Bertolami, from Italy, sells on 15 December 2016 an "Ambrosius Benson" Virgin and Child, an oil on panel (85 by 61 cm) estimated at 50,000 to 70,000 Euro. The painting is descroibed as one of the most Italienate of Bensons paintings, showing the influence of Leonardo da Vinci.
The only problem is that it isn't a work by Ambrosius Benson, but a work by (or more likely after) Lucas Cranach. There are many similar works by Cranach, the closest I could find is kept in Austria, in an abbey in
Zwetti. Not only is the overall composition the same, details like the folds in the sleeces of the Virgin are absolutely identical. The Austrian version is better (or better preserved) though.
Sotheby's sold a variation of this composition in 2013 for £962,500!
Christie's went one further the same year, and sold another variation, this time attributed to Cranach the Younger, for $1,700,000...
Other variations, like this one from a private collection, or one in Minneapolis, can be used for comparison as well.
The one for sale probably isn't an original Cranach, although it is hard to be certain (he painted a lot, and the quality varies). If the work were mine, I would withdraw it from the auction and get it looked at by some Cranach specialists. If it is real, it would be worth a lot more; as a work by a follower, it might fetch the current estimate; and as a fake (and Cranach gets faked quite often), it shouldn't be sold. But a Leonardo da Vinci influenced work by Ambrosius Benson, no, that it ain't.
UPDATE: sold for 62,500 Euro, mid-estimate, as expected for a good "Follower of ¨Cranach" as well.
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