"17th century Flemish School" is Italian, after Carracci

Minerva, from Italy, sells on 27 November a "Flemish School, 17th century" Deposition of Christ, a small oil on copper (24 by 34 cm) estimated at 1,500 to 2,500 Euro.

The work looks much more Italian than Flemish, e.g. the much cooler colours (which is in a way remarkable, one would associate Northern countries with cooler, more subdued and greyish colours, and the more Southern countries with more flamboyant, lively colours: but at least in the 17th century, the opposite is often true) or the way shadows are painted.

And sure enough, this Lamentation (more so than a Desposition) turns out to be a copy after an 1598 engraving by Annibale Carracci (engraved by his brother Agostino).

The painting isn't completely identical, especially the head of Saint John is situated lower, while the head of the woman (another Mary probably) supporting the Virgin is somewhat further away than in the engraving: so it may be based on another version of the original, and not on this engraving. but in any case it isn't an original, it is a good copy but some elements (e.g. the hand of the Virgin) is just not good enough by far to be by Carracci. Many other elements, like the folds in the clothing or the texture of skins, isn't good enough either. Of course, the painting is small, making it harder to get these things right probably.

Nevertheless, this is a good painting, probably 17th century, and should fetch the estimate without much problems. But for collectors of Flemish paintings it has little or no interest.