What's with the many artists making still lifes with blue ribbons?

Schlosser, from Germany, sells on 27 March 2020 as lot 19 a "Flemish Master, 17th or 8th century" still life, estimated at 3,000 Euro.

It is an attractive work, which looks well painted: but the image is not good enough to be certain, and it looks somewhat overcleaned as well. If you would like to bid on it, best to ask for better images first. For my blog I like to base myself solely on what the auction houses present online though.

It seemed easy enough to search: while there have been countless good still life painters, the use of such a distinctive blue ribbon should narrow it down considerably. And indeed, I soon came across Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), who used this device repeatedly. The above example, from Bowes Castle, also has it combined with grapes, so now I only had to look a bit more in detail to see if it would be a work by him, from his workshop, a follower, ... and then to decide the value.

I found other works in the same vein by De Heem, like this one offered at Lempertz with a 30,000 Euro estimate, or another one from the V&A.

But that further look also showed me works by Christiaan Luyckx, Joris Van Son, Laurens Craen,...

And then I start looking for details which are even closer to the work for sale. Isn't the ribbon rather similar to the one in this work by Pieter Gallis (Christie's, sold for £27,000)? Well, it's closer than the other ones, but the material seems different, and the remainder is also too pale to be comparable to the (too?) warm colours in the work for sale. Other details can be matched to other artists and works, like the opened pomegranate (De Heem and Luyckx for example).

So I have to step away from my favourite method, looking for similar compositions, elements, ... and focus a bit more on the tricky subject of style. And to me, among the many late 17th century artists in Flanders and the Netherlands using this device, the closest is Maria van Oosterwyck (1630-1693), one of those 17th century women artists who were easily the equal of most male painters, but were too long forgotten (or at least ignored).

She was a student of Jan Davidsz de Heem, the father of, yes, Cornelis de Heem. Oosterwycks work is characterized by bright, strong colours, shining out against the dark background. The main difference is that Oosterwyck usually painted flowers, not fruit, but there turn out to be some works by her combining grapes and a blue ribbon after all.

Bonham's sold a work for £56,000 in 2013. I have added a detail from the work for sale below it, for comparison.

Another one, with grapes, was sold by Christie's in 2003 for £20,000.

The RKD lists a similar one which was for sale with Richard Valls.

So, is it an Oosterwyck painting? I would love it to be, but I'm not convinced. A "Circle of Cornelis de Heem", that's for sure, but anything more precise than that is, based on the not-so-good painting and my limited knowledge, just guesswork. Still, it seems an interesting work for its price, it introduced me to the omnipresent blue ribbon in these works, and perhaps someone else will know who painted this.

Flemish "Lamentation": many copies, where's the original?

Schlosser, from Germany, sells on 27 March 2020 as Lot 3 an "Early Netherlandish Master, 2nd half of the 16th century" Lamentation, estimated at 4,500 Euro.

This composition exists in many versions, but there doesn't seem to be an actual original. It does hark back to a Joos van Cleve composition now in the Städel in Frankfurt, as the RKD notes, but some intermediate step is missing to explain how all these poorer copies made the exact same changes (e.g. in the position of the head of the Virgin).

Most copies are somewhat closer to the Cleve in the figure of the Magdalen on the right: in the work for sale, this has been modernized somewhat, and perhaps this version must be dated closer to 1600 than the others.

The two anonymous versions from the RKD show how much closer these are to the one for sale than to the Cleve. The first one was sold at Sotheby's in 2010, the second one was with art dealer Van der Lubbe in The Hague in 1941

Another version was for sale with Promenade Antiques, as "circle of Van Cleve, ca. 1530". All these versions have a "table" or similar in front of the Christ, with elements of the Passion; the one or sale has lost this aspect.

A very nice version was sold at Sotheby's in 2012 for $8,750 Euro, good value for money there. it is very close to the two RKD examples, but better executed.

The one for sale will probably struggle to meet expectations, as it is not the best copy, and slightly later than hoped for.

"16th century Flemish School" is by follower of Quentin or Jan Matsys

De Ruiter, from the Netherlands, sells on 19 March 2020 a "Flemish School, 16th century" "pastoral romantic scene" estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The panel is clearly made by a follower of Jan Matsys (1510-1575), the son of Quentin Matsys. Jan often used the same male head in his satirical pieces, like the above "Prodigal Son" from Petworth House.

But the same head also appears in works by his father, like the "Ill-matched lovers" from the National Gallery in Washington.

Closer comparison clearly shows the similarities, and the differences, which are partly due to the worse condition of the one for sale. I have also mirrored the head from the Jan Massys to show again the same origin.

I couldn't find an equally matching example for the head of the woman, but it still clearly fits in the range of caricatural older woman depicted by both Massyses.

The man's head is by far the best part of the work for sale: if it all had been like that, I would have probably put it down as a workshop copy, not the work of a follower, and would have adjusted the value upwards accordingly. As it stands though, it still is an interesting work from the period, and should easily fetch the estimate.

A nearly identical work (almost the same dimensions as well) was sold by Hampel in 2014, estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro, and described correctly as "follower of Quentin Massys". I don't know if it was sold, and for how much. The bottom of the two is the De Ruiter one, for ease of comparison.

"Follower of Pieter Pourbus" is follower of Gillis Mostaert instead

Vassy & Jalenques, from France, sells on 14 March 2020 a "Flemish School, ca. 1600, follower of Pieter Pourbus" Adam and Eve, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The work doesn't resemble the paintings by Pieter Pourbus really, and some searching shows that it is based on a work by Gillis Mostaert instead.

This engraving by Jan Sadeler (from the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum) shows the same central element, and clearly attributes the "invention" of the composition to Gillis Mostaert. As both artists are almost contemporaneous, there is no reason to doubt this.

I don't know if the changes to format and the animals depicted within are due to the imagination of the copy-painter, or if a version existed with this format as well. It may even be that this is the actual original, there isn't much material to compare with (most extant Mostaert paintings are rather different busy city or village views). The work for sale certainly is good, but probably not good enough to be an original.

Even so, it should not have any trouble getting the estimate if people see it for what it is.