Dutch School Babel is circle of Jan Brueghel

Quoniam, Spanish auction house, sells on 4 November 2015 a "Dutch School, 16th century" Tower of Babel, estimated at 3,500 to 4,000 Euro. They also sell separately a second painting which actually forms a pair with this one, a Landscape with a Windmill with the same estimate.

The Tower of Babel is a good and nearly contemporary copy after a work by Jan Brueghel II and Joos de Momper II, sold at Christie's in 2006 and shown at the RKD site. This would make it early 17th century instead of 16th century. If the 2006 information is still up-to-date, the work in that auction and one sketch by Jan Breughel II, and now this work, would be the only versions of this painting currently known.

That auction discusses how of eight Brueghel sketches, only the one of the Babel painting could be linked to an actual painting. It would be very interesting to know if any of the other seven sketches could be linked to the second painting, but I don't seem to be able to access these sketches online. Jan Brueghel II certainly painted many paintings with similar (though somewhat wider and more realistic) windmills and scenes.

I see no iconographical reason why these two paintings would belong together, they don't seem to have any relation qua story, but I may well miss the deeper meaning of the second painting.

These paintings are not by Brueghel, but are close to him and certainly the Babel (and the combination of the two works) is very interesting. The Babel should fetch the estimate or a bit more, the other work may well fail to sell. It is a great pity that there is a fair chance that they won't be staying together though.