Problems at Hampel

Hampel, from Germany, has an interesting Old Master sale on 26 September 2018. Plenty of good paintings and interesting research material, but even the most fleeting browsing reveals many dubious attributions and estimates, things which are too obvious or problematic to happen at a large auction hous and with the prices they claiml the paintings are worth.

I already tweeted about some of these, here's a recap and some other ones I have doubts about.

Lot 639 is an "attributed to Frans Francken The Younger" adoration of the shepherds, estimated at 45,000 to 50,000 Euro. For that money, I can buy better Francken's every month...

Lisaert, from the Maidstone Museum

Another Lisaert, from a Dorotheum auction, with a comparable Virgin

The painting resembles much closer the work of Pieter Lisaert, a second-rate Francken follower, especially in the way e.g. the faces are painted. Calling it a "follower of Francken" would be acceptable, but the estimate is about 10 times too high.

Lot 627 is "Attributed to Hermann tom Ring" and estimated at 100,000 to 150,000 Euro. Which is quite hefty for an interesting painting which has no resemblance at all to the works of tom Ring (Hermann or another member of the family).

Three typical works by Hermann tom Ring

A portrait and a self portrait by Ludger

The tom Rings are a very interesting family of painters who I didn't know yet. They hailed from Münster, and the two most famous are the brothers Hermann (1521-1596) and Ludger the Younger (1522-1584). They were both inspired by the Flemish masters of the 15th century, but also by people like Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), bringing with them a great deal of realism and renaissance classicism. The opposite, one could say, of the anecdotical, somewhat Brueghelian (or Van Reymerswaele-style) work for sale.

And sure enough, the work was sold as a "Circle of Reymerswaele" at Dorotheum in 2017, fetching 17,500 Euro. Which seems both a fair price and a reasonably fair description, certainly better in both regards than what we have now.

Lot 630 is a "Flemish School, 16th or 17th century, or youth work from the circle of Rubens)" Saint Francis and the Angels, estimated at 18,000 to 25,000 Euro.

Well, you may forget the 16th century or any link with the youth works by Rubens, and best forget the 18,000 Euro as well, as it is a reasonably competent copy after an engraving by Lucas Vorsterman, based on a painting by Gerard Seghers from about 1620-1624 now in the Louvre. So date is 1625 or (much) later, value is 2,000 to 3,000 Euro probably.

Lot 632, "Circle of Georges De la Tour", Mary Magdalene, estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 Euro. No provenance given, and my gut feeling is "painted in the last 20 years". It just feels like a modern fake, though I don't have the means to prove it. The painting doesn't have the simplicity and purity of a De la Tour, but looks more like someone awkwardly aiming for it.

I realise that the work isn't sold as by De la Tour but as by someone close to him, but still... Compare it to the Magdalene from the Prado, and the differences are striking. The one for sale looks more like a Tamara de Lempicka in some ways!

Lot 636 is a "Gilles Coignet the Elder" Allegory of Ire, estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 Euro.

While I haven't found the original yet, I think it is another copy after an engraving. A rather good one though, so this might be the original and worth the estimate. I doubt it though, considering the below.

The RKD lists one other version of this work. It used to be attributed to Jacob de Backer, but is now downgraded to "anonymous, Netherlands, 2nd half 16th century". It is kept in the Museum of Capodimonte, in Naples. The Coignet one was sold at Kinsky in 2016 for 15,000 Euro, the same as the current estimate.

UPDATE: lot 627, the Tom Ring that isn't, was (of course) unsold and again for sale on 27 March 2019 with a lowered estimate of 70,000 to 90,000 Euro, and the same erroneous attribution.