"Follower of Pieter Pourbus" is follower of Gillis Mostaert instead

Vassy & Jalenques, from France, sells on 14 March 2020 a "Flemish School, ca. 1600, follower of Pieter Pourbus" Adam and Eve, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The work doesn't resemble the paintings by Pieter Pourbus really, and some searching shows that it is based on a work by Gillis Mostaert instead.

This engraving by Jan Sadeler (from the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum) shows the same central element, and clearly attributes the "invention" of the composition to Gillis Mostaert. As both artists are almost contemporaneous, there is no reason to doubt this.

I don't know if the changes to format and the animals depicted within are due to the imagination of the copy-painter, or if a version existed with this format as well. It may even be that this is the actual original, there isn't much material to compare with (most extant Mostaert paintings are rather different busy city or village views). The work for sale certainly is good, but probably not good enough to be an original.

Even so, it should not have any trouble getting the estimate if people see it for what it is.

Half a Mostaert for a tenth of the price! Plus: finally found: the original artist behind this composition

Galerie de Chartres, located in an old church in France, sells on 8 April 2018 a "Flemish School, early 17th century" Crucifixion, estimated at 400 to 600 Euro.

It is the same composition I already discussed in February 2017 and December 2017. Most versions are given to Gilles Mostaert, some to Denys Calvaert. I said that it was an original composition by Mostaert, but the auction here correctly points out that it is directly based on a crucifixion by Marcello Venusti (1512-1579).

A good version of this painting is housed in Campion Hall. Their interesting page on it makes it clear that the composition is in its turn based directly on a drawing by Michelangelo (and the painting was even thought for a while to perhaps be an original by Michelangelo). Venusti seems to have often taken his inspiration from Michelangelo, as with this other blog post about a work by him.

That drawing by Michelangelo can be found in the British Museum. It's interesting to see how a work by Michelangelo became so popular in Flanders nearly a century later

Most versions I have shown have drifted further and further away from the Italian original, this one though is still rather close, with the angel(?) underneath the arms of Christ.

The closest Flemish version is probably the one sold at Christie's in 2005. That one fetched $33,600, so the 400 Euro for this half version, which needs cleaning, is a bargain.

"Cornelis Massys" is another follower of Gillis Mostaert

Horta, from Belgium, sells on 12 December 2017 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Crucifixion, estimated at 700 to 1,000 Euro.

Comparable poor copy of the Mostaert composition

Something closer to the original

More elaborate one

It is attributed on the frame to Cornelis Massys (1508-1556), but this is rightly rejected by the auction house. It is yet another copy of the best-known work of Gillis Mostaert, which I have (with many examples) discussed in a blog post in February 2017.


This copy isn't good enough to be an original by Mostaert, but as an old version of a known work, in good condition and with some interesting details in the background to lift it above the usual Flemish crucifixions, it should easily fetch the estimate and is probably worth 1,200 Euro or so.

"Circle of Michiel Coxie" is follower of Gilles Mostaert

Rouillac, from France, sells on 20 February 2017 a "Circle of Michiel Coxie, Flemish School ca. 1600" Crucifixion, a small panel (38 by 29 cm) estimated at 1,5000 to 2,000 Euro.

The composition is not by Coxie but by Gillis Mostaert, and is known from quite a few copies.

Dorotheum had a larger example (74 by 54 cm) one for sale in 2014, "attributed to Mostaert" and estimated at 12,000 Euro, but it remained unsold.

Freeman's sold another small one in 2015 for $7,500.

This seems to have been the restored version of the above.

On the other hand, a somewhat damaged "Follower of Mostaert" version similar to the one for sale here (though of lesser quality it seems) was estimated only £600 at Bonham's in 2015, but remained unsold.

Jackson's sold in 2011 a slightly more decorative, less austere version for $1,600, but that one was much more blurry, less precise painted.

The above one is more of a mystery, as I have no idea about its location (the image comes from one of these "art reproductions" websites which are a plague but at the same time have a large repository of images). Clearly better painted, it seems somehow also more modern. No idea of its dimensions though.

Finally, the RKD lists a much more elaborate version which was for sale at Sotheby's in 2001 as "Studio of Mostaert".

So, not the best or the worst one, compared to the 6 other copies. This "Follower" or at best "Circle" of Mostaert one will probably fetch the estimate, perhaps closer to the upper limit, but not much more. But it's always fun to show the many slightly different versions of the same painting.

UPDATE:  the always interesting Twitter account "Rembrandt's Room" (Maaike Dirkx) sent me a link to yet another one, sold at Christie's NY in 2005 but attributed to "Circle of Denys Calvaert". It sold for a nice $33,600, but is clearly one of the better ones of this type (and very closely related to one shown above).