Alexander Wiskemann or Dirck De Quade Van Ravesteyn

Bonham's, from England, sells on 5 December 2018 an "Attributed to Alexander Wiskemann" Venus and Amor, estimated at 21,000 to 29,000 Euro.

They give an extensive provenance, including a sale at Im Kinsky in 2010. It was offered there with an estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 Euro, and failed to sell in the regular auction (it may have sold during the aftersale).

It seems to have been offered at Teeuwisse in 2011 as well.

A different or uncleaned version of this painting was sold at Neumeister in 2008, with an estimate of 30,000 Euro. It was attributed to Dirck de Quade van Ravesteyn.

I

understand the attribution to Ravesteyn better than the one to Wiskemann, as the Venus here shares similarities with Venuses (Veni?) in other works by the artist. But these Ravesteyns show a more accomplished artist, so at best it would be a "circle of" or "follower of" him.

Alexander Wiskemann on the other hand is a nearly unknown painter, and I have not found any comparable paintings. So I have not the faintest idea why the attribution to Wiskemann is given, it doesn't seem to be based on a signature either. Strange!

UPDATE: the composition is close to a 1610 work by Mattäus Gundelach, sold at Dorotheum in 2011 with an estimate of 60,000 Euro. I don't think the artist of that work and the one for sale are the same though, but I wouldn't be surprised if one artist lies at the basis of both.

UPDATE 2: not sold

Simon Marmion, Anonymous, or Master of the Gold Brocade?

Hermitage, from Monaco, sells on 24 November 2018 a "Flemish School, 16th century" Maria lactans, estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 Euro.

The same painting was for sale on 12 April 2018 at Hampel, in Germany, as the work of Simon Marmion, estimated at 50,000 to 70,000 Euro.

 Version from the Metropolitan Museum

It is most likely the work of the Master of the Gold Brocade; the three other versions of the same work are all attributed to him (or her) by the RKD, and I see little reason to doubt their judgment or to believe that this one is  suddenly the work of Marmion. The original composition of the Virgin and Child is the work of Rogier Van der Weyden.

This version is also listed at the RKD, where they know it from a collection in 1937, and from being listed by the French Government as a recuperated work from (Récuperation Française, M.N.R. 853). Such M.N.R. numbers often point to looted art, but without further provenance it is hard to be certain if this work had been given back to the original owners and has reached the art market from there, or if this work may still be the rightful and moral poperty of the family of Nazi victims.

UPDATE: most of the same info was already posted at the AuctionRadar blog at the time of the Hampel auction!

UPDATE 2: and now again for sale at Hampel (28 March 2019), still as Marmion, and still with a 30,000 to 50,000 Euro estimate.

"Attributed to Van der Weyden": can this be a youth work by Bouts?

Deutsch, from Austria, sells on 4 December 2018 an "Attributed to Rogier Van der Weyden" Virgin and Child, an oil on panel estimated at 2,800 to 5,500 Euro. The combination of "attributed to Van der Weyden" and a 2,800 Euro estimate makes me believe that one or the other is wrong...

The composition is by Van der Weyden, as can be seen in this workshop version in the Art Institute of Chicago. The one for sale is, apart from the background, an extremely close copy of the Chicago one. Only the face of the virgin is less well executed, and the condition of the work (while still remarkably well preserved for a 500 years old painting) is somewhat lacking, although a removal of the yellowed varnish may solve most of this.

I can't find any examples of Van der Weyden himself using such a background in a Virgin and Child. A similar window and landscape is used by a Follower of van der Weyden in the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Even more remarkable are the similarities with a Dirk Bouts Virgin and Child in the National Gallery.Not only does the window have the same general appearance as the other two examples, the crisscrossed windows at the top seem to have the exact same pattern of coloured elements round the border.

Which leaves me rather puzzled. Is this an early Dirk Bouts, who is supposed to have been a pupil of Van der Weyden? A version from the workshop of Van Der Weyden executed by Bouts, who later in his own work reused elements he invented then, like the window? The work isn't good enough to be a mature Bouts (or a Van der Weyden), but it is close enough in quality to be a work of Bouts as an apprentice, a pupil.

Or is it a work by someone who copied a Van der Weyden composition but added a Bouts window to it? That seems strange, certainly if it is contemporary (late 19th and 20th century forgers are more known to combine elements to create "new" works or new copies). Of course, it may also be a copy after a lost (or to me unknown) Van der Weyden or Bouts.

I would love it to be by Bouts, but I know that I sometimes get carried away when I am duped by a good fake. It certainly seems to be worth the gamble at the very low estimate. If it turns out to be the best-case scenario, the value is immense. If it is a good follower of Van der Weyden and Bouts, from around 1500, then it still is worth 25,000 Euro (well, the value depends also on what the cleaning would reveal, if the painting is even better below the yellowing, it only gets more valuable).

"Flemish painter, ca. 1520" is copy after Quinten Massys

Lempertz, from Germany, sells on 14 October 2018 a "Netherlandish Master, ca. 1520" Lamentation, estimated at 20,000 to 25,000 Euro.

The work is a somewhat awkward copy after Quinten Massys, a Lamentation from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

The Lempertz catalogue mentions a sale of the work in 1976, but it is also included at the RKD which shows that it was known to Friedländer in 1967. The estimate seems rather high, even though it is a large, well preserved early work. But it really isn't well painted, the figures and faces seem wooden (on its own, and certainly when compared to the original).

"Ferrarese School" is copy after Scarsellino

Cambi, from Italy, sells on 14 November 2018 a "Ferrarese School, 17th century" Bathing women, estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 Euro.

It is a good copy after a work by Scarsellino (1550-1620), who was indeed a Ferrarese painter. It is now housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The original is larger than the copy for sale (120 by 176 compared to 94 by 130, still a considerable size of course). Copies are usually a lot less valuable of course, but this is a good enough one, and the subject (Naiads) is always popular.

"Northern School" is close to Frans Floris

Herry & Muon, Beaune, in France, sells on 11 November 2018 a "Northern School, late 16th or early 17th century" Triumph of David, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

It is an oil on panel with a nice size (73 by 103) which was sold nearly ten years ago, in 2009, at Ketterer in Munich, according to the RKD. The painting seems to have suffered somewhat in the past 10 years though.

The style of the figures and faces reminds me of the work of Frans Floris, and a very similar work was offered at Dr. Fischer as "School of Frans Floris" with an estimate of 25,000 to 30,000 Euro! The work for sale is less enticing, but should still be worth around 4,000 Euro.

UPDATE: as was pointed out to me on Twitter, the RKD version is NOT the same as the one for sale now, but another (nearly identical) version in much better condition.

"Attributed to Jacob de Backer" is copy after Christoph Schwarz

De Baecque, from France, sell on 12 November 2018 an "Attributed to Jacob de Backer" Last judgment, estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 Euro.

It is a copy after an engraving by Johannes Sadeler after a painting by Christoph Schwarz (or Schwartz), from ca. 1595 (courtesy the Rijksmuseum). The composition is therefor good, but the execution is poor, far removed from the quality shown in the works by De Backer (who wasn't known to work after engravings as far as I know). This version is not worth the estimate.

UPDATE: as expected, not sold.

UPDATE 2: again for sale at De Baecque on 28 May 2019, with a reduced estimate of 2,000 to 3,000 Euro, which seems reasonable.