An unrecognised copy after Jacob de Backer (and one after Pieter Coecke)

Herbette, from Doullens, in France, sells on 15 December 2019 a "Dutch School, 17th century" Music for the Gods, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

It is a more colourful but slightly stilted version of an "Apollo and Pan" by Jacob de Backer, sold at Christie's last year for £22,500. That one was 107 by 149 cm, the one for sale is only 55 by 72 or about half size (well, quarter size by surface area, half size by any single dimension).

Even as a copy it seems underrated and should probably go for closer to 5,000 Euro.

The same auction also has as lot 290 a "Northern School, 17th century" Holy Family, estimated at 800 to 1200 Euro.

It is a copy after Pieter Coecke (workshop version shown, other variations are known as well), not the best but interesting at that price. Note how the hand of the virgin offering her breast to the child, has been changed in the more "modest" version for sale to a hand giving a benediction.

"Bruges ca. 1550" adoration is copy after Pieter Coecke

Stahl, from Germany, offers on 29 April a "Bruges, ca. 1550" Adoration of the Magi, estimated at 4,800 Euro.

It is a (fragment of a) copy after a composition I have already discussed a few times, most recently in February 2017 (then for an auction at Hargesheimer).

This is clearly the same composition, which was made in many copies of varying quality. Thoe one for sale isn't good enough to be by Coecke, but it still is an attractive, old Flemish painting (though not from Bruges probably) for a very reasonable price.

Another version of an Adoration I discussed earlier: workshop of Pieter Coecke

Hargesheimer, from Germany, sells on 11 March 2017 an "Antwerp School, ca. 1520-1550" Adoration of the Magi, estimated at 20,000 Euro.

It is probably the central panel of a triptych, and is a very good example of the composition I already discussed at length in June 2015 for an auction at Sotheby's Paris.

The one offered now seems to be a very good work, not up there with the best works of Pieter Coecke perhaps, but certainly good enough to be labeled Workshop of Coecke.

Coecke, Adoration, Musée National de la Renaissance, France

Coecke, Adoration, Dorotheum sale, 2015: estimate 100,000 to 150,000 Euro

Coecke, Adoration, Museum of Troyes

A small detail like the pinkish colour of the turban-crown, while in itself not definitive evidence of who painted this, is a recurring touch in many related Coecke works.

The work was for sale at Dorotheum in April 2016, then correctly described as "Workshop of Coecke", with an estimate of 35,000 to 45,000 Euro. I wonder whether the changed description is the genuine belief of the auctioneer or seller that this isn't a Workshop of Ceocke work, or an attempt to hide the fact that this work has failed to sell less than a year ago and to present it as new on the market and a possible sleeper discovery?

In any case, the estimate seems correct, even though it has likely lost its wings.

UPDATE: a reader alerted me to the German description of this work at the auctioneer, which is a lot more elaborate and mentions the origin of this composition with Pieter Coecke, but considers this version to be somewhat more remote, hence the "Antwerp School" generic description.  So no attempts to hide anything, just another opinion or a more cautious approach, and an English description which is a lot shorter and which caused my confusion.

UPDATE 2: sold for 26,000 Euro, as expected.

Flemish, Netherlands, Italian? Interesting "Nativity", but what is the origin?

Hampel auctions sells on 22 September an "Italian School, 16th century" Adoration of the magi.

The same lot was sold at Drouot as "Circle of Anthonie van (Montfort) Blocklandt, ca. 1580" in 2012, for 7,260 Euro. Anthonie Blocklandt van Montfoort was a Dutch painter who lived from ca. 1533 to 1583.

Another, in my opinion better version of the same composition can be seen at Altramentum, a Spanish restorer who showcases some of their works. This version is attributed to Pieter Coecke van Aelst, who was dead by 1550 so quite a bit earlier. They correctly describe it as a Nativity, as no magi are present, only Joseph (and two shepherds in the background).

The same composition can be found in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, where it is attributed to (manner of) Joos van Cleve, and used to be described as Barend van Orley. Van Cleve died ca. 1540, so this work is going further back into time.

Artnet lists another, probably later version, after Cornelis van Cleve this time: it is slightly different, with two characters on the left (making it an adoration of the shepherds instead of a nativity). I have no information on the auction house, date or price, and no better image.

It is a copy after the work from the Ringling Museum of Art by Cornelis van Cleve, from ca. 1540.

Christie's sold in 2006 a "Studio of Joos van Cleve" version of the same work, for £21,600. I could only find this small image though.

All in all, it seems fairly safe to attribute the one for sale to a follower of Joos van Cleve, and to forget all about any Italian connection this work may have.

I wonder whether the artist has any link to the artist of the equally elusive Virgin and Child I discussed earlier. It certainly should be placed in the same artistic environment.

"Style of Pieter Coecke" compared to an original by Master of 1518

Neumeister, from Germany, sells on 28 September 2016 two wings of a triptych "in the style of Pieter Coecke", estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 Eur.

The panels are 77 cm high . Possibly they were a lot higher and not square originally: other triptych with the same or similar wings usually have sculpted, gothical frames.

These may be the work of the so-called Master of 1518 (who is probably Jan van Dornicke), the father-in-law of Pieter Coecke van Aelst.

The center of the triptych was probably an adoration of the magi (which fits chronologically nicely between the nativity/adoration of the shepherds on the left, and the flight to Egypt on the right). Other comparable works have the same iconography, or replace the Flight to Egypt with a Circumcision.

In 2010, Sotheby's New York sold a great triptych by the Master of 1518 (exceeding the estimate at nearly $700,000). The wings of that triptych are slightly larger than the ones here (43 cm wide instead of 25 cm), but the composition is identical. This gives a good idea what kind of central panel you have to find to complete this triptych again...

The left wing (Sothebys left, for sale right). It varies in details (the poor child has no cloth beneath it in the version for sale), but is otherwise clearly the same. The new version seems to be slightly more modern (the flesh tones in the faces) and painted a bit less precise, but is still a work of high quality and looks to be authentic.

The right wing (again Sotheby's left, version for sale right) as well is clearly the same work: here though the new version seems to have made more accommodations for the smaller format, slightly turning the ass to the spectator. This shows the skill of the copyist and indicates that he was an artist in his own right. This also indicates clearly that the smaller format is not due to cutting down the panels, but was the intention from the start.

In the background, and more visible in the new version, one can see a  decapitated statue (in the new version one can identify the other half lying on the ground). The exact meaning is unclear to me, but presumably this is either evil or the devil defeated by the birth of Christ, or a symbolic representation of the death of the innocent children (the immediate cause for the flight to Egypt).

Other versions of these wings have been attributed to Circle of Master of 1518 (RKD). This one is even smaller than the one for sale, and less well painted or preserved. It was coupled with an annunciation in this case.

Most versions attributed to Coecke or his studio have some differences (e.g. at the Nativity Maria and Joseph sit on the same side of the child), but a few are clearly the same composition. The top one (Circle of Coecke, RKD) is a smaller and simplified version, missing e.g. the angel above the Nativity. The second picture is from a better painting, attributed to the Studio of Coecke (RKD). Again, the angel flying above the Nativity is missing. Both versions also have a different monument in the background of the Flight to Egypt. In that image, Maria hasa whote cloak instead of a blue one. Other differences also connect the two above triptychs but somewhat distance them from the one for sale.

The one for sale seems to be the closest to the original of the Master of 1518, and probably painted directly from it. Copies from Pieter Coecke and his studio, even the most faithful ones (like the ones displayed here), tend to have more differences already, staying less close to the original.

The two wings for sale are clearly by the same hand (as could be expected). Whether they are copies by the Master of 1518, copies by Pieter Coecke, or made by someone else in that circle, is hard to tell. But they are very cheap and should easily fetch 10,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 8,255 Euro, more than double the estimate, so they were indeed very cheap.

"Circle of Adriaen Isenbrandt" is nice copy after Pieter Coecke

Leo Spik, from Berlin, sells on 14 April a "Circle of Adriaen Isenbrandt" Adoration of the Magi, estimated at 4,000 Euro.

The in parts heavily damaged panel is actually a copy after or workshop work of Pieter Coecke van Aalst. Only the position of the head of the kneeling King in the front has been changed; perhaps this is the portrait of the donor?

The style of some aspects of the work is quite different though. The head of the Virgin is much more in a Leonardesque sfumato-inspired style, and not the typical more Primitive Coecke style.

The work for sale should be worth a bit more than the estimate, but the damage will prevent it from really getting beyond 10,000 Euro probably.

Lempertz "Antwerp Master, ca. 1520" adoration may be by the Master of 1518 or Pieter Coecke

Lempertz, from Germany, sell on 14 November 2015 a, "Antwerp Master, ca. 1520" Adoration of the Kings, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 Euro.

Unlike many other interesting paintings in the auction, it has no further explanation about the artist, similar works, attribution, ... But the description seems to indicate that they were aware of the extremely similar works that exist by or from the circle of the so-called Master of 1518, an Anonymous Antwerp Master.

Perhaps the closest is the above central panel from a triptych now in the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht, which is sometimes attributed to the Master of 1518, and sometimes (e.g. at the RKD) to a follower of him.

The Harvard Art Museums also own a triptych (again central panel shown) with the same image, attributed to the Master of 1518. This one varies a bit more from the one for sale, but the common origin is clear.

The Brera version is even further removed from the one at Lempertz, but still basically the same painting.

Of course, it would be too simple if there weren't different attributions floating around as well. The above, location unknown, can be found at RKD as "Studio of Pieter Coecke van Aelst", which would date it somewhat later perhaps. It is perhaps even closer to the one for sale than the first one I showed.

The RKD also lists a nearly identical one from the Princeton University Art collections. Other nearly identical ones are this one and this one.

In any case, the one for sale is very close to the above paintings (though only the central panel), and is probably good enough to be considered a Studio of Pieter Coecke or a close circle of Master of 1518 painting. It should be worth considerably more than the estimate, anything below 20,000 Euro seems cheap to me.

UPDATE: sold for 11,160 Euro, cheap in my opinion.

Master of the Brussels Adoration or Pieter Coecke?

Sotheby's Paris sells on 17 June a "Master of the Brussels Adoration" adoration of the magi, a very nice triptych estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro and worth every cent of it. UPDATE: sold for 50,000 Euro.

It comes from a private collection and used to be attributed to Pieter Coecke van Aelst before it was cleaned.

The confusion is logical: the RKD lists only two works from the Master of the Brussels Adoration, and both have an attribution of "or workshop of Pieter Coecke", so one can wonder if they aren't one and the same after all.

Comparing the two triptychs (Brussels left, Sotheby's right), there are obvious similarities, from the shape of the paintings to the use of architecture, the way trees are painted, or the identical gift beneath the child. Other things differ enough to cast some doubts on the attribution, like the faces (especially of the virgin, who seems to be painted in a much harsher way).

On the other hand, there are also clear similarities with works by or attributed to Coecke. Of course, this can also mean that a number of these works should be reattributed to the Brussels Master, if you believe the attribution of the one for sale to be right...

The closest work I could find to the one for sale now is the "Workshop of Pieter Coecke van Aelst" adoration from the Rijksmuseum. It is basically identical in all essential parts of the composition (it is more close-up though, and has some added characters and details), and much closer to the one for sale than the Brussels Adoration.

Making the same comparison as above, it is obvious (to me) that the style of painting of the one for sale is much closer to the Rijksmuseum adoration than to the Brussels adoration. Even here, the face of the virgin is painted (restored?) much harsher in the Sotheby version though.

So, it is clear that the painter of the work for sale here is "related" to Coecke, either as a member of his workshop or as a close follower (or even as an example for Coecke). From what I can see (online only, I haven't handled any of these paintings in real life), I would place this painting in the Workshop of Coecke and not with the Master of the Brussels Adoration, but it is hard to be certain and it certainly isn't possible to rule the attribution out.

Despite his name (which is based on the location of his main work in the Museum of Brussels, pictured) the Master of the Brussels Adoration is supposed to have worked in Antwerp in the early 16th century. Attributing another high quality work to this unidentified painter is quite an important event (in the small niche of 16th century Flemish masters, that is), and seeing such a great triptych is a joy in itself, no matter who painted it.

German master, Pieter Coecke or Joos van Cleve?

At Lempertz, on 16 May 2015, they sell a "German Master, 16th century" depiction of Saint Jerome, estimated at 22,000 to 26,000 Euro. A very nice painting, no matter who painted it, inspired by a 1521 work by Dürer. Lempertz indicates that version by Flemish masters like Pieter Coecke van Aalst are known, but attributes it to a German master because of the angular painting style, and the very busy decoration.

Other sites have attributed other versions with nearly the exact same decoration to Coecke or Joos van Cleve though, so it seems that the opinions are divided.

The above was attributed to Circle of Coecke at Bonham's in 2010: apart from the view through the window on the left, the extra details at the top, and the addition of the lion (typical of Saint Jerome) on the right, it is nearly identical to the one for sale, so they probably should be attributed to the same artist (or circle).

And then there is another version in the Cathedral of Burgos, attributed to Joos Van Cleve. This one is even closer to the one for sale, with the same book on the right and a very similar landscape in the background. In fact, apart from the bits to the top which are missing in the Lempertz version, it's hard to see any difference between those two, apart from the fact that the Lempertz one seems to have slightly less quality of painting.As it comes from a Spanish private collection, and the Cleve one is kept in Spain, one can wonder whether the one for sale at Lempertz isn't a Spanish copy instead of a German one. Assuming it is old, it should still be worth a lot of money.

A horizontal version, with only minor variations but in the same style, is shown at BBC Your Paintings, from the Wellcome Library Collection, by "unknown artist". Rather amazing that with all these very high quality copies, we still don't know who painted these!