"Attributed to Frans Snyders": workshop of Peter van Boucle

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 22 January 2020 an "attributed to Frans Snyders" still life, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

This good sized work (96 by 128 cm) is painted by Peter van Boucle (born ca. 1600, died 1673), a pupil of Snyders. He worked mainly in Paris and was known almost exclusively for still lifes, often with animals in them. Some tell-tale characteristics reveal his hand.

The RKD lists a very similar work with a Genuese art dealer in 1968. The boar's head, the hare with the sniffing dog, ...

Another one was sold at Drouot in 1971.

This one is from a private collection. The way the white cloth is folded is remarkably similar.

Originally sold as by Frans Snyders (in 1972 with art dealer Jungeling), now reattributed to Van Boucle. The position and order of duck / hare / partridge(?) is comparable.

Still via RKD, offered at Sotheby's in 1990, again with a boar's head in the background. And a whole series of others with similar dogs, hares, birds, ...

Ivoire, an auction house from Toulouse, in France, offered a signed van Boucle of a similar size with again some elements very close to the one here. Their estimate was 6,000 to 8,000 Euro. The quality of the image is quite low, but one can see that the hare here is very close to the one on the work for sale, both the position and details like the ears. It also contains a sniffing hunting dog with a narrow collar around its neck, a dead duck, and a similar live chicken.

While the work offered at Vanderkindere doesn't match the quality of van Boucle's best works, it still has some elements showing real quality (like the above detail of the dog and hare), and is worthy of a "Workshop of" label. The estimate is probably about right, it may fetch 5,000 Euro on a good day.

UPDATE: sold for 2,200 Euro.

"Otto van Veen" is Hendrick van Balen II

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 21 January 2019 an "Attributed to Otto van Veen" Young Bacchus, estimated at 2,500 to 3,500 Euro. 


It is probably a work by or after Hendrick Van Balen the Younger (1623-1661), as it is identical to multiple works sold as such and also matches his style in general, more than the more formal style of Van Veen.

One smaller, darker version was sold at Piasa for 1,030 Euro.

And another, from the Circle of van Balen, was sold this year at Cornette de Saint Cyr for 1,300 Euro.

A somewhat better version is for sale with antiques shop La Credence, for an unknown price. They give no attribution, only a generic "17th century Flemish".

The one for sale now is clearly superior to these three, and the estimate seems about right.

UPDATE: not sold

The case of the Great Bustard

Last week (10 and 11 December 2019), Vanderkindere, from Belgium, had an interesting sale with a few lots I was writing a blog post about, when I came across a painting which they had misattributed and undervalued, and which seemed obscure enough to give me a fair chance at buying a sleeper for once. In the end, I didn't win, but the blog post remained unposted as I didn't want to attract more attention to the auction. So, this one is after the fact, but the auction had one major painting, and my sleeper, so it may still be interesting. Plus, Vanderkindere removes the images after the auction, so here's your chance to see a few of them. The quality of the auction was mainly caused by the sale of two relatively important collections, one from Baron Benoît-Adrien de Moffarts, and one from the Castle of Zaventem.

First we had lot 4, a "16th century(?), anonymous" John the Baptist, estimated at 1,000 to 1,500 Euro.

It was based on an engraving by Jacob Matham after Hendrik Goltzius (found via the Rijksmuseum). Even so, it fetched 3,800 Euro, a lot more than I expected.

Lot 43 was a "Follower of Lucas van Valckenborch" Flemish Kermesse with skaters, estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 Euro.

In fact, it didn't show a winter scene with skaters, but people dancing around the May tree! It was sold for 5,600 Euro.

Lot 105 was the star lot of the auction. "Attributed to Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen", the portrait of George Schenck van Toutenburg, stadhouder of Overijssel, estimated at 50,000 to 60,000 Euro. 

People clearly and rightly believed it to be an authentic work by Vermeyen, and heavy bidding saw it end at 520,000 Euro, a very high price for a Belgian auction. Not surprising, Vermeyen was one of the best and most important portraitists of his generation in Northern Europe, and his works are rare on the market, as most of them are in museum collections.

Not a record for this artist though, his incredibly powerful portrait of Joost Aemszoon van der Burch sold for 2,7 million in 2016 at Christie's.

Lot 70 was an "Attributed to Govert Flinck" portrait of an abbess, estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 Euro. It was sold for 9,500 Euro, not too much for this good painting.

 Lot 149 was a "Flemish School, 16th century" Stoning of Saint Stephen, estimated at 800 to 1,200 Euro. It fetched 1,800 Euro instead.

It is a copy after an engraving by Remondini, which I found at the Wellcome collection. I can't find much information on this engraver though, except that he seems to have worked in the 18th century, which is a bit late for this painting.

So I continued looking, and it is more likely to be a copy after an engraving by Jan Sadeler I after Marten de Vos, depicting the Martyrdom of Five Saints (via the British Museum). This engraving also has the same orientation as the painting, which makes more sense.

Lot 154 is a "Dutch School, 17th century, monogram H.V.E." Vanity with soap bubbles, estimated at 600 to 800 Euro. It sold for just 500 Euro.

It is a variation on a work by David Teniers, as can be seen in this version from the National Museum of Fine Arts in Cuba (found at RKD: looks like a copy to me).

Another version was sold at Van Ham last month (14 November 2019), also as a David Teniers: it fetched 50,000 Euro. This one is even closer to one for sale, when one looks at details like the bottles on the table or the form of the guitar (including the tassel at the end).

Finally, I found the original for the work for sale in the Royal Collection (purchased by George IV). Here as well I'm not convinced that this is an actual Teniers and not some copy (perhaps a workshop copy), real Teniers paintings show a lot more brilliance usually.

The last lot is the one I wanted to buy, but where I didn't succeed. A "Dutch School, late 17th or early 18th century" still life, estimated at 1,000 Euro.

The work seemed immediately underestimated, as it showed clear quality. It also had some rather individual characteristics, like the type of birds or the way the fruit and vegatables was painted.

Some searching led me to Gottfried Libalt (1610-1673), a German-Austrian painter. I stumbled across a work in the National Gallery of Prague showing the exact same bird, though in a different setting, but with the same typical method of painting the subjects. Other works also had similar birds and vegetables, making it quite certain that this was an unknown, misattributed genuine Libalt.

The bird, by the way, looks to be a Great Bustard, a bird most common in Spain but also in Austria and surroundings. It is one of the largest European birds, and an imposing sight, in nature but presumably also on the table of some royalty or high nobility. I have no knowledge of any other painter who ever depicted a great bustard in their still lifes, but they probably exist anyway.

The Vanderkindere work was sold for 7,000 Euro, which I think is a bargain, as it should be worth 25,000 to 30,000 Euro.

An unknown self-portrait by Louis-Marie Autissier

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sold on 12 November 2019 a "Louis-Marie Autissier(?)" "Portrait of a man", a miniature (10 by 8 cm) on ivory, estimated at 400 to 600 Euro.

Louis-Marie Autissier (1772-1830) was French, but lived mostly in Brussels from 1796 on. He was court painter to Louis Bonaparte and later to William I of the Netherlands (in both cases then king of what is now Belgium), and painted the miniature portraits of many famous and rich people from his time, including Wellington. He was a real artist though, making lots of money and dying a poor man anyway. He was the most important miniature painter of his time in Belgium, and had a lot of pupils. His works still fetch considerable sums.

The miniature is signed "Auti(f)ier" according to the auction house. Comparing this signature to genuine Autissier signatures shows that it is the largely same (see especially the distinctive A, and the strange t). Comparing the style and quality of the painting with genuine works by Autissier also shows no discernible difference. The only thing unusual is that this is a grisaille, where normally Autissier worked in colour. In favour of the Autissier attribution is that he worked and lived for years in Brussels, the place of the auction, which increases the chances of a work surfacing here. 

But the main argument why this is almost certainly by Autissier is that it is not just a "portrait of a man", but it is clearly a self-portrait, showing the same man (but a different age and position) as in the only other self portrait by Autissier I could find, a work from 1817 in the Nationalmuseum of Sweden.

Looking at the faces in close-up is rather convincing: the bushy hair, the eyebrows, the large, clear eyes, the nose (with a slight bulge at the top), the chin, ... I would guess that he is a few years younger in the bottom image though. 

So why do I only discuss this work now, a few days after the auction has ended? Well, I bid on it, and it is a bit stupid to draw everyone's attention to a work you want to win for yourself of course...

Sadly, it ended at 1,800 Euro, and I didn't win it! Still a very reasonable price.

A bas-relief after Rubens

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 15 October 2019 a "Flemish School, late 17th century" ivory bas-relief of the Judgment of Paris, estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro.

The composition is remarkable, since it is taken from a painting by Rubens now in the Prado! It seems rather unusual to find such a work, already valuable at the time, which copies a painting instead of being an original composition. Something for the demanding Rubens' collector who wants something beyond their original paintings or drawings ;-) It is based on the (at the time) lesser known of the two versions of this story painted by Rubens, the other version was much more widely distributed tohrough engravings. Why and how this one was chosen is unclear.

Oh, and the hand coloured engraving attributed to Wierick Somers seems to be some misunderstanding: this set of engravings, coming from the "Théatre de la cruauté" by Richard Verstegen, is usually attributed to Johannes Wierix (an engraver), and not to Wierick Somers (same period, but a goldsmith).

UPDATE: sold for 6,400 Euro.

"Attributed to Cornelis Schut" is copy after engraving

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 10 September 2019 a "17th century, Antwerp, attributed to Cornelis Schut" Conversion of Paul, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 Euro.

I don't think Schut has anything to do with this, not even in an indirect way, as it is a rather dark copy after a ca. 1650 engraving by Cornelis Cort after a work by Giulio Clovio (courtesy the Rijksmuseum).

Museum quality works at Vanderkindere

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells some nice works in their 28 May 2019 auction. I already discussed one at some length, but a few others with better descriptions deserve some extra attention anyway.

Lot 97 is "attributed to Joshua Reynolds", an unfinished portrait estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 Euro. I have no idea if it is by Reynolds, but it is beautiful. Only the rather harsh red in the corners of the eyes gives me some pause, but perhaps this detail may be a clue for others to the true identity of the painter?

UPDATE: not sold.

Lot 55 is "attributed to Bartolomeo Schedoni".

It is a copy of a work by him in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. This version has the same dimensions, but is somewhat simpler, so it may not be by him but just a very good copy (workshop version?). It isn't cheap at 40,000 Euro, but it is an impressive work by a very modern artist for his time. I wonder if it has been overcleaned somewhat though, or whether the pale colours are just due to the image?

UPDATE: not sold

 Lot 49 is a very good "attributed to Luis de Morales and Pieter de Kempeneer" Virgin and Child, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro.

This version, in a beautiful frame as well, is very close to the one in the Prado. The auction house correctly states that it looks more Flemish though. It also has some additional artwork at the bottom.

Another, somewhat different version is kept in the Hermitage. The version for sale would be a very nice addition to any Belgian museum of Old Master fine art, but most don't have the necessary budget (perhaps the Fernand Huts collection will buy it?)

UPDATE: sold for 36,000 Euro.

Finally, lot 103, a "workshop of Gerard David" Virgin and child, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 Euro as well. While it lacks the extreme precision and lustre one expects in such an Early Netherlandish work, it still looks to be a good close follower of David, and a very rare work on the market as such. It will probably easily surpass the estimate.

I haven't found an exact example for this work, but it indeed resembles some accepted Gerard Davids, like the above one from the Boijmans Van Beuningen.

UPDATE: sold for 60,000 Euro.

Fathers of Protestantism

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, has an interesting auction on 29 May 2019.

Lot 341 is an "Anonymous, German School, late 16th or early 17th century(?)" depiction of the Reformationists, estimated at 1,800 to 2,500 Euro.

While the original of this work is indeed German (see e.g. the ca. 1625-1650 version from the German Historical Museum in Berlin above), it is more likely that this copy is British and late 17th century.

It is probably based on the engraving by John Garrett from 1673 or later (image from the National Portrait Gallery). The NPG has all information on the different people on the painting, so I'll not repeat that information here.

This can be seen by the reduction of the number of figures at the bottom, and by the reversion of the direction of the image, but even more so by the English text on the table, which would be unlikely in a German work: "The candle is lighted / Wee cannot blow it out".

This image, with the added text, was very popular in late 17th century Britain, and is known from a number of engravings. Paintings from this version seem to be rare though, and a very interesting witness of this important period in English history. The value of this work is largely in that historical aspect, and not so much for the limited artistic value it had.

UPDATE: sold for 2,000 Euro. 

7 Nice lots at Vanderkindere

Vanderkindere, from Belgium, sells on 29 and 30 April 2019 a nice selection of lots at their monthly auction.

One of these is lot 450, which is a painting they already offered twice before and which I discussed in a blog post from November 2017. It still has the wrong attribution (nothing to do with Honthorst, but circe of Passarotti instead), but at an estimated 1,000 Euro it still is a good buy.

UPDATE: sold for 2,400 Euro, whoever bought it now missed a chance to get it for half the price a year ago!

Other lots which caught my eye include:

*Lot 55, "Attributed to Pieter Bruegel the Younger", the village lawyer, estimated at 50,000 to 70,000 Euro. This work is known from multiple copies, some somewhat better than this one. Even so, this one seems not too expensive, as a very similar one (but smaller) sold at Bonham's in 2007 for £423,000 (and prices for this painter don't seem to have dropped since then).

Another version (better painted, worse condition) sold at Christie's in 2013 for £1,000,000!

And Sotheby's sold one in 2012 for 1,2 million pounds... Another good version can be found in the Museum of Ghent. All in all, the current estimate seems very cautious.

UPDATE: indeed, sold for 540,000 Euro!

*Lot 134 is a full series of allegories of the 4 elements by Jan Brueghel I. With an estimate of 150,000 to 180,000 Euro, it is one of the more expensive lots ever offered at this auction house, but it seems worth it. Paintings of the individual elements (the above order is fire, air, earth and water) can be found with some regularity at auction, and there is also a composition of this artist with all four elements in one painting: but full sets of four are rare. These ones are small, which explains why they are less detailed or precise than some examples in major museums. The "air" is a standard composition by Brueghel (who was often assisted by Hendrick van Balen in these works), the "fire" seems to be a lesser known variation though.

In 2010 Christie's sold another full set, for $2,200,000... These ones were clearly larger, better painted, and with an impressive provenance, so it's unlikely that the one for sale now will fetch the same. Still, it gives an idea of the importance of such a set.

UPDATE: sold for 135,000 Euro, so slightly below the estimate but still an impressive result.

*Lot 259 is a set of two paintings. Especially the first one, a "Christ healing the blind", seems to be the work of a very good artist (or a good copy after a very good painting), some master from the later Antwerp baroque style. If you happen to recognise the artist and believe it to be an original, I guess the estimate of 1,500 to 2,000 Euro may turn out to be a bargain.

UPDATE: sold for 1,400 Euro, so this didn't really catch the attention like I thought it would.

*Lot 360 is a portrait presumed to be of Christopher Packe, Lord Mayor of London in 1654. The painting isn't done terribly well, but it is historically interesting and I could not find a decent contemporary portrait painting of the man, so to find one in his mayoral robe and chain is a bonus.

He does have a magnificent sculpture on his tomb though (which I found on a blog about the Pack family history). Packe seems to have played a major role in the Cromwell story, so I guess this painting may be of special interest to people fascinated by this curious period in British history.

UPDATE: sold for 2,100 Euro against a 1,200 Euro estimate.

*Lot 381 is a better than usual, and less common than usual as well, Frans Francken II: a "liberation of Saint Peter" estimated at a very reasonable 2,000 Euro. I could find no other versions of this composition, which is painted very delicately.

UPDATE: sold for 5,800 Euro, painting was indeed clearly underestimated.

*Finally, lot 419, "School of the Master of Hoogstraeten" lamentation, with a 7,000 to 10,000 Euro estimate. I tried to find a better match, but so far failed to identify an artist for this work, which is very well preserved and has some very good detailing.

UPDATE: sold for 14,000 Euro.

The auction contains quite a few other interesting Flemish old masters, like a nice portrait from 1636 attributed to Cornelis de Vos with a 2,000 Euro estimate, and a bargain "attributed to Frans Pourbus II" with the same estimate, but this blog post is long enough as it is already.

UPDATE: one I didn't list was a flower piece by Balthasar van der Ast. Estimated, if I recall coorectly, at about 15,000 Euro, it fetched 165,000 Euro instead! It didn't strike me as that exceptional, but it indicates how filled with goodies this auction was. The 2,000 Euro De Vos sold for 10,000 Euro, so that one at least I got right. And the Pourbus went for 24,000 Euro against a 2,000 Euro estimate.