An unrecognised copy after Jacob de Backer (and one after Pieter Coecke)

Herbette, from Doullens, in France, sells on 15 December 2019 a "Dutch School, 17th century" Music for the Gods, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

It is a more colourful but slightly stilted version of an "Apollo and Pan" by Jacob de Backer, sold at Christie's last year for £22,500. That one was 107 by 149 cm, the one for sale is only 55 by 72 or about half size (well, quarter size by surface area, half size by any single dimension).

Even as a copy it seems underrated and should probably go for closer to 5,000 Euro.

The same auction also has as lot 290 a "Northern School, 17th century" Holy Family, estimated at 800 to 1200 Euro.

It is a copy after Pieter Coecke (workshop version shown, other variations are known as well), not the best but interesting at that price. Note how the hand of the virgin offering her breast to the child, has been changed in the more "modest" version for sale to a hand giving a benediction.

Selected works from French auctions

Browsing to Interenchères (the site grouping most French auctions, apart from the Drouot group mainly), I came across some copies or otherwise interesting paintings which on their own don't merit a blog post, but together may bring some light entertainment.

Versailles enchères sells on 4 May 2019 a "French School, in the manner of Jean Fouquet" portrait of a gentleman, estimated at 80 to 100 Euro. It is a very small panel (17 by 11,5 cm), and the estimate seems to indicate a much later date. However, I see no obvious reason to dismiss this painting as a later work, and the actual date on it (1545, though there may be some "I" missing at the end) is perfectly in line with the style of painting, clothing, beard, ... It is not good enough to be by Fouquet or the like, and I haven't been able to identify the sitter, but if it is an original from 1545, it should be worth 2,000 Euro or thereabouts.

Poitiers enchères sells on 11 May 2019 an "Icon" of the Virgin and Child, a panel painting of just 23 by 17 cm, estimated at 50 to 100 Euro.

It is a copy of the Cambrai Madonna, a 15th(?) century painting thought at the time to be actually painted by Saint Luke (and thus showing the "true image" of the Virgin), copied hundreds of times, and influential in bringing the post-Byzantine style to France and the Netherlands (I already discussed this in a previous post about another copy). This one is probably 17th or 18th century, but is charming and should be worth 500 Euro.

Herbette, in Doullens, sells on 12 May 2019 a "Flemish School, 16th century" Apostle in an Italienate landscape, estimated at 1,300 to 1,700 Euro.

It is one of many weak copies after Maarten de Vos (probably through the above engraving by Joannes Sadeler I, courtesy of the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts) and will struggle to fetch the estimate.

The same auction also has an "Italian School, late 17th century" Presentation of Jesus to Saint Catherine (also often known as the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine), a fair-sized (108 by 104 cm) oil on panel estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro. If I had to spend either 1,300 Euro on the above lot or 2,000 Euro on this one, I would choose this one immediately, even though the other is presumably older and in theory closer to my interests.

It is a good copy after Correggio. The original, from the 1520s, can be found in the Louvre, and has about the same dimensions. This copy is painted in a more "sweet", romantic palette, an effect which is mainly caused by being somewhat less detailed and thus lacking some shadows and lines, and having larger patches of uniform colour (and looking more pink as well). But even so it is an attractive, well-executed copy, much better than what one usually gets. I'm not convinced it isn't a lot earlier than the date suggested by the auctioneer, but in any case I guess it should be worth 5,000 Euro. A slightly better copy fetched 8,000 Euro at Bukowski's, while a worse copy fetched £3,000 at Christie's in 2000, and one from the Newark Museum sold for $2,750 at Christie's in 2016.

"Circle of Van Kessel" is follower of Maerten de Vos

Herbette, from France, sells on 11 November 2018 a "Flemish School, 16th century, circle of Van Kessel" Adam and Eve, or the Earthly Paradise; a large canvas (105 by 151 cm) estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 Euro.

They don't indicate which van Kessel they mean, but that's not really essential. The painting is impressive, but the Adam and Eve are oddly amateuristic compared to most of the work. This is usually the sign of a copy, and this one is no exception.

Christie's sold in 2006 a "Maerten de Vos" Garden of Eden, an even larger work (143 by 208 cm) with nearly the same composition, but clearly better executed. It fetched $132,000.

The work had been sold at Christie's in 2003 as well, and had been restored in the three years since.

There are many changes between the work of de Vos and the work for sale, e.g. the position of many animals, so it may be that the work for sale is not based on this work directly, but on another version. But the essentials are obviously the same.

The work for sale, despite its shortcomings, is impressive enough that it may fetch the lower estimate.

A sleeper Alessandro Allori!

Herbette, from France, sells on 17 June 2018 a "French School, 18th century" portrait of a lady, estimated at 1,300 to 1,800 Euro.

At first I tweeted about it, as I thought it looked better and older than the description and estimate indicated, but I couldn't immediately find the right artist or period. But looking further and further first led me to the 16th century, then to Italy, and finally to Alessandro Allori (1535-1607).

I was first searching for French paintings of princesses or noble ladies, but I couldn't match the striking (and truly beautiful) fashion displayed in this painting with any works I encountered. A brief excursion to Elizabethan works confirmed that the work was probably from that period, but again the fashion didn't really match. Which led me to Italy, and a painting of Isabella de' Medici (1542-1576) from the Uffizi was the first match, both in clothing and by sheer luck also in style of painting.

This lead me to look further at Allori paintings, which share the same dress style, same way of painting faces (the eyes especially, but also the pale skin, the small mouth, the eyebrows, ...). Most of them are slightly turned sideways, but a few look directly at the viewer, and these are to me the best. The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna houses this portrait (either Maria de' Medici or Eleonora di Toledo).

And ultimately I came across an Allori portrait from the Fogg Museum (or Harvard Art Museum). It is slightly larger than the current work (64 by 47 cm instead of 56 by 43 cm), and depicts the same woman, in the same dress and necklace, but with a different posture and a different hair jewel. And, most importantly, the work for sale is a lot better than this one (the reverse of what I usually have to say in my blog posts).

Comparing the head and the collar clearly shows the much more refined finish of the work for sale, the attention to detail in the lace (or whatever the cloth is), the much more realistic look of the face (no matter how much it still resembles a porcelain doll), ... The yellowing of the Fogg version is partly to blame for it, but even ignoring this you get in their version a lifeless, flat cloth, painted with skill but without real vigour, real splendour. It is a very good depiction of somptuous clothing, but it is not life-like.

The Fogg version is given as by Allori on ther website,  but the Fondazione Zeri (a catalogie of Italian painting comparable to the RKD website for Dutch and Flemish painting) has catalogued it as "School of Allori", which may be correct as the quality is not there compared to the best of his own works.

While I can't give any guarantees, being a generalist art historian who has based the above on images from the Internet, not on handling the actual painting or on a thorough knowledge of the works of Allori, to me this is almost certainl to be a real work by Alessandro Allori. Herbette indicates that it has been relined and has some repainted areas, and gives no provenance on their website.

So what's it worth then? At least 50,000 Euro. And sometimes these good sleepers in unsuspecting auctions go way beyond that, surpassing what the same painting would fetch in a major auction house even, so who knows? 

"Melchers" is a nice Gari Melchers with good provenance

Herbette, from France, sells on 17 June 2018 a "Melchers" signed and dated (1900) portrait of a man, estimated at 400 to 600 Euro.

It is unclear why they haven't made the connection to Gari Melchers (1860-1932, "Gari" is short for Garibaldi!). An important American artist from the turn of the century, he also worked many years in the Netherlands, France and especially Germany.

The current painting not only is signed and dated, but it has on the back a label of the "Grosse berliner Kunst-Ausstellung", the Big Berlin Art Exhibition of 1900. And sure enough, in the catalogue of that exhibition we find more than 30 paintings by "Gari Melchers, Paris", including a "Männlicher Studienkopf", a study of a male head (well, there are two of those, but the other is a pastel).

Finally, the frame of the painting is very striking, and it turns out that Melchers has used the same type of frame for other works as well.

Now, it is possible that someone found an unsigned turn-of-the-century painting of a man's head and added a frame, signature, and label on the back which all fit together, but that seems rather unlikely, so I guess the logical conclusion is that this is a genuine Melchers from his best period (his paintings after the first World War are less interesting in my opinion).

The value? One painting fetched nearly $1 million in 200, but most are around the $10,000 mark, and this is only a study. The estimate, up to about $1,000, may be about right (the exhibition provenance should help). But the seller and auction hosue would surely have a better chance of getting this target if they clearly advertised this for what it is, surely?