A costly tear

Rops, from Belgium, sells on 16 June 2019 a "Baron Gros" Battle of Lodi, estimated at 160 to 240 Euro.

This work, which supposedly is an oil sketch by Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835), pupil of David and a very important classicist French painter in his own right. Despite the ugly tear at the upper left (at the top of the mountain), it is a remarkably low estimate for a work by this painter..

Certainly when compared with the estimate it had last year, when it was for sale at the important Accademia auction in Monaco (but with a Belgian collection), an auction I commented on at the time (but not about this painting). It was then described as "French School, 18th century, attributed to Gros", with an estimate of 15,000 to 20,000 Euro!! Oh, and it didn't have that tear then...

So, a much firmer attribution now, for one hundredth of the price, but with serious (but reparable) damage... I have found no references to a finished painting by Gros with this subject.

Marten van Valckenborch or Gillis Van Conincxloo

Bremens & Belleville, from France, sells on 16 June 2019 an "Attributed to Marten van Valckenborch" Alexander and Diogenes, estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro.

The RKD lists two other versions of this work, both attributed to & "Follower of Gillis Van Coninxloo II".

The first is a drawing in the British Museum, with some detail differences in the composition but basically showing the same work, but by a different hand.

The second work was sold at Tajan in 2008, according to the RKD. At first I thought it was this work (but cleaned) that reappeared at auction now, as it has the same dimensions (50 by 66 cm) and the same crack in the middle. However, closer inspection show some differences, e.g. in the castle at the right (more elegant in the Tajan version), or in the people directly to the left of the central tree, which can't be explained by cleaning only. So it looks as if these are two versions of this work by the same hand or workshop.