Wannenes 29 November 2017 part 3: women portraits

Wannenes, from Italy, has an interesting auction on 29 November 2017.

A 17th century miniature of Elizabeth I, estimated at 500 to 800 Euro, is quite good. I can find the necklace in other miniatures, but the dress and the crown (or whatever you wuold call such a head decoration) are distinct from what I can find online in other portraits. It is unsigned, and probably not good enough to be by Nicholas Hilliard, but it still is a fine old miniature (no idea why they consider it 17th century and not 16th century), and I could see it fetch 1,000€ or more.

More intriguing is a "Female figure" by Ambrosius Benson, estimated at 9,000 to 11,000 Euro.

Ambrosius Benson (ca. 1500-1550) was an Italian who worked most of his career in Bruges, in a typical Flemish style. Most of hs works are religious, some have mythological or historical themes, but he also painted a few portraits. The uppermost portrait ,which is attributed to Benson but not certain, is quite different; the bottom one is much closer though, and other works also show the same style.

The work for sale is comparable to this Lucretia, another (semi-)nude with a similar braid in the hair. The position of the sitter can even be compared with the small figire in the bed in the Lucretia, who has the same position apart from the upraised arm.

As far as I can tell though, the work for sale is his only female nude portrait, and even more amazing is that this (based on some limited online research including the RKD) is the oldest known surviving Flemish nude portrait. Before this work, nudes were usually religious inspired (like the wonderful Adam and Eve from van Eyck), or mythological (the Hercules and Deianira by Gossaert from 1517), or allegorical (the lost Bathing Woman by Van Eyck).

But the oldest nude portrait I could find was the ca. 1540 Joos van Cleve version of the Da Vinci / Salai Mona Vanna. That nude also has a small jewel on her head and another between her breasts, which may be significant (the Benson also has a bracelet around her arm, which is just visible on the right side of the painting).

One detail caught my eye: the jewel on the head of the Benson is quasi identical to the one between the breasts of the Mona Vanna. I don't know whether this detail reveals anything about the origin of the work, or the profession or status of the women, or whether it makes the Benson a forgery where the forger used details from other paintings, but it was too striking to remain unmentioned.

If this truly is the oldest female nude portrait in Early Netherlandish painting, then it probably should be worth considerably more than the estimate. Otherwise, and assuming it is correctly dated 1520 and by Benson, the estimate is right or perhaps a bit low.

"Italian School, 18th century" is follower of Marcellus Coffermans / Isenbrandt / Benson

Bremens Belleville, from France, sells on 19 March 2017 an "Italian School, 18th century" Virgin and Child, estimated at 800 to 1,200 Euro.

It is a late version of a purely Flemish work, originally by either Ambrosius Benson or Adriaen Isenbrant in Bruges in the early 16th century, and known from many versions of wildly varying quality. This one is far from the best, but the description is so far off that I couldn't resist writing about it anyway. I wrote previously about the same composition, the last time in September 2016.

Rosebery's, from England, sells on 29 March 2017 yet another version of this work, which at first I thought was also incorrectly described as "Follower of Marcellus Coffermans 1520-1578", estimated at £1,500 to £2,500.

Coffermans? Where did they get that idea from? Turns out that Sotheby's sold a similar work (also in an elaborate frame) in 2012 as by a "Follower of Coffermans", for which they got a nice £13,750.

So, what are the two works for sale worth? The French one is the worst of the lot, and probably the latest, and all power of the original composition has been dissolved in some sweet religious marketing colour scheme. Probably about wrth the estimate, as it isn't a truly bad painting and somewhat interesting as a late example of this composition, but nothing really attractive either. The Rosebery's one is a lot better, though still a far cry from the Sotheby's version or some of the older versions shown in earlier blog posts. Still, it should be worth £2,000.

"Ambrosius Benson" is a Lucas Cranach composition

Bertolami, from Italy, sells on 15 December 2016 an "Ambrosius Benson" Virgin and Child, an oil on panel (85 by 61 cm) estimated at 50,000 to 70,000 Euro. The painting is descroibed as one of the most Italienate of Bensons paintings, showing the influence of Leonardo da Vinci.

The only problem is that it isn't a work by Ambrosius Benson, but a work by (or more likely after) Lucas Cranach. There are many similar works by Cranach, the closest I could find is kept in Austria, in an abbey in Zwetti. Not only is the overall composition the same, details like the folds in the sleeces of the Virgin are absolutely identical. The Austrian version is better (or better preserved) though.

Sotheby's sold a variation of this composition in 2013 for £962,500!

Christie's went one further the same year, and sold another variation, this time attributed to Cranach the Younger, for $1,700,000...

Other variations, like this one from a private collection, or one in Minneapolis, can be used for comparison as well. 

The one for sale probably isn't an original Cranach, although it is hard to be certain (he painted a lot, and the quality varies). If the work were mine, I would withdraw it from the auction and get it looked at by some Cranach specialists. If it is real, it would be worth a lot more; as a work by a follower, it might fetch the current estimate; and as a fake (and Cranach gets faked quite often), it shouldn't be sold. But a Leonardo da Vinci influenced work by Ambrosius Benson, no, that it ain't.

UPDATE: sold for 62,500 Euro, mid-estimate, as expected for a good "Follower of ¨Cranach" as well.

"16th c. Flemish" is another good copy after Benson or Isenbrant

Hargesheimer, from Germany, sells on 24 September 2016 a "Flemish Master, 16th century" Virgin and Child, a rather large version (107 by 76) on panel estimated at 800 Euro.

I have already blogged about other versions of this very popular work twice (June 2015 and December 2015). This one seems to be considerably better than the first one, which sold for 1,700 Euro.

It can be compared to e.g. the Carrickfergus Madonna, from the Ulster Museum, which is given as anonymous Flemish, early 16th, and has very similar dimensions. The curtains in the work for sale seem to be a later addition, the flowers may be original (I haven't immediately found another example that shows them though). 

While it doesn't look to be an original by Benson or Isenbrandt, it is a good copy, and should easily fetch 2,000 Euro or more.

Meanwhile, at Hampel (also from Germany), you can buy on 22 September 2016 another version, attributed to the School of Isenbrant and of similar dimensions, estimated at 24,000 to 28,000 Euro. While it has a much better background, the Virgin and Child are not really superior to the one at Hargesheimer (e.g; the hands are worse at Hampel), and it seems seriously overpriced to me.

UPDATE: the 800 Euro Hargesheimer one sold for 6,500 Euro, and the 24,000 Euro Hampel one remained unsold. 

Circle of Adriaen Isenbrandt: could it be by Willem Benson?

Alcala Subastas, from Spain, sells on 16 December 2015 a "Circle of Adriaen Isenbrandt" Virgin and Child, estimated at 12,000 Euro.

I blogged about another, much more amateurish version of this work earlier, but this one is way better.

It may be the work of Willem Benson, child of Ambrosius Benson (one of the two possible originators of this painting, the other suspect being Adriaen Isenbrandt). It looks somewhat more modern than an original Abrosius Benson. That this work appears in a Spanish auction isn't unusual, many of these copies can be found there, e.g. in Sevilla, and it seems likely that most of these were made directly for the Spanish market. It is in any case one of the best of these to come on the market in a long time, and should fetch the estimate quite easily.