Very large Ark of Noach is copy after Jan van Londerseel engraving

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 11 November 2019 a large (132 by 225 cm!) "Anonymous, 17th century" Ark of Noach, estimated at 7,000 to 10,000 Euro.

While the size and age certainly explain the estimation, the quality is less than one would expect in such a large painting. Usually, only the good painters painted large paintings, as the people who could afford such huge paintings and had the room to hang them went for established names, not for some amateur. Perhaps it was intended for a provincial church, which had the space to hang such large work, but not the means or knowledge to go for a better painter.

This one is a copy after an engraving from ca. 1680, designed by Jan Van Londerseele (about whom very little is known) and published as part of an illustrated Bible by the Visscher family (probably Nicolaes II Visscher). The engraving was an impressive 38 by 52 cm, but the painting expands it considerably still (information on the engraving, and image, from the Rijksmuseum). The composition is nearly the same, except some small differences (e.g. the right-most woman is placed slightly different, and the work is made larger next to her); but the painting is not good enough to be the original of the engraving (which would have made it a good find of course), even though it is reversed compared to the printed work. It may be that it is based directly on the original, assuming that this was first a painting and not immediately a drawing made especially for the engraving.

As it stands, it will have trouble fetching the estimate, as it is simply too big for many houses, and not good enough to attract many bidders.

Leemans Brothers

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 9 September 2019 an "anonymous, 17th century" "Dog in a landscape", estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The painting isn't terribly well executed, but has some rather intriguing elements in it. It turns out to be a collection of bird hunting equipment. More importantly, some of the exact same elements can be found on better works, giving us a name and period for this work as well.

The largest, horizontal bird cage can be seen nearly identical in works by Johannes Leemans (1633-1688), a painter of trompe-l'oeils with hunting papaphernalia. One of those was sold at Christie's in 2009 for 49,000 Euro. A very similar one is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.

Another one with a very similar cage (and especially the cloth on top) also has the same bag (or whatever it is) below it. This one was sold at Sotheby's in 2001 for £14,000, not as the work of Johannes Leemans but by his slightly older brother Anthonie Leemans (1631-1673). Even the position of the bag in front of the cage, and the horizontal "arrows"(?) behind it, are nearly the same, and some other more mysterious elements are comparable as well.

The main differences are that the painting for sale is in much worse condition, and seems to have been painted by a follower of the Leemanses, not directly by either of the two brothers. As a "follower of Anthonie Leemans", it should be worth the estimate, if you can find a bidder willing to look past the damage.

As an aside, I wonder at the business model of such one-trick ponies as the two Leemanses. They were competent painters, and the produced quite a few of these works: but if you only sell one product, and the taste or fashion changes, then you suddenly are very vulnerable. It's bad enough if your style gets outdated by new painters, but if you then only have one subject, and basically just one composition (like Johannes here), then it may get hard to scrape a living from these.

UPDATE: unsold, again for sale on 20 January 2020 at Galerie Moderne with a very reasonable 1,000 Euro estimate.

"Flemish School" is copy after Hans Memling (or the Master of the Embroidered Foliage)

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 11 December 2018 a "Flemish School" oil on panel estimated at 1,000 to 1,500 Euro.

It's a good copy after Hans Memling, the "Virgin and Child" from Burgos, but with a different background (which points to a slightly later date than the original, 1510-1520 probably). That work has also been attributed to the Master of the Embroidered Foliage though, and is then in turn more loosely based on Memling examples.

The work for sale is nice (dirty and somewhat damaged). The label on the reverse seems to indicate that the work was in Spain in the late 1930s (either this, or it has been added much later to legitimize a fake). I haven't found an online database to cross-check the label to the actual records of what the Spanish  government seized or stored in these years, it might help to get much more information on this work.

If the work isn't a 19th century (or later) pastiche / fake, then the estimate is clearly to low and it should fetch 8,000 to 10,000 Euro as a good, early follower of Memling.

UPDATE: sold for 3,900 Euro, way above estimate but still only half of mine...

"Van Poelenburgh", "Van Cuylenborch", what's the difference?

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 16 October 2018 an "attributed to Cornelis van Poelenburgh" Antique ruins with Diana, on oil on panel estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro.

The attribution to Van Poelenburgh (1594-1667) is understandable, he is known for similar nudes in landscapes, but they are usually situated in the open, with rather different colouring. These cave or grotto scenes in brown are much more typical of the work of Abraham van Cuylenborch (1620-1658), and this fits nicely in with his known works.

The above  "Nymphs in a grotto" from the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen has the exact same left side of the painting, and seems to be comparable in quality (but the image is too small to be certain).

The work for sale is actually very well executed, and is at least a good workshop version.

A lot of paintings attributed to Cuylenborch (but of varying quality) appear at auction though, and many remain unsold, so the market for his work is not very strong at the moment. Despite the real quality here, and the direct link to a museum piece to strengthen the attribution, it may struggle to get much more than the estimate. Which is a shame really, as it should be worth 10,000 Euro.

Engraved portrait of James Ensor is by his friend Sonderegger

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 27 March 2018 an engraved portrait of James Ensor, estimated at 50 to 100 Euro.

They weren't able to decipher the signature (both in the engraving, and in pencil beneath it), but some research has revealed the name of the artist.

Jacques-Ernst Sonderegger (1882-1956) was a Swiss artist, a friend of James Ensor and of Paul Klee, and he introduced the work of the former to the latter. His work is not well-known and often sells relatively cheap, but he remains an important figure in the developing Swiss avant-garde from the 1910s.

This work, an engraving printed on cloth (linen?), seems to be relatively unknown, as I couldn't find any reference to it online. It is dated to 1916 (I think, hard to decipher) and shows James Ensor as (and with) "Le Phare", the guiding light.

It is hard to know how many copies of this work exist, probably very, very few. As a work by Sonderegger, it isn't worth particularly much. As a portrait of James Ensor, made by a friend / artist who is an important element in the influence Ensor had on other, later European art, it should be worth clearly more than the 50 Euro it is estimated at, probably closer to 300 Euro, but if enough Ensor lovers want it, who knows?

UPDATE: sold for 250 Euro, five times the estimate, but still a good buy for any Ensor-lover.

Nice collection at Galerie Moderne (part 4): Catharina van Hemessen

This fourth installment of the posts on the auction at Galerie Moderne on 14 November 2017 focuses on one painting only.

Lot 211 is an "Attributed to Catharina van Hemessen" miniature portrait (diameter 11.5 cm) estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 Euro.

It is probably the most interesting and most valuable piece in the collection. It was on offer at Sotheby's in 2002 as "Catharina van Hemessen" with an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000, but was apparently unsold. According to the RKD, it was then in 2003 for sale with art dealer Jan de Maere in Brussels, where the current seller presumably bought it. The RKD still lists it as by Catharina van Hemessen.

Catharina van Hemessen (Antwerp, 1527 - after 1560, presumably ca. 1580) was the daughter of Jan van Hemessen,  an important painter in his own right. She is one of the very, very few known female painters from the sixteenth century in the Netherlands, together with Mayken Verhulst and one or two nuns. As such, she is an extremely important figure, even though only a small number of her works are known, most self-portraits (like the upper image). The second image, from the Bowes Museum, is perhaps her best work we know of.

According to the RKD, the text around the rim says "wensen op sterven doet vreugd derven", i.e. "Wishing to die makes happiness go away".This may be correct, I read the first word as "Wachten" ("waiting") instead of "Wensen" ("wishing"), which seems to me to make more sense: many people spend their life waiting to die, more than wishing to die.

It seems to me to be a Contra-reformation sentiment, against the more Calvinist view of Fatalism: no need to live all your life waiting for your death. Seize the day, carpe diem! No idea if that really was the intention, but it certainly is a nice and unusual step away from the usual vanitas and memento mori paintings you get from the Northern Netherlands.

The woman is carrying a pansy, and it may be an engagement painting, send to the prospective groom to see his bride-to-be for the first time.

The head of the woman is very nicely painted, and considering the small size is a convincing piece of work. The painting seems more fleshy and less linear than most Van Hemessen works, but her known works aren't very consistent either.

Another circular miniature, slightly bigger, is attributed to Van Hemessen, and is quite comparable, although I like the one for sale more. This one was sold for 16,250 Euro.

Works by Catharina van Hemessen are very rare on the market: in 2013 one was sold for more than 500,000 Euro, but that was a full-size panel and not comparable to this work. Other works, portraits of young women, sold for 15,000 to 30,000 Euro, but this was in the late 20th century. This work though was sold in 2001 (the year before it was offered at Sotheby's) by Tajan, in France, then still as an "attributed to Hemessen", for 42,000 French Francs, or some 7,000 Euro.

I can't see this work going for less than it did 15 years ago, as the interest in this kind of work has increased, and the interest in very early women painters has increased massively. If enough people believe it to be really by Catharina van Hemessen, it could skyrocket to 50,000 Euro; otherwise, it should go for 10,000 to 15,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 10,000 Euro, above the high estimate and exactly my bottom estimate.

Nice collection at Galerie Moderne (part 3)

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 14 November a 2017 a nice collection of mainly 16th-century Flemish paintings.

Lot 206 is a Vision of Saint Jerome, by an "Anonymous, 16th century" artist, estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 Euro. It is a smallish panel of only 38 by 31 cm.

The work is clearly Flemish, but is otherwise quite unusual. It combines the typical elements of a "Vision of Saint Jerome" and a "Penitent Jerome" (saint Jerome beating his chest with a stone in his hands, with the lion nearby), with typical elements from a "Last Judgment" (the top half). I haven't found any other example where these two are brought together.

The image of Christ in the clouds (with one or two raised arms and bare torso), with Mary on the left and John the Baptist on the right, can e.g. be seen in the above examples (details) by Crispijn Van den Broeck and certainly the bottom one, the Last Judgment by Pieter Pourbus, from Bruges, ca. 1550.

I have a feeling that I must know the artist, especially the Saint Jerome seems familiar, but it escapes me. At any rate, the estimate is reasonable or perhaps a bit high from a purely artistic quality point of view, but as an art historical rarity it has some extra value.

UPDATE: sold for 7,000 Euro, mid-estimate.

Lot 209 is an "Anonymous, 16th - 17th century" Virgin and Child in a landscape, estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro.  It is a kind of non-descript Biblical scene, which may be described as a Rest on the Flight to Egypt, or a Maria Lactans, or simply a Virgin and Child of course.

Similar works have been made by many Flemish artists in the 16th and early 17th century, but this one seems to be 16th century. They often feature either a book in the lap of Mary, or a basket with cloth on the ground, or (as here) both. This can e.g. also be seen in works of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths, but the closest comparison bear the works of Barend van Orley; not really one specific painting, but the general style and elements from his works (three examples shown).

The work for sale is probably from around 1550 and should easily fetch the estimate.

UPDATE: sold for 10,000 Euro, double the estimate, worth it!

Tomorrow: more works from the same sale!

Nice collection at Galerie Moderne (part 2)

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 14 November 2017 the small but nice collection of paintings from "Madame D." It doesn't contain any masterpieces, but it has a fair share of interesting, diverse, old paintings, and the catalogue is rather short on descriptions and attributions which gives me some space to deal with these.

Lot 203 is a "16th century Flemish" Saint John the Baptist, estimated at 2,500 to 3,500 Euro. The small (47 by only 18 cm) panel was probably the left wing of a diptych or triptych.

I haven't found other examples of the same position, but the style reminds me of some works by Adriaen Isenbrant. This work is probably from Bruges, ca. 1550, from the circle of Isenbrant, and the estimate seems about right.

The type harks back to examples by Memling and Gerard David, like in the above work by David from the Met.

UPDATE: sold for 2,400 Euro, as expected.

Lot 205 is a landscape "attributed to Lucas van Valckenborch", estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro. The painting, "professionally" attributed with a Dymo label (!),  is probably not by Van Valckenborch (1535-1597), but by a follower of Patinir or Herri met de Bles. The jagged rock is typical for these artists and their followers. It's hard to put a name on it though, perhaps someone like Cornelis van Dalem (ca. 1530-1575)? The whole is evocative and typical for the period, but not really expertly executed.

A comparable Herri met de Bles is this work found at RKD, which was at the Schaeffer Galleries in the 1950s but I have no idea where it is now. It not only has the rock, but also a similar bridge and village (or cloister).

As a work by a follower of Bles, it probably is worth about the estimate: this type of work is always popular.

UPDATE: sold for 7,500 Euro, a bit above the high estimate.

Nice collection at Galerie Moderne (part 1)

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 14 November 2017 an interesting selection of paintings, in a rather old-fashioned way: apart from their regular selection, they sell the "Collection of Tables of Madame D." which is something one often finds in older auction catalogues but seemed to have fallen into disuse recently (usually nowadays either the works are fully anonymous, or the collector is named).

The collection includes some interesting works, and since the auctioneer hasn't done much beyond either copying the label from the frame, or calling it an anonymous work, they provide an excellent opportunity for one or more blog posts.

Lot 201, the most expensive at 12,000 to 15,000 Euro, is "The discovery", described as "anonymous 17th century". This large square (125 by 125 cm) is an attractive work, full of pathos: to me, it looks Italian, and later than 17th century (18th or even 19th century). The "discovery" is perhaps the Egyptian princess finding the infant Moses in a basket, although it is unclear why the painter would then show a squid tentacle instead of the infant. I can not find other examples of the same subject, perhaps it is known as "the story of X" and hard or impossible to find if you don't know that story... No idea who the painter is either, the work is good but not brilliant. Value seems a tad high, 5,000 to 8,000 Euro seems more realistic.

UPDATE: wow, sold for 65,000 Euro instead, I misjudged this badly!

Lot 204 is an "Attributed to Frans Francken", and the frame has a label for "Frans Francken the Elder", estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 Euro.  He lived from 1542 to 1616, but the work seems slightly more modern than that, more Baroque-influenced already. It turns out to be a work by or after Simon De Vos (1603-1676), known from a few other versions.

Christie's sold another version of this Lamentation in 2014 for £26,250. That version is a finished one (of comparable dimensions), while this one is either a copy or a final sketch. I tend to think that it might be the latter, as some aspects are very well done (like the man on the right), while others (like the head of Mary Magdalen) are much more rudimentary, but still giving the impression of haste more than lack of talent. The work is also sufficiently different to support the "sketch" idea.

Some details to give an idea of the quality (top version is Christies, bottom one is work for sale).

This is a very, very pleasing work by a really good painter. It seems underestimated to me, and I would expect it to go closer to 10,000 Euro, but I am perhaps more excited about such a probable oil sketch than many others?

UPDATE: sold for 3,000 Euro, people didn't share my enthusiasm...

"Attributed to Frans Francken III" is copy after Rubens...

Galerie Moderne, from Belgium, sells on 13 December 2016 an "Attributed to Frans Francken III" Adoration of the Magi, estimated at 12,000 to 15,000 Euro.

Too bad that it's a reversed copy after a Rubens from the Louvre. A fairly well-known work in fact...

As a rather good but smallish copy, it is probably worth 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 8,000 Euro, way more than I expected, but well below the estimate. Perhaps someone surprised that it didn't have a higher reserve?