietro Candido" estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

The work was originally offered as "Flemish School, ca. 1600", and would then have made an interesting blog post. However, by the time I came around to actually writing it, the description had been improved with the information I wanted to offer. Bummer!

I have discussed the original work behind this copy(?) in May 2017, when another work incorporating elements from this one (the putti) was offered. The original version can be found in the Frans Hals Museum as by Peter de Witte (Pietro Candido).

Silence

Apologies for my long silence, I have been very busy in real life, interspersed with a fine holiday, and have had very little time to spend on auction hunting, never mind blog writing.

I did try to win the above unrecognised Francken ("early 18th century", no country or artist) by bidding double the estimate, but that still wasn't sufficient, so it seems that not everyone has taken time off from bargain hunting sadly ;-) It was apparently damaged (rubbed) over the years, but showed real skill in what remained, much better than the usual Francken ripoffs, though not at the level of a real first-hand Frans Francken probably.

I'll try to post more frequently again, but no promises as real life takes precedence over this great but time-consuming hobby.

"Flemish School" is copy after Rubens

Pandolfini, from Italy, sells on 13 February 2018 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Bacchic scene with a satyr, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 Euro.

Some other versions of the same work have appeared at auction over the last few years.

The first one was sold as a "Follower of Rubens", lacks the upper half of this work, and has a tigress instead of some dog.

The second was described as "circle of Rubens" and has the same satyr, but is even more different in other aspects.

All seem to go back to a composition by Rubens. I haven't found the original, but an engraving by Lucas Vorsterman can be found at the Rijksmuseum. While the satyr and animal clearly are taken from this work, all copies have putti which this version of the original hasn't. So it may well be that another Rubens original existed with these variations.

The work for sale has some good elements, and overall it is a good composition, but the work is very brown  (and unlikely to become colourful when cleaned, I think), and has many elements which are rather sketchy as well (as in the second image). This is not due to the scale of the work; it is a large canvas, 174 by 126 cm, so such deficiencies will be more apparent in real life.

"French School" is copy after Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre

Brussels Art Auctions, from Belgium (duh), sells on 30 January 2018 a pair of "French School , 18th-19th century" works, showing the Rape of Europa and the Judgment of Paris, estimated at 500 to 600 Euro.

I haven't found an origin for the Judgment of Paris depiction yet, but the Rape of Europa is a copy after the work by Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (where "Pierre" presumably is the surname, rather confusing this!) Pierre (1714-1789) was the penultimate French "Premier peintre du roi" (between François Boucher and Joseph-Marie Vien), so quite an important painter in his time, although now he is, well not forgotten but hardly a household name anymore. The original painting (now housed in the Dallas Museum of Art) is a huge work, 240 by 274 cm.

This is a reversed copy, so presumably after an engraving. The estimate seems about right.

"Anonymous" is copy after Jan Brueghel

Loeckx, from Belgium, sells on 30 January 2018 an "Anonymous, 17th century" Golgotha, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

This is a copy after Jan Brueghel, a Crucifixion now in the Alte Pinakothek. As so often with these copies after a good work, the version for sale is pleasing to look at but falls short when seen in detail, because the composition shows the skill of the original artist, but in the details one sees the lack of talent the copiist had. There are some differences between the works, so it may be that the copy is based on another version of this work, not the Munich version, but the basic similarity plus the many identical persons and groups are telling enough.

Still, at 1,500 Euro this seems like a fair price, and it gives me a good reason to show a very good Brueghel.

UPDATE: for sale on 8 April 2018 in Saint Omer, in the north of France, for an unknown estimate, with description "Dutch School, 17th century". If the estimate is lower now (or better still, it is sold without a reserve), this may be a small bargain.

UPDATE 2: sold for 5,000 Euro!

"Attributed to Clara Peeters" may be work by Nicolaes Cave (with provenance added)

Kloss, from Germany, sells on 30 January 2018 an "attributed to Clara Peeters" still life with a cat, estimated at 7,500 to 15,000 Euro.

The work isn't good enough to be by Peeters. Searching for it reveals an entry at the RKD, which indicates that it was offered as Clara Peeters at an auction at the Palais d'Orsay in 1978, but as a Follower of Clara Peeters at Sotheby's Amsterdam in 1997 (where it wasn't sold).

The RKD thinks it might be the work of Nicolaes Cave (a minor Antwerp painter active from 1619 on, died in 1651). It also indicates that it originally came with a pendant. (Wouldn't it be funny if you had a whole series of these, with the cat getting fatter and fatter in every image? Ah, missed opportunities...)

The estimate seems clearly too high and is speculative on the Clara Peeters name. 2,000 to 3,000 Euro seems more realistic.

"Cardinal Howard" is Lord High Admiral Charles Howard

Van Ham, from Germany, sells on 31 January 2018 an "English Master, 17th/18th century" portrait of Cardinal Howard, estimated at 200 to 400 Euro.

The portrait shows someone with the Order of the Garter with the Great George (the image of George slaying the Dragon), which facilitates the identification of the sitter, as this is a very exclusive club.

Some searching, helped by the fact that the sitter indeed was a Howard, led me to Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham (1536-1624), the English commander at the time of the Armada, so a major figure in English history of the period. 

The painting for sale is a poor partial copy of a portrait by Daniel Mytens (the major portrait painter in England before the arrival of Anthony Van Dyck), from ca. 1620. It is now housed in the Greenwich Museum. Some colours have been changed, so perhaps it is based on an engraving, but it seems more likely to be a copy of the painting with some artistic license added. 

The value of the work is probably about the estimate, but having the correct identification may help attract the bidders: I would guess there are more marine history buffs wanting this, than people interested in a portrait of some Cardinal Howard.