Vranckx, Pynas, Francken? Why not Breughel!

Horta, from Belgium, sells on 11 December 2017 a "Flemish School, early 17th century, Circle of Breughel" Preaching of John the Baptist, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 Euro.

The fun bit is that I already discussed this composition in June 2015, and then concluded that it was hard to attribute, as I could find versions linked to Sebastian Vranckx, Frans Francken, and Jan Pynas. So now we may add Pieter Breughel to that list... I don't see much of a connection to his work, but it is a name that sells, and when a work is reasonably good, Flemish, and late 16th century in style, why not aim for the best?

All versions have minor differences (e.g. this is the only one of the five shown where the standing woman on the left isn't holding a parasol), and all have a completely different background (almost as if the original had no background and every copiist had to fill in the blanks). This version is one of the better, but the estimate seems a bit high and I would estimate this one at 5,000 to 6,000 Euro instead.

Old attributions: Bruegel, Vranckx, ...

Apart from the countless "Teniers" of very varying quality, one often encounters paintings with old but now rejected attributions. If only they all were true... I already posted such a "Gerard David" in an older blog post, but nowadays, one can also buy a Bruegel, a Vrancx, ... for little to no money. Whether these were genuine old mistakes or ancient sellers knowingly trying to dupe buyers is hard to know of course. But it's fun to see what was labeled as some well-known painter in the past, and while some are 19th century copies, imitations or fakes, some are interesting second-rate paintings in their own right.

The above work, badly cracked in three, was a Breughel. Presumably Pieter Breughel the Elder, why settle for less? It is labeled at the back as "Ecole de Breugel" and now correctly sold as a Breugelian work. Date, origin, ...? Unknown, looks to me more 18th or early 19th century, but very hard to know from some pictures only. For sale at Carlo Bonte for 300 to 500 Euro  and described as late 16th century. If it truly dates from that period, I think it is a fairly conservative estimation. I couldn't find any prototypes for this painting, so it may be some invention by a late Breugelian painter, probably from Mechelen then as that city had the most of those apparently.

The topic of the Devil sowing while the people are sleeping has later been used in other paintings as well, e.g. the above one by Abraham Bloemaert (who has painted the same idea multiple times). It illustrates the parable of the Pares, from the Bible (Matthew chapter 13).

 Another former attribution in the same auction is a village scene by Sebastian Vrancx. Well, the auction house lists it as "attributed to Vrancx", but that seems a bit optimistic. Circle of Vranckx may be closer to the truth. Especially the figures aren't of the quality one would expect of Vrancx. Estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro seems quite correct though, an interesting painting but with quite a lot of damage, with the paint wrinkled all over the work.

And as an extra special final one, here is a painting currently listed as attributed to Sebastian Vrancx, which was formerly attributed to Breughel, Wouwerman, Callot and Carel Breydel. For sale at Jordaens on 9 February, it is estimated at 11,000 to 12,000 Euro. It seems to me to have more chance of really being a Vrancx than the other one, and it is in better condition. Interesting cityscape, with the cupola in the right background.