"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.

"Foreign, northern artist": original by Filippo Napoletano instead?

Bertolami, from Italy, offers on 15 December 2016 a "Foreign artist active in Rome, 1st quarter of the 17th century" Allegory of Luck, estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 Euro. The remainder of the description makes it clear that with "Foreign" they mean post-Caravaggio painters from Flanders, France or Germany.

The original of the painting however, is made by an Italian: Teodoro Filippo di Liagno, better known as Filippo Napoletano; the work, from 1617-1621, is kept in the Palatine Galleries in Florence. It is called the "Man of Snails" or "The Snail Seller". This painting is only 18 by 13cm though, while the work for sale is 95 by 75 cm! 

The work has been copied, one is e.g. for sale in Russia for 675,000 Rubles (about 10,000 Euro), but is clearly worse and in poor condition. That version was for sale at Holloway's in 2013 with an estimate of £1,000 only.

This version though is not a mere copy, as it is different in many details: not just the colours, which might have been caused by a copy after an engraving or drawing, but also the attributes on the table. The cat on the right side of the seller is also much more clearly visible in the work for sale than in the known Firenze version.

Which brings us to the main question; is this a copy, an alternative version, or even the original version? If it is a copy, the estimate is clearly too high. If it is the original, I guess it could well reach 50,000€, as people like to have a name for the artist, and having another version in a major museum isn't too bad either.

UPDATE: sold for 37,500 Euro, above the highest estimate! I guess a few people hoped (or knew) that this is indeed the original.

UPDATE 2: for sale at Hampel on 26 September 2018, with an estimate of 25,000 to 35,000 Euro again. Described as "17th century painter" (no country), but with an Italian title. No mention of the link with Napoletano. I guess the previous seller hoped that it would be the original, but that on closer inspection this still seems dubious?

An unknown Christian van Donck

Bertolami sells on 17 December 2015 a "Dutch master, mid 17th century" Saint Jerome in his study, estimated at 3,000 to 3,500 Euro.

It isn't the usual Jerome known from Marinus van Reymerswael and other similar Durer-inspired masters, but a composition for which I found only one other example. It was attributed to Van Reymerswael when it was sold at Bernaerts from Antwerp in 2010, but has been changed to "attributed to Christian van Donck" since, as can be seen at RKD.

Comparing the two works, it looks as if the figure is better in the RKD version, while the attributes are better in the work for sale. Comparing with the very few other Van Donck paintings one can find on auction sites or the RKD shows that the composition and individual elements are very similar, but that the overall quality is somewhat less, even though it is still a good painting. Looking at what the other Van Doncks have fetched, I would estimate this one at some 15,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 5,500 Euro, almost double the estimate but probably still a bargain.

"17th century anonymous" is copy after 1711 painting by Nattier

Bertolami Fine Arts, from Italy, sells on 17 December 2015 a "17th century, anonymous" Joseph and the wife of Putifar, estimated at 4,000 to 4,500 Euro.

It is a good enough copy after the painting by Jean-Baptiste Nattier from 1711, now in the Hermitage, but as a copy (and definitely not a 17th century painting) it isn't worth the estimate.

UPDATE: sold for 3,800 Euro, more than I expected.

"Caravaggesque Anonymous" or Bartolommeo Cavarozzi

Bertolami, from Italy, sells on 17 December 2015 a "Anonymous caravaggesque painting" of Christ healing the sick, estimated at 4,000 to 4,500 Euro.

Either it is a copy with the same dimensions but in a worse condition, or it is the same but deteriorated (badly cleaned?) painting as a work sold in 2001 as a "Bartolomeo Cavarozzi" (1587-1625), an Italian Caravaggist painter. I haven't been able to find out where the work was offered and if it has been sold (and for how much). If someone knows more about it, please let me and the readers know!

Interestingly, the other one was sold as a "Death of Joseph", so even the subject seems to be uncertain (or an attempt has been made to disengage this sale from the previous one?). If it is by Cavarozzi, it should be worth much, much more, even in this state.

UPDATE: sold for 15,000 Euro, more than three times the estimate, as expected!