16th c. "Adoration of the Shepherds": Italian or Flemish?

Carlo Bonte, from Belgium, sells on 27 September 2017 a "16th century" Adoration of the Shepherds, estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro.


I couldn't find an exact match for the composition so far, even though it reminds me of works by Jacopo Bassano. But in general the work looks like a Flemish interpretation of Italian examples.

The shepherd on the far left, for example, can also be found on Italian works, e.g. here from an "Italy, mid 16th century" anonymous work sold at La Suite Subastas.

On the Flemish side, it reminds me more in general of the work of e.g. Marten de Vos, like in the above engraving.

But like I said, I couldn't find a more closely related painting or engraving, so while it seems likely that this painting isn't an original composition but a copy of one or more older works (which would also explain the difference in quality between some parts of the work), I can not exactly pinpoint a time or place of origin.

The estimate seems about right though, as it is a pleasing work with enough quality to entice bidders.

UPDATE 19/09/2017: strangely enough, I found the figure of the "Italian" painting again, but now on an engraving after Maerten de Vos (by Sadeler), who I had already linked to the composition above! The Rijksmuseum led me to this engraving from ca. 1582. So while this doesn't really help us for the current painting, at least we can change the "Italian" painting from La Suite Subastas to "After Marten de Vos"...

UPDATE 20/09/2017: on Twitter,  AuctionRadar kindly showed another engraving after Maerten de Vos which contained other figures identical or very close to ones in this painting. The bowing shepherd holding his hat, some of the angels, and the figure of Joseph clearly are derived from this engraving (or from the painting at the origin of it). While I still haven't found all elements from the painting, it seems obvious that it should be considered the work of a Follower of Maerten de Vos.

Francesco di Girolamo da Santacroce

Attributed to Francesco di Girolamo da Santacroce, sixteenth-century Italian painter. Style seems right, though not his best work (and dirty!). Price: bids start at nearly 6,000 Euro and estimated for at least 8,000 Euro, is probably a bit much, but this one painting is buried in an auction of mainly Eastern European and more recent paintings tomorrow in Hungary, and probably deserves a different audience as well. Kieselbach Auctions.

Prediction; if it sells, it will be for close to the minimum price, I can't see this making the minimal estimate of 8,000 Euro though.

Added 22 December 2014

 

At Freeman's Auctions I found the following lot from 2012. Clearly the same picture with an additional figure, but painted a lot worse (possibly due to poor restorations) and in poorer condition.  This one eventually sold for some 3,500 Euro, so way below the estimate for the Kisselbach version, but that one was a lot nicer and more value for money of course. I haven't found the result of the Kisselbach auction though.

Added 4 January 2014

Sold at Christie's in 2003 as by a Follower of Girolamo da Santacroce.  Again the same model and style, this time it made 10,000 Euro. Clearly a nicer example than the Freeman's copy, with the background details and the overall condition of the picture. The Kieselbach version still seems to be the best though, even though it lacks the figure on the right (which is very badly executed in both other versions anyway). Might be a nice subject for a small study, this painting in all its versions, and what the original would look like.