Flemish School "Rest on the Flight"

Loeckx, Belgian auction house, sells on 24 November 2015 as lot 337 a "Flemish School, 16th century" Rest on the Flight to Egypt, estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 Euro.

The same composition, but in a horizontal version, is listed at RKD as "Anonymous Antwerp Manierist or manner of the Master of the Antwerp Adoration". I actually prefer the one for sale, but that may be due to condition issues.

The composition and style go back to older Flemish models, more specifically by Gerard David and Joachim Patinier (apart from the central figures, one can compare e.g. the basket in the RKD version and in the pictured Patinier version (bottom)).

I haven't found a closer example and can't pinpoint a possible painter for the version for sale, but it is a very nice 16th century Flemish (Bruges?) painting, and should be worth its estimate.

Flemish portrait, ca. 1600

At Quai des enchères in Macon, France, they sell a Flemish School (?), 17th century portrait of a man, estimated at only 500 to 600 Euro.

It is a very high quality portrait, not reaching Rubens or Van Dyck heights of course, but much better than the majority of portraits of that age. The collar and clothing are loosely painted and may have influenced the estimate negatively, but the head is very accurately and convincingly rendered, with beautiful attention to detail.

The style of clothing can be found in many portraits ranging from about 1575 to 1625, but the manner of painting in the face seems more modern than that used by late 16th century painters like Adriaen Key. It's not certain to be Flemish, it could be Dutch, but the guess of the auctioneer to locate it in Flanders seems the most likely. I was first going to try to attribute it, but when I look at the RKD, I notice that many good portraits there are anonymous as well, so it seems to be pretty hard to do this right. So no name, but it should be worth at least a 1,000 Euro even without sitter or painter known.

"Flemish School" is copy of Pellegrino Tibaldi

At Sotheby's they sell on 29 April in the Old Masters auction a "Flemish School, 17th century", "Venus and Minerva in a landscape", a small (23 by 17) oil on paper estimated at £8,000 to £12,000. UPDATE: sold for £10,000, so either I was mistaken or the buyer didn't read my blog first :-)

This seems a rather ridiculously high price for a mediocre copy of a painting by (circle of) Pellegrino Tibaldi from the late 16th or early 17th century, now in the Rijksmuseum. Perhaps the auctioneers thought it was an original Flemish invention? Anyway, compared to the other things one can buy for this kind of money, it really isn't worth it.

Flemish Master or Il Todeschini?

At Henry's Auktions, 28 February 2015, they sell a "Flemish master, 17th or 18th century", estimated at 2,400 Euro. At first glance, I could understand the attribution, as it vaguely resembles the work of Joachim Beuckelaer and the like, but further research showed that the same picture has been for sale at Hampel's Auktions some years ago as a work attributed to Il Todeschini (Giacomo Francesco Cipper), 1664-1736, an Austrian painter. It was then estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 Euro but as far as I can see failed to sell. UPDATE: sold for 2,928 Euro.

Compared to another Todeschini painting, like the one above that sold for 23,500 Euro in 2007, it looks similar in some aspects (like the right arm), but quite different in coloring and character.

But when looking at one that was sold in 2012, it clearly is very similar (the eyes, the flesh, ...). Still, while the painting for sale is more Todeschini than Flemish, I would call it "school of" or something similar, as it seems to be lacking in details.

Flemish, portrait of a doctor, ca. 1600

For sale at Briscadieu in Bordeaux, 28 February 2015, lot 5, with an estimate of 3,000 to 4,000 Euro; a portrait of a man with his hand on a skull and a "cure-oreille", an ear pick, around his neck. Described as "Dutch School, ca. 1590".

The same painting was for sale at Hampel, in Germany, three years ago, with an estimate of 10,000 to 15,000 Euro (as far as I can tell it wasn't sold then). Perhaps it is due to the pictures, but it looks as if the painting has been cleaned or restored in the years inbetween, and that this hasn't done the picture any good: while the cape is more visible now, the face looks worse, which gives the painting an impression of lesser quality. At Hampel, it was described as "Flemish School, 17th century", so both the age and location have somewhat changed in the current auction.

It's an interesting image, but until someone identifies the sitter (from the weapon at the top right), it will be hard to sell it for much more than the current estimate. Perhaps for an art-loving ear surgeon?