Horta part 4: an unattributed version of a Frans Francken and Abraham Govaerts painting

Horta, from Belgium, sells on 25 February 2019 a "17th century Flemish School" Flight to Egypt, estimated at 3,500 to 5,000 Euro.

It is a good version of a painting by Frans Francken II and Abraham Govaerts, known from a sale at Christie's in 1995.

That version was signed FFF (Frans Francken Fecit), and this one seems to bear something resembling a signature at the rock on the right (I think I can see an F there, and then some scribbles, but they may be figments of my imagination).

This version lacks the beautiful large hat (for a while common in many Flemish and Dutch paintings), but is otherwise fairly faithful to the original. As a bonus you get a nice painting of the "Miracle of the statue" or "Miracle of the idol" (as it is more commonly known), where a "pagan" idol statue falls down when Jesus passes by. This part of the story is rarely represented in old paintings. Note the shadow of the statue, giving it a much more realistic 3D effect.

An almost identical version of this work, this time attributed only to Frans Francken II, can be found in the Uffizi (image from the RKD). The dimensions are nearly identical, but the Uffizi one is on copper, while the Horta one is said to be on panel (wood). So imagine if you buy this, you can casually drop that there are only two versions of this painting known (to me), and the other one is in the Uffizi... Impressive!

 The value seems about right, seen up close the work isn't very well painted.

UPDATE: sold for 2,800 Euro.

Vertumnus and Pomona

Hampel, from Germany, sells on 30 March 2017 an "Attributed to Jasper van der Laanen" Vertumnus and Pomona, estimated at 12,000 to 18,000 Euro.

It is not clear what the attribution to Jasper van der Lanen (1585-1634) is based on. The composition is known from multiple versions, usually painted somewhat better than this version which is very attractive as a whole, but falls a bit apart when watched up close. The original is by Abraham Govaerts (1589-1626), who was a good friend of van der Lanen. It is still in a private collection. Seen side by side, the difference in quality is amazing. It isn't unlikely that Lanen has painted some Govaerts compositions, and he wasn't the best painter of figures, but this version is inferior to his work and could better be described simply as a Follower of Govaerts. The estimate is too high as well, 5,000 to 6,000 would be better.

Manner of Govaerts or Thomas?

At Bonham's, they sell an "interior scene with figures and a musician" in the "Manner of Hendrik Govaerts", 18h century, estimated at £500 to £700. It is a rather weak painting, clearly a copy, and not worth more than the estimate. UPDATE: sold for £562. It would fetch even less if they gave it the right description, "A Physician checking a urine bottle", not an uncommon subject in the 17th century but now not the most popular thing to hang on your wall.

It looks though as if the attribution should point more to Gerard Thomas, painter of the above picture in the Wellcome Library. This one or one very similar is undoubtedly the origin of the one now for sale.

All of these go back to the most famous of these Urine Doctors, the one by Gerrit Dou. But the painting for sale more closely matches the one by Thomas. I can't find any indication of Govaerts painting anything similar, and the style of the one for sale also doesn't resemble Govaerts that much.

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!