Another copy of the "Triumph of David"

Finally a new post, I have been very busy and so have little time to spare for this blog. I have probably missed a lot of interesting paintings recently...

Hejtmanek, from Czechia, sells on 6 June 2019 a "Circle of Antoon Claeissens" Triumph of David, estimated at 12,400 Euro.

I have already discussed another copy (with the same dimensions) of this painting in November 2018, when I mistakenly thought it was the same version as the one shown on the RKD. That one was sold as "Northern School", and I placed it close to Frans Floris.

Apparently this was again one of those typical popular Flemish paintings from the late 16th century, made in multiple copies of varying quality, but otherwise very close to each other. This is a good but not brilliant copy, and it may struggle to fetch the estimate. I still believe it to be closer to Floris than to Claeissens.

UPDATE: sold right at the estimate, 12,500 Euro.

Masterpiece of Johannes Spilberg at auction in Prague

Hejtmanek, from Prague, the Czech Republic, sells on 1 December 2016 a "Johann Spilberg, ca. 1650" Judith and Holofernes, a large canvas (192 by 152 cm) estimated at 260,000 Euro.

Contrary to my usual posts, I have nothing to correct or add to this, I just wanted to bring this major work to the attention of art lovers who don't normally look at Czech auctions.

Johann or Johannes Spilberg (1619-1690) was German, but got his education in Amsterdam where he produced arguably his best work (he was meant to be  pupil of Rubens, but arrived in Antwerp just when the master had died). A student of Govert Flinck, he was a classical Rembrandtian painter. His best work was produced between 1640 and 1650 and is relatively scarce on the market.

His largest work was created in Amsterdam in 1650 for the guild of shooters, in the tradition of the large works by Rembrandt and Hals. This work of nearly 3 by 6 metres is now on display in the Amsterdam Hermitage.

The work for sale now is one of the largest and most impressive to come onto the market for years, and has an impeccable provenance:, as it was part of the English Royal Collection from the time of Charles II until 1894, when it went to the collection of Tsar Nicholas II.

The above "Jael" is a 1644 work from the Gemaldegalerie in Berlin. Less elaborate, it is perhaps more accomplished and enticing, but then again it is his best work I could find. 

What's this Judith worth? The estimate seems fairly conservative for a work most museums of Old Master paintings would love to have. It would probably have been worth more if Judith had been more undressed or more fierce, but it still is an exceptional chance to acquire a work of this scale and quality from this rare painter.

UPDATE: sold for 350,000 Euro (430,000 Euro costs included), clearly above estimate, and apparently the fourth highest price an Old Master ever fetched in Czechia. Nice!

For my 201st post, I give you a Michelangelo!

At Arthouse Hejtmanek, a Czech auction house, they sell a "Late 16th century, Italy" drawing of a "Last Judgment". At first, not much more info was given: however, the description has since changed to read that it "carries indications of an influence by the statues of Michelangelo Buonarroti." The estimate remains the same though, at 365 Euro.

The influence isn't so much the statues of Michelangelo, the influence is that it is a straight (and good!) copy of part of the fresco by Michelangelo of the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. The estimate seems rather low for an early drawing of such an iconic work, other partial copies of the same size usually fetch a few thousand Euros. UPDATE: sold for the estimate price of 365 Euro.

Of course, if you believe it to be a design for the fresco by Michelangelo, and not a copy after it, then it should be worth millions.