Utrecht Caravaggist "Judith" at Bukowski's

Bukowski's sells on 15 June an "Unknown artist, 18th century" painting of Judith, 97 by 125 cm, estimated at 1,600 Euro but at the moment already slightly surpassing that estimate. UPDATE: and it sold for more than 17,000 Euro! It racked up 58 bids. A real sleeper...

It is a very nice painting, clearly underestimated, but hard to attribute. The style is post-Caravaggio, and looks to me more like the Dutch Caravaggists than Italian, although the rather sensuous look of Judith (but without the overt eroticism of many Judith paintings) reminds me of some French painting as well.

The painting has been damaged in the past, it looks as if the varnish has been cleaned too aggressively, which may also explain why the original painting has become visible beneath the sword and sword hand. It's as if the painter originally wanted to show Judith holding the head, and decided afterwards to make it more a "flagrante delicto" scene, with the sword still in her hand.

The painter gets very nice effects by minimal pictural means, a bit like Frans Hals and some other Dutch painters of the 17th century.

If I had to place the painting somewhere, I would look at the Utrecht school of Caravaggists, someone like Hendrick ter Brugghen (his "Esau" pictured, note the old woman, and the greytone man at the right), although he is normally a more precise, less loose painter. This applies even more to Honthorst or Baburen. Ter Brugghen or Van Bijlert seem the closest in style to the painting for sale, but I doubt that either of them is the artist.

After(?) Adriaen van Utrecht

At Raynaud, a French auction house, they sell on 9 April a damaged but as far as I can see pretty well painted wildlife painting described as "After Adriaen van Utrecht", but signed and dated 1650, estimated at 500 Euro.

I don't know whether it is by or after Van Utrecht, more pictures and information would be needed to make a more knowledgeable judgment. But it certainly doesn't look bad or obviously wrong. The style and subject could well be Van Utrecht. The estimate certainly seems rather low, but this may well be due to the condition (damaged, and overcleaned with all varnish stripped if the photo can be trusted.

In 1961, Christie's sold a "Landscape with ducks, chicken and stork" by Van Utrecht for $783 (ah, the prices in those days). No idea whether it is the same painting, that would need further research than I can now do, but it at least proves that Van Utrecht made paintings with this subject. It probably is the same painting though, as the one there was signed and dated 1650 as well. So, a painting that is now (perhaps correctly) described as "after", but in 1961 by Christie's as the genuine article: worth a gamble?