Wise and Foolish Virgins

Accademia Fine Art, from Monaco, sells on 17 December 2017 an "Attributed to Frans Francken" scene of merrymaking, estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 Euro.

The scene is the Parable of the 5 Wise and the 5 Foolish Virgins, which was quite popular in the 17th century in Flanders and is known from a few recurring compositions (see e.g. my post from April 2015).

This one can indeed be situated with the Franckens, although one sold at Christie's in 2009 was attributed to Pieter Lisaert, according to the RKD. That one fetched $25,000. The main difference, apart from the quality and condition, seems to be the castle scene on the upper right, where the foolish virgins are drinking wine. Daring! The dimensions are nearly identical though (72 by 105 vs. 73 by 104)

Another version is attributed to Francken.

The copy for sale is rather weak and definitely not made by Francken himself, and the estimate seems rather steep. Getting 3,000 to 4,000 for it would be a very good result.

UPDATE: not sold, again for sale on 31 January 2018 (now as a Frans Francken II, not "attributed to"!) with an estimate of 3,200 to 3,800 Euro, which is more realistic but still optimistic.

A nice Flemish drawing at the same auction (which had already been offered last year, if my memory doesn't deceive me), is actually a copy after Gerard Seghers (engraving by Paulus Pontius). The 320 Euro estimate certainly isn't excessive, but don't expect to buy an original design by a master...