Underestimated Entombment by unknown German master

Brussels Art Auctions, from Belgium, sells on 5 February 2019 a "German School, 16th / 17th century" Entombment, estimated at 5,000 to 8,000 Euro.

It is a beautiful painting in the International Gothic style, which one can find all over Western Europe, but this example indeed looks German. It seems unlikely that it would be a 17th century work, it would be very archaic by then, and is much more likely to be early 16th century, or even second half of the 15th century.

There were many masters (known by name or with a notname) in Germany at the time, and I am not very familiar  with most of them, so I have been unable so far to pinpoint an artist or region for this work. Even so, I believe it to be severely underestimated, and think it will easily fetch 25,000 to 30,000 Euro instead.

One artist who has created similar works is Caspar Isenmann (1410-1472), from Colmar (now in France, but art historically situated in Germany).

Another work which matches the one for sale in some aspects (especially the balding man and his clothing) is an altarpiece by Martin Schongauer, also from the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar.

The Virgin in the work for sale strongly reminds me of Flemish examples, e.g. by Quentin Massys (the Lamentation from Museum M in Leuven). But the remainder of the work offered here is more archaic, with its strict horizontality and lack of background, and is closer to Flemish examples like the works of Dieric Bouts (who was popular in Germany).

An Entombment by a Master from Cologne, dated to the first decade of the 16th century and now in the Art Institute of Chicago, also reminds me somewhat of the work for sale.

For comparison, a Spanish example (Pedro Sanchez de Castro) with a similar iconography, including the Gothic panels in the tomb, but a quite different execution.

I have not touched upon depictions of the entombment in other art forms, including miniatures and stained glass windows, and especially the large sculptures one can found in churches in Germany and especially France. But one of these caught my eye, a Grablegung from the Saint Michael Church in Schwäbisch Hall, from 1456. It is probably the closest composition to the one for sale here, with the man at the head, and especially with the position of the hands and feet of Jesus. Whether this is a coincidence or points to a Swabian origin of the painting (considering that the Swabian School was a rather important group of painters in these years) is not clear.

Abraham van Diepenbeeck, Gerard Seghers, or someone else?

Brussels Art Auctions, from Belgium, sells on 5 February 2019 an "attributed to Abraham van Diepenbeeck" drawing (well, a brunaille, a monochrome brown painting) of the Adoration of the Shepherds, estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 Euro.

It's a very nice oil sketch, by an accomplished artist, but I don't immediately see the link to Van Diepenbeeck (1596-1675). To me, the work seems more closely related to the work of Gerard Seghers (1591-1651).

Many aspects of this work go back to works by Rubens and especially Jacob Jordaens, including the maid with the jug on her head, or the discarded jug in the front, and the cow or ox looking at the spectators from the side. Other aspects, like the shepherd on the right carrying the sheep, can be found at David Teniers (Collection Custodia, copy by Teniers after Schiavone); this work has the ox looking at you as well, and a quite similar position of the Virgin and the kneeling shepherd on the left, so it may have been the direct inspiration for the composition for sale.

Like I said, I haven't found a similar Van Diepenbeeck, but the RKD lists the above Adoration by Gerard Seghers, from the Saint Vincent church in Soignies (Belgium). It has many similar elements (girl with the jug, position of the shepherds, head of the kneeling shepherd, ox on the left, ...) Enough to attribute it to Seghers? No, there have been too many painters creating similar works in this period.

But while Van Diepenbeeck has created at least one Adoration of the Shepherds as well, it doesn't look very similar to me. (Engraving by Cornelis Galle II, image from the Rijksmuseum).

In a strange coincidence (or a case of selection or perception bias?), a painting based on the same composition is now for sale at Scheublein, Germany, on 1 February 2019. It is described as "Unknown, 17th / 18th century", and is actually smaller than the brunaille (30 by 35 cm vs. 44 by 56 cm). It is estimated at only 150 Euro, and sold without limit. It is a strange hybrid, with the shepherd on the right copied nearly exactly, and the virgin reversed left-right, apart from her head which maintains the original direction. Weird! It seems that there should be other versions (or an engraving) out there where this is based on, and which may tell us more about the original artist.

Having said all that, what about the estimate? It's quite steep, certainly without any certainty about the original artist. It seems unlikely that it is by any of the truly greats like Rubens, although perhaps Jordaens is a possibility. For a more minor artist (compared to Rubens or Van Dyck), 10,000 Euro is a lot, but it is a large, finished, and good work, and a finished painting of this quality would easily fetch a lot more, so I guess that the price is reasonable, though hardly a bargain.

"Circle of Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert" is by or close by Erasmus Quellinus II

Van Ham, from Germany, sells on 30 January 2019 a "Circle of Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert" Virgin and Child with John the Baptist, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

The work is a typical Antwerp work from around 1650, strongly inspired by Rubens and especially Van Dyck, and clearly made by a talented painter.

It doesn't really look like Bosschaert to me, but I have found another artist with a similar style and with some elements in other works which are very close to the one for sale: Erasmus Quellinus II (1607-1678) (I know, it would have been more of a surprise if I hadn't put it in the title of this post, but this make searching for it easier afterwards 😊)

The above work is from the Museo de la Fundación Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid, and dated to about 1640. Especially the child is nearly identical, but also many other aspects in the work for sale remind me of the Quellinus. The condition is a lot worse, and makes it harder to judge if it may really be by him, or by a good follower: my gut instinct tells me that it probably is a real Quellinus II though.

Even in this condition, it should probably be worth 5,000 Euro; and it seems likely that the work will reappear, beautifully restored, at auction or at an art fair next year.

UPDATE: sold for 7,000 Euro!

"Style of Van Reymerswael" is a copy after Quinten Massys (or Van Eyck?)

Van Ham, from Germany, sells on 30 January 2019 an "In the style of Martin van Reymerswaele" Money changers, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

While one of the well-known compositions by van Reymerswaele is a similar work, this actual composition is not by him but by Quinten Massys, from 1514, now in the Louvre. The work for sale is clearly not of the same quality, but it has some interesting differences. Most noticeable is the Eyckian mirror, which is no longer placed on the table but now hangs on the wall, and shows the two main characters instead of a third figure (the artist?). The remainder of the background has become a lot more bland as well, and the woman now has a ledger instead of a beautiful prayer book, which is perhaps more realistic but less appealing.

The work by Reymerswaele (here shown in the version of the Prado) is also based on the Massys, but diverges on many points not copied by the version for sale. A copy of the Massys seems to be much rarer than one of Reymerswael, and the changes in this version may point to a lost Massys original, as they seem beyond the grasp of the copiist. As there is speculation that the Massys is a copy after a lost Van Eyck, it might even be that the work for sale is based on the Van Eyck, but now I'm being very optimistic.

The estimate is probably about right, but the work is more interesting than the description indicates.

UPDATE: sold for 3,800 Euro!