Teniers miniature

Ginhart, from Germany, sells on 12 August 2016 a "Fine Miniatur", 6,5 by 8 cm, painted on ivory and estimated at 200 Euro.

It is rather unusual miniature as it is a fairy good copy after Teniers (I presume, I haven't found this specific work but he has many very similar ones). I certainly would rather have this than many "real" larger size Teniers copies on canvas, even though it is closer to kitsch than to art.

Original by Hendrik Govaerts or Balthasar Van den Bossche

Sometimes even the weakest painting can lead to interesting quests. The above, a visit to the atelier of a painter, is a very poor work but clearly derived from a better one. This one is for sale at Ginhart and is rather overpriced at 1,500 Euro.

It is situated in the circle of Balthasar Van den Bossche. The above painting has been attributed to Van den Bossche, so this link seems obvious: even though different in many details, it is clear that the one for sale here has taken the central part (the painter, the painting, the two watchers) directly from this painting. Unless...

this painting, attributed to Hendrik Govaerts (which looks to be the exact same painting, but either cleaned or with different lighting), is the real origin!