Interesting moralistic work: 16th century instead of 17th?

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 12 September 2018 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Card players, estimated at 600 to 800 Euro.

It is an interesting moralistic work. The text at the top, "Jan Jan peist om den ouden man", is in Dutch and means "John, John, think about the old man", i.e. think about your old age, don't spend everything now on gambling and games. The work isn't the most subtle, but I like these works which combine art and cultural history more than is usually the case.

 Man in comparable clothing, ca. 1545-1560, Tate Britain

I presume the painting is based on an engraving, but I haven't been able to find it. The clothing of the rich man seems to suggest the middle of the 16th century more than the 17th century though, in which case this work really should be worth more (even though it has some damage), probably closer to 2,000 Euro instead.

UPDATE: sold for 6,200 Euro, ten times the estimate and still way above my estimate as well!

Coryn Boel is copy after Saenredam

Hargesheimer, from Germany, sells on 22 September 2018 a "Circle of Coryn Boel" Corpora (vanitas) estimated at 2,000 Euro.

It is a copy after Jan Saenredam (after Goltzius), "An allegory on Vision (a couple of lovers)", as can be seen on this work at the RKD. As such, any attribution to the circle of a specific artist is dubious, and the estimate perhaps a bit high. I guess it is worth around 1,000 Euro instead, as it is charming from a distance but has serious problems when seen up close. No idea why Hargesheimer calls it a "corpora".

Death and the poor: copy after engraving

Hargesheimer, from Germany, sells on 22 September 2018 a  "Dutch Master, 17th century" Death visits the poor, estimated at 600 Euro.

It is a copy after an engraving by Johannes Sadeler after a drawing by Johannes Stradanus, from ca. 1600 (info from the Rijksmuseum). Even the Latin text beneath the work is identical. As is so often the case, the existence of the engraving explains why we have a good composition but a rather poor execution. But it's a rare depiction anyway, and paintings with texts are always popular, so it shouldn't have any problem fetching the estimate.

"German or Flemish, ca. 1700 Virgin and Child" is copy after one of the most influential works ever

Hargesheimer, from Germany, sells on  22 September 2018 a "German / Flemish School, about 1700" Virgin and Child, estimated at 3,000 Euro.

It is a late copy of the so-called "Cambrai Madonna", an early 14th century Italian Virgin and Child which in 1450 arrived in Cambrai, in the north of France. While it is a rather typical example of the Italian (Sienese) painting of the period, it was completely new for Northern Europe, and was soon venerated as an original painting by Saint Luke (i.e. a true portrait of Mary and Jesus, not a later artistic interpretation). The cathedral where it was on display became a center of pilgrimage, and many copies of the painting were made as well. It also influenced many of the Early Netherlandish Virgin and Childs by the major masters, and as such played an important role in the development and spread of this style.

It is hard to judge when or where the version for sale was made, since this work has been copied again and again over the centuries. The estimate seems about right though, as it is a good piece of evidence of the impact of one of the most important works in art history when one considers its influence on a whole style.

Another copy of Hugo Van der Goes' "descent from the cross"

Horta, from Belgium, sells on 11 September 2018 a "Flemish School, 16th or 17th century" Descent from the cross estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro.

It is another (but much better) copy after the work by Hugo Van der Goes, which I already discussed in April 2018. The above version is from Cambrai, and I doubt it is the original (or else it has had a lot of poor restorations and overpaint). But it gives a good idea of how the original probably looked.

The work for sale has some very good parts, especially the two figures on the left. The Mary and John are clearly weaker (e.g. the hands of the virgin are very poorly executed). The painting looks to be from around 1550, certainly the Jesus looks to modern to be 15th century. But even so, it is one of the better and more interesting copies, and should be worth the estimate without much trouble.

18K€ "attributed to Otto van Veen" is copy after engraving by Aegidius Sadeler after Hans Speckaert

Monsantic, from Belgium, sells on 2 September 2018 an "attributed to Otto van Veen" Adoration of the Magi, estimated at 18,000 to 22,000 Euro.

Which would be a considerable amount for a fair Otto Van Veen, but is way too much for a work in rather poor condition. It seems to have lost most of its freshness, as if it has been kept unvarnished for too long. Even so, it looks as if it was made by a competent but not brilliant painter, and the auctioneer (or seller) may have been deceived by the good composition into attributing it to a better painter.

The work is based on en engraving by Aegidius Sadeler (copy from the Rijksmuseum), which copied a painting by Hans Speckaert (1540-1577).

Jaël and Sisera, a typical Speckaert painting (Boijmans - Van Beuningen)

I had never heard of him, but he is one of the Flemish painters who stayed mainly in Italy in the 16th century, and had through their works and the engravings made of them a considerable influence on art in the Netherlands, moving away from the late Gothic (Early Netherlandish) style towards more Italian-style Renaissance images, especially the so-caled Northern Mannerism style with highly exaggerated figures (something which in a different form had already been popular in the circle of Coecke van Aelst some decades earlier). Bartholomeus Spranger is probably the best known of these painters.

The RKD lists one other version of this painting, a very small oval one which they date to the late 16th century (without indication of its origin as an engraving).  Both these paintings are considerably worse in the details compared to the engraving, so they are not the original by Speckaert, in case anyone wondered.

Anyway, all this doesn't prove that it isn't by van Veen, but a copy after an engraving, by a decent painter but in a rather poor condition (and at 75cm wide not particularly large either), is not worth 18,000€ by a wide margin. Some 3,000 Euro perhaps, depending on whether people really like the style this has been painted in and believe that some care could bring the colours back to life a bit, which I doubt.

"Follower of Breughel" is a copy after Hans Bol

Auktionshaus Saarbrücken, from Germany, sells on 1 September 2018 an "Unknown artist, follower of Breughel, probably 17th century" depiction of the Parable of the Tares (the auction house thinks it is the Parable of the Sower, but that's a different story), estimated at 900 Euro.

It is a copy after an engraving by Hans Bol from 1574, as can be found in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The church on the left, the castle on the right with the central round tower, the figure of the sowing devil, the sleeping man on the right, ... are all taken from the engraving. Only the horses have been removed, and the trees made a bit fuller (which would look bad in an engraving). I don't think the painting is good enough to be by Bol, even though he wasn't always the most accomplished painter either, but it still is an interesting old work and the estimate is about right.