Master of the Parrot? Master of the Prodigal Son is more likely

Hampel sells on 7 April 2016 an "Early Netherlandish Master, 1th or 16th century" Lamentation, estimated at 12,000 to 15,000 Euro. In the description, they indicate that during the search for an artist, they discussed the circle of the Master of the Parrot. Which is an easy way to drop a name without actually attributing it...

I can't see much likeness between this work and the works of the parrot master. His faces and shadow working are completely different.

Other copies of the same work led me to another artist though, the Master of the Prodigal Son. One attributed directly to this artist was for sale at Dorotheum in 2013. While more modern and probably more accomplished, I like it less than the one for sale now. Perhaps I wasn't the only one with that feeling, as it was again offered for sale a year later at Dorotheum with only an 18,000 Euro estimate, and still failed to sell.

According to the RKD, another version, much closer to the one for sale now, was offered at Dorotheum in 2011 as "After the Master of the Prodigal Son". The coloring, face, background all are much more similar to the one for sale now and point to a common origin if not the same hand. I haven't been able to find the price of that work though.

Of the three works shown here, I like the one for sale the most, and it should easily fetch the lower estimate.

UPDATE: not sold

UPDATE 2: again for sale at Hampel with same description and estimate on 30 June 2016.

Neapolitan Master or Simon Luttichuys?

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 7 April 2016 a "Neapolitan Master, 17th century" vanitas with skull and mirror, estimated at 2,000 to 4,000 Euro.

Probably the same painting, or else an identical copy, was offered by Trafalgar Galleries, from London, at some time in the past (they have existed since 1956) as by Dutch painter Simon Luttichuys though.

The painting may not be good enough to be a real Luttichuys, but the vanitas (certainly with mirrors) was in any case much more common in the Netherlands than in Neapolitan painting, so it seems more logical to attribute it to e.g. a follower of Luttichuys.

If it was by Luttichuys, it would be worth a lot more than the estimate; as a follower or style of work, the estimate is probably about right.

UPDATE: not sold.

"Circle of Hugo Van der Goes" is a copy after Rogier Van der Weyden

Hampel sells on 7 April 2016 a "Circle of Hugo Van der Goes" Descent from the cross, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro.

It is actually a copy after a lost panel by Rogier Van der Weyden, and closer in style to him than to Van der Goes. The Museum of Modern Art (!) in Le Havre has a very good copy of the same work.

Compared to the one at Christie's, which fetched $20,000 and had the wings, but was of somewhat lower quality, I guess the estimate here is about right, but the attribution isn't.

UPDATE: sold for 36,000 Euro, so the estimate was indeed about right.

UPDATE 2: strangely enough, again for sale at  Hampel on 22 september 2016 with now a 20,000 to 25,000 Euro estimate! Either the buyer realised that he didn't have gold in his hands after all, or the sale eentually didn't happen for some reason?

Interesting "Creation of the Animals": other version found

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 7 April 2016 a "Flemish School, early 16th century" Creation of the Animals, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 Euro.

Apart from a location somewhere between Herri met de Bles and the Antwerp Mannerists, nothing more is said about the work.

A copy of it, sadly also anonymous, can be found in either the Musée Calvet or the Fondation Calvet, from Avignon. The Museum website is not accessible at the time of writing, and the Fondation website has a search functionality which never goes beyond 99%, which is kinda annoying.

The Calvet version (for which I don't have a good full picture, apologies! The partial image below gives a better idea of the quality) looks to be the better one, although some aspects are better in the Hampel version (e.g. the falling angels from the clouds on the upper left side).

Comparing some details show the quality of both works, and give to me the impression that they were made by the same artist, and not that one is a copy of the other.

So here we have a work that is truly of museum quality, with a very interesting (and saleable) image, but sadly without an artist or fixed date. Still, it should easily fetch the estimate.

UPDATE: sold for 8,000 Euro, exactly the estimate.

UPDATE 2: 2 other versions and a possible artist are discussed in a later blog post

UPDATE 3: Lempertz sells on 20 September 2017 (what I assume to be) the same work sold at Hampel in 2016, now with an estimate of 14,000 to 16,000 Euro and an attribution to Hans Bocksberger, a name I hadn't seen in association with this work yet. While I can't rule it out, I see no reason why this attribution has been chosen apart from the fact that Bocksberger has drawn animals (as did many others).

"Antwerp Master" is by or copy of Jan Brueghel the Younger (or is it Lucas van Leyden)

Hampel sells on 7 April 2016, in an interesting but not always very well researched auction (considering the long number of posts it will spawn), a "Master from Antwerp, early 17th century" Rest on the flight to Egypt, estimated at 20,000 to 25,000 Euro.

The central figure can be found in at least two works by Jan Brueghel the Younger, from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (1, 2)

The work for sale is very good, but I'm not certain that it is good enough to be a real Brueghel. Tthe quality of the works accepted as genuine ones differs wildly though; in any case, this isn't one of his masterpieces that fetches millions, but if accepted as a genuine Jan Brueghel it should be worth closer to 100,000 Euro probably.

Slam dunk, or so I thought until I came across an Adoration by or after Lucas Van Leyden, sold at Sotheby's in 2002. The painting for sale copies even the basket from this version, but the position of the head of the child is the same as in the topmost Vienna version, while the bottom Vienna version and the Leyden version show another position.

Considering that the remainder of the painting for sale has strong resemblances to the works of Jan Brueghel (not just the two pictured here, but in general), I still think looking at that relation is the most interesting here: but I don't know if the borrowing by Brueghel of elements from Leyden is common (and commonly known) or not.

UPDATE: not sold

"Oriental painting" is work by Congolese artist Louis Koyongonda

Rops, from Belgium, sells on 17 April 2016 a, "Signed Oriental painting" of a writer, estimated at 80 to 120 Euro.

It isn't oriental but African, by the Congolese / Zairese painter Louis Koyongonda (1918-), one of the major painters of the newly independent Zaire. When e.g. in 1962 the Congolese prime minister Cyrille Adoula visited JF Kennedy at the White House, they offered a Koyongonda painting as gift.

Afterwards he seems have been largely forgotten, and his later work is much less impressive as well. The one for sale here is fairly good, and he might well be one of these artists who gets much more appreciated as a forerunner in the future. It should be worth a lot more one day, and will be worth more than the estimate even today already if the buyers can find him.

UPDATE: sold for 50 Euro, I thnk someone got a bargain in the long run...

UPDATE 2: again for sale at Rops on 24 March 2018, with same estimate and description. Still a bargain in the long run, still not worth a lot nowadays though.

"Simon Agonian" is "Simon Agopian" instead

Rops, from Belgium, sells on 7 April 2016 a "Simon Agonian" signed 1911 view of Constantinople estimated at 200 to 300 Euro.

The painting is by Simon Agopian (with a P), an Armenian painter of the early 20th century who is fairly well collected, and should be worth 2,000 to 3,000 Euro instead.

UPDATE: sold for 2,400 Euro, right in the middle of my estimate!

10k Pageviews!

Just a short note to celebrate that this blog has today surpassed 10,000 pageviews in total, and March 2016 is already by far the month with the most pageviews here as well (nearly 1,500 as of now).

Thank you all for reading my blog!

Funny though that my most popular tweet was not about a blog post I made, but about the last will of Rubens' mother which was discovered  recently. It got more than 5 times as many views (and likes and retweets) as my second-most popular tweet. Puts things again in perspective...

"Follower of Frans Wouters" is copy after Rubens

Audap-Mirabaud from France sells on 1 April 2016 a "Flemish School, 17th century, follower of Frans Wouters" Atalante and Meleager, estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 Euro.

It is a rather weak painting with a good composition, but I couldn't find no trace of an original by Frans Wouters. It turns out to be a copy after a lost painting by Rubens, which is known from other copies (one in the Museum of Ghent, the above Studio copy from Sotheby's in 2007, sold for £216,000).

The one for sale here is not really good, the figures lack all grace and strength, and will probably struggle to make the estimate.

It still is a better work than the above "Flemish School, ca. 1650" Daniel in the Lion's Den though: it is a quite close copy of the work by Rubens from the National Gallery, but instead of a despairing Daniel you a resigned, almost laconic one. 

"Adam and Eve": Jan Brueghel and Rottenhammer? Copy after Dürer

Brussels Art Auction sells on 22 Match 2016 a "Circle of Jan Brueghel and Hans Rottenhammer" Adam and Eve, oil on copper, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 Euro.

It is a very good painting, but it looks to be older than Brueghel and Rottenhammer (which combination would mean about 1590-1620).

The origin is a print by Dürer from 1504, which is closely followed here.

The same pose (but different positions of the heads) was also used for an Adam and Eve by Jan Gossaert (from the Museo Thyssen Bornemisza in Madrid).

 It is not clear why the current work is given to the circle Brueghel and Rottenhammer, it seems to archaic for them and should be placed closer to 1520 than to 1590 probably. As it is an anonymous but good copy, it is probably worth closer to 5,000 Euros than the estimated 8,000 Euros.

"Antwerp School" is copy after Holbein the Younger

Brussels Art Auctions sells on 22 March 2016 an "Antwerp School, 16th-17th century" portrait "presumably of Erasmus", estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro.

It is a dark but at first sight very good copy of the Erasmus portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger from 1530 from the Galleria nazionale di Parma.

A copy of this work, sold at Christie's in 2015, fetched $93,750.

The condition of the painting for sale makes it impossible to decide how close to Holbein the painting for sale may be situated, and how it can be compared to the Christie's version (it seems to be somewhat less detailed), but it looks to me a painting that is clearly worth the estimate and may be worth a lot more.

"17th c. Flemish School" is by Adriaen van Utrecht

Horta, from Brussels, sells on 21 March 2016 a "Flemish School, 17th century" still life with parrot and monkey, a large (122cm by 173cm) canvas estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 Euro.

It clearly is by or very closely after Adriaen van Utrecht (1599-1653), since some elements are identical to things found in official Van Utrecht paintings.

Galleria Bosoni, Italian art gallery, has a very similar work for sale as the one at auction here, with similar dimensions as well (116 by 164 cm). That one is signed and in much better condition, the one for sale has suffered damage and probably too heavy restauration. Perhaps it is a copy, but to me it looks to be at least a Studio of Van Utrecht work, if it isn't by him (but damaged).

If it can be restored to make it look more like the Bosoni work (without turning it into a fake, just cleaning dirty layers and so on), then it should be worth more than the already considerable estimate, probably more like 50,000 Euro. But for that kind of money, further scrutiny, preferably on-hands, is of course preferable.

UPDATE: sold for 55,000 Euro!  

"Max Bruckner (1836-1919)" turns out to be Max Burchartz (1887-1961)

Vanderkindere, from Brussels, sells on 22 March 2016 a "Max Bruckner (1836-1919)" cubist aquarel, dated 1919 and estimated at 200 to 300 Euro.

Max Brückner was a German Romantic painter, mainly active in theatre paintings, and was the most important theatre background painter in Germany of his time. To find a cubist aquarel from the final year of his life would be a huge surprise.

It's another example of having a partially legible signature and filling in the blanks. M is certain, Max quite likely. B, probably, but the remainder? There is a "k" in there, but it might just as well be "Bwockasky".

Looking around for possible candidates, I first thought of Max Beckmann, which would fit the time and style, and which would have been a major sleeper find. Alas, the signature has a bit more than "e" between the B and the "ck" and not really a "mann" at the end, and the style of Cubism isn't really the same either. Max Dungert wouldn't have been bad either, but no stretch of the imagination can find a "g" in the middle of the surname.

Through further searches and some luck, I arrived suddenly at Max Burchartz (1887-1961), a German photographer who first worked as a painter. Articles like the one from the German Wikipedia make it look as if he started as a post-impressionist, painting mainly landscapes until 1922, when a course with Theo Van Doesburg (of De Stijl and Mondriaan fame) suddenly changed his approach, and he then started working in a constructivist style. This is not only partially contradicted by the same article which claims that between 1912 and 1916 he worked with Kurt Schwitters, but also by the works of Burchartz one can find online.

While Cubism had been declared dead by its creators (Picasso, Braque, Gris, ...) around 1915, many younger painters still embraced it as a new, modern style away from impressionism. Burchartz was one of them.

Not many of his paintings from the period can be found online, the best one is probably this "Little dancer" from 1920, which was at auction in Cologne in 2012 for 20,000 but failed to sell.

More common are the drawings, woodcuts, and the like, which clearly show the same style as the work for sale here. He worked in this style until 1923, when he created pure De Stijl works for a while.

The value of the work for sale? Not that much, perhaps 1,000 Euro or so. But it will attract a completely different audience than a Max Brückner would do.

UPDATE: sold for 2,100 Euro or 10 times the estimate.

"Italian School" is close to Carlo Crivelli

Vanderkindere, from Brussels, sells on 22 March 2016 an "Ancient work from the Italian School, 16th century frame" Pieta dolorosa, estimated at 800 to 1,200 Euro.

It is not really clear what they mean with the attribution, apparently they aren't sure whether it's an original 15th or 16th c. work, or a 19th c. copy. The frame doesn't seem to be the original one (but is a nice piece in itself).

In any case, the work is close in style to some of the paintings by Carlo Crivelli (1430-1495),  one of the best Venetian painters of the period. Crivelli was a better painter though, bringing more relief to his works, more detail.

The above Pieta from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts shows the similarities (especially the hand of the Virgin, but also the basic aspects of the composition and the background), but also the obvious quality differences.

Another Pieta, from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, shows the similarities in the heads of Christ.

The painter of the work for sale seems to be just slightly more caricatural in his painting of heads, exaggerating  features like noses somewhat.

I would attribute the painting to a Follower of Crivelli, but I am not sure from what period. If it is from the 15th or early 16th century, it should be worth a lot more than the estimate and easily fetch 5,000 Euro, as it is a very nice work.

UPDATE: sold for 4,600 Euro, more than 5 times the estimate and very close to my expected amount.

UPDATE 2: for sale at Van Spengen, in the Netherlands, on 30 August 2016 (lot 575). It is now described as "Spanish School, ca. 1550" and estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 Euro. I don't really see the link to Spain, and Crivelli still isn't mentioned, but the estimate seems fair enough.  

UPDATE 3: sold for 5,000 Euro, no further profit there.

"Italian School" is the work of Hispano-Flemish Juan de la Corte

Vanderkindere sells on 22 March 2016 an "Italian School, late 16th - early 17th century" Abduction of Helen, a 89 by 101cm canvas estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro.

It is probably the work of Juan de la Corte (1585-1662), a Flemish painter from Antwerp who worked all his life in Spain. The Prado has five of his works, including a 150 by 222 cm version of this same work. The Prado version is somewhat better, but has the same awkward figures and poses: to me it looks like the same painter, but taking a bit more time and effort in the Prado version.

The Prado  description says that multiple versions of this work by the same painter are known to exist. One of then can be found in the BBVA collection (BBVA is a Spanish bank with a good art collection). This version is 132 by 180cm and stays closer to the Prado version than the one for sale.

The work for sale now either has been sold or was for sale in 2014 at French gallery JMV Arts for 14,600 Euro, or three times the current estimate. There, it was described as Italian School 17th century (ca. 1640), follower of Antonio Tempesta.

Similarities with e.g. the above Hecuba by Tempesta are indeed noticeable, but the works of Tempesta were known and popular throughout Europe.

If it is accepted as a work by Juan de la Corte, it should be worth at least 10,000 Euro (some of his works fetch a lot more, but this isn't one of his masterpieces).

UPDATE: sold for 4,000 Euro only.