We weren't the only ones to spot this good Francken...

La Suite, from Spain, sold on 27 September 2018 a "16th century Flemish school" Moses striking the rock, a nice-sized (51 by 39) oil on copper estimated at 2,000 to 2,500 Euro.

It was a very good version, in reasonably good condition as well (could do with a cleaning), of a work by Francken (either Frans Francken II or Hieronymus Francken III), and as such worth a lot more than the low estimate (and dating to the first half of the 17th century instead of to the 16th century).

The RKD showed a worse version, attributed to the Circle of Frans Francken II, from the Museum of Quimper. The landsdcape aspect turned it into a much less impressive composition

A much more comparable version is in the Liechtenstein Museums (part of the Hohenbuchau collection, a very nice private collection containing works by Rubens, Mandyn, Jan Brueghel, ...). The main difference is on the left side, where the addition of a woman getting water out of the brand-new stream explains the look of the other two (here three) women to the left: in the version for sale, they seem to stare at nothing instead of caring for the swooned maiden on the right. The Liechtenstein version also has an additional group of three persons in the middle.

But the quality of painting is very close, with the version for sale perhaps a tad less brilliant. This is far removed from the many, many Franckens from the school of, circle of, followers of, and so on which appear in every old master sale for, depending on the quality, 2,000 to 10,000 Euro. This is a work of 20,000 Euro or more, the best undiscovered Francken I noticed since the one at Horta in 2016.

Great find, but not too hard: the auction house had 10 (ten!) telephone bidders for this one...

UPDATE: sold for 18,000 Euro, close to what I thought it would be worth!

"Dutch or Flemish, possibly based on Abraham Blomaert" is copy after Rubens

La Suite Subastas, from Spain, sells on 27 October 2016 a "Dutch or Flemish School, last third of the 17th entury" Virgin and child, "Possibly following the models of the Virgin and Child by the Dutch painter Abraham Blomaert (1566 - 1651)", estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro.

It has nothing to do with Bloemaert and simply is a copy after Rubens, a Virgin and Child with versions in the Hermitage and the Metrolopitan Museum, so not some obscure work. I already discussed this work in a blog post in February 2015.

This version is allright, nothing exceptional but not the worst either. The estimate may be slightly too high.

They have the same problem with their lot 50, a "16th Cnetury Flemish School" which is also a copy after Rubens (and so obviously not 16th century). It's not the first time that copies after this Rubens have been described as 16th century for some reason, I described a similar situation in August 2015.  The estimate of 5,000 to 7,000 is too high for this copy.

5K "16th - 17th century Italian school" is mediocre copy after Rubens (plus one other)

La Suite, from Spain, sells on 18 February 2016 a "16th-17th century Italian School" "Tribute to Caesar", estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 Euro.

Too bad that it's a mediocre copy after Rubens' "The Tribute Money" from the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Worth in the low thousands at most; but should fail to reach the estimate.

Another unrecognised Rubens copy for sale is on 28 February 2016 at Mercier, French auction house. It is described as "Flemish School, 17th century" and is estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 Euro. I couldn't immediately find the original online, but many copies float on the web.

This is a drawing by (presumably) Van Dyck after the original. Just like the other copies at the RKD, it has the to me rather hilarious title "Job tormented by demons and his wife". Estimate seems a tad high for a not very well executed copy.

"Italian School" adoration: before or after Juan Bautista Maino?

La Suite, auction house from Barcelona, sells on 15 October 2015 an "Italian School, mid 16th century" Adoration of the Shepherds, an oil on copper of 44 by 35 cm estimated at 7,000 to 10,000 Euro.

The composition is partly the same as one in a work by Spanish artist Juan Bautista Maino (1569-1649) from the Meadows Museum in Texas (but then reversed): the virgin, the child, their position, the bottommost kneeling shepherd with the staff in one hand and one hand in front of his heart... That work is an oil on canvas of 160 by 120 cm though. So, different country, period, size, ... The one for sale used to be in a Spanish collection though. One thing is clear, the one for sale is not an original Maino, whose works are much better painted (I didn't know him, but he really is a very good painter). The work for sale, while good, is more static, and subdued in colours.

But the questions remain: is the one for sale based on this or another Maino (or an engraving of the work), or do both have a common origin (I doubt that Maino based his work on this more minor painting)? Is it Italian or Spanish? Which period? If it is a later copy, then obviously it isn't worth the estimate.