Pandolfini part 4: not after Van der Valckert but after Goltzius

Pandolfini, from Italy, sells on 26 February 2019 a "Dutch School, 17th century" Laughing fool, estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro.

They place it close to Werner van den Valckert (1580-1627), who has indeed engraved several very similar images.

However, this specific one is not after Van den Valckert but after an engraving by Jan Saenredam after Hendrick Goltzius, from ca. 1595 (first state via the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, third state via the British Museum). It seems logical that this image also was the inspiration for Van den Valckert.

The text on the first state simply says "It's just for laughs".

It is an intriguing image, moralistic but in a way which appeals to modern buyers as well, and will probably have no trouble fetching the estimate.

UPDATE: sold for 6,250 Euro.

UPDATE 2: now for sale with Jean Moust for 14,500 Euro, as "attributed to Van der Valckert" 

Pandolfini part3: By or after Hans von Aachen

Pandolfini, from Italy, sells on 26 February 2019 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Nativity, a smallish (36 by 27 cm) oil on copper estimated at 3,500 to 5,000 Euro.

This Adoration of the Shepherds (a "Nativity" should normally only have the Holy Family with or without angels and animals, but without other humans) is one of many versions of a work by Hans von Aachen, where the original is either in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, or in the State Collections of Bavaria (or both of course).

Looking at the background and other details, it seems that the version for sale is of the Vienna type, and not of the Bavaria type.

This painting was popularized through an engraving by Jan Sadeler, which explains why so many copies have different colours. The version for sale is one of the better copies, very faithful to the engraving and finely executed, but even so the estimate is perhaps rather high for a copy.

UPDATE: sold for 4,500 Euro.

Pandolfini part 2: Flemish Entombment

Pandolfini, from Italy, sells on 26 February 2019 a "Flemish School, 16th century" Entombment, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The work seems, if one goes back far enough, to be based on a prototype by Dirk Bouts from ca. 1450, now in the National Gallery. The faded colouring is because this is a very rare surviving early painting on canvas instead of on panel.

But a closer parallel is with a work by the Master of Hoogstraten, now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp. This anonymous Master was active around 1500, and is named after an altarpiece from Hoogstraten, a regional center in the province of Antwerp with a beautiful grand church. This work is a piece of that altarpiece of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

It seems as if the work for sale is still later and further removed from the Bouts original; the Hoogstraten version keeps the Bouts' right side (the Magdalene and the man), while the Lamentation in the background also reminds me of the Lamentation by Bouts from the National Gallery of Prague. But the position of the Christ, and his hands, are different from the Bouts and closer to the work for sale, as is the man on the left and the posture of the Virgin.

But the work for sale is not by or after the Master of Hoogstraten, sadly, it is a copy after an engraving by Antonie Wierix of a design by Marten de Vos from ca. 1585, as found at the Rijksmuseum. It is a fairly faithful copy, but excludes the extra elements of the Passion in the front, and the (somewhat greyed out) figure above and to the right of Mary, and the church in the background.

The best part of the work for sale, apart from the composition which isn't original, is the very fine colouring, which gives the whole a very pleasing appearance. But the execution lacks some finesse, the faces are a bit rough. All in all, the painting (which may well be early 17th century instead of 16th) is probably worth the estimate, but don't expect to buy something truly original.

UPDATE: sold for 2,750 Euro.

Interesting Old Master auction at Pandolfini

Pandolfini, from Italy, sells a fine collection of Old Masters on 26 February 2019, including quite a few Northern European works.

It includes lot 53, a Death of Cleopatra attributed to "Flemish School, 17th century": this good-sized oil on panel (75 by 106) is not the best painted work by far, and the 4,000 to 6,000 Euro estimate is rather high, but the composition is unusual and rather exuberant. It is based on an engraving by Raphael Sadeler I after a painting by Gilles Coignet (example from the British Museum), but the painting is not made by a master artist, and loses most of the vigour of the original. It probably won't sell, as it worth closer to 2,000 Euro.

UPDATE: not sold, as expected.

Lot 31 is a Christ carrying the cross, attributed to the "Dutch School, 17th century" and estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro. The description references the work of Claes Cornelisz Moeyaert, who they claim is stylistically and compositorially similar. I fail to see the similarities though, the work is much closer to paintings by the Franckens.

Most of these paintings seem to originate with Raphael's 1516 version from the Prado, with the soldier on the left, Christ looking back, the riders on horses in the background, the kneeling women on the far left, ... Flemish version often add Veronica with the veil, and Joseph of Arimatea helping to carry the cross, overcrowding an already quite full original.

You can e.g. see an Isabella Francken sold (rather cheaply, certainly for a rare woman artist) at Bonham's in 2009 for £6,000; the work for sale seems slightly later, but has many similar elements and style. E.g. the Veronica is easily comparable.

The above Hieronymus Francken also shares some elements, and is closer in general (the direction of the composition). All the Francken works seem to have gigantic crosses though, especially the crossbeam is way larger than in the work for sale, so perhaps some other artist or circle needs to be found. I need to look further, but the direction of Simon de Vos or similar artists seems promising.

The work is actually very good, and severely underestimated. It should fetch 8,000 to 10,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 3,250 Euro, above estimate but still cheap.

UPDATE 2: on 5 December 2019 for sale at Hampel as "Circle of Frans Francken II", estimated 5,000 to 7,000 Euro. Should sell without a problem.

I already tweeted about Lot 40, a 17th century portrait that reminds me of the works of Lucian Freud. It lacks the refinement, the smoothness seen in most 17th century portraits, but without having the deficiencies of the typical works by lesser artists. No idea yet who painted it, but at 2,500 to 4,000 Euro it seems cheap.

UPDATE: sold for 3,375 Euro.

Tomorrow: more!

"Flemish School" is copy after Rubens

Pandolfini, from Italy, sells on 13 February 2018 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Bacchic scene with a satyr, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 Euro.

Some other versions of the same work have appeared at auction over the last few years.

The first one was sold as a "Follower of Rubens", lacks the upper half of this work, and has a tigress instead of some dog.

The second was described as "circle of Rubens" and has the same satyr, but is even more different in other aspects.

All seem to go back to a composition by Rubens. I haven't found the original, but an engraving by Lucas Vorsterman can be found at the Rijksmuseum. While the satyr and animal clearly are taken from this work, all copies have putti which this version of the original hasn't. So it may well be that another Rubens original exited with these variations.

The work for sale has some good elements, and overall it is a good composition, but the work is very brown  (and unlikely to become colourful when cleaned, I think), and has many elements which are rather sketchy as well (as in the second image). This is not du to the scale of the work; it is a large canvas, 174 by 126 cm, so such deficiencies will be more apparent in real life.