Monday 25 April 2016

"Abraham van Dieperbeeck" (sic)? Perhaps, but certainly a copy after Rubens

Cambi sells on 4 May 2016 an "Abraham van Dieperbeeck" Susanna and the Elders, a large (130 by 165cm) canvas estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 Euro.

It is said to be signed ADP (?) and dated 1589 (?), which is hard to reconcile with the dates for Abraham van Diepenbeeck: 1596-1675. One would expect that, if Van Diepenbeeck used a signature, it would be AVD or at a stretch ADB, but ADP is simply weird. I can't find another artist who easily fits that monogram either though.

The painting is an adapted copy after a famous Rubens painting of Susannah, best known from an engraving by Lucas Vorsterman but also by some copies.

This version is good in the woman and the right of the two elder men, but the other man, the fountain, and the background, are a bit strange and look to modern to me. I wouldn't dare spend 10,000 Euro on it, certainly not without more information (like close-ups of the monogram and date).

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