Saint Magdalene with Putti: a Cornelis van Poelenburgh?

Veritas, from Spain, sells on 22 May 2018 a "Flemish School, 17th century" Magdalene, estimated at 1500 to 2,000 Euro.

While the Mgadalene has clearly suffered through the ages and gives the impression of being the work of a third-rate painter, the overall composition and the execution of the many putti show more skill and make the work more interesting. Whether the same acceptable level of quality is hidden beneath dirt and overpaint for the Magdalene as well, or whether this is all that remains and the details have been rubbed away is unclear, but I seriously doubt that she originally had such a non-descript face or such a curved arm.

The overall atmosphere, and the chubby putti with their somewhat strange positions (e.g. the outstretched legs of some of them) strongly remind me of the work of Cornelis van Poelenburgh. While he has a few much better, polished works, many of his works are quite similar in execution to this one.

Van Poelenburgh put his putti or little angels in many, many paintings, even where they seem rather out of place, like in the above expulsion from Paradise.

One of his best works is probably this Venus and Cupid, clearly superior to the work for sale here.

The estimate for this work may be a bit low, but looking at older auction results for works attributed to van Poelenburgh, the prices are all over the place. Comparable works sell for 5,000 Euro, but better ones remain unsold with a 2,000 Euro estimate... You can't go much wrong at the lower estimate in any case.

UPDATE: as a reader correctly reported, Veritas is from Portugal, not from Spain. 

"Dutch school" portraits are probably Swiss, by a follower of Johannes Dünz

Veritas, from Portugal, sells on 19 April 2017 a pair of "Dutch School, 17th century" portraits of a couple, dated 1670, and estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro together.

While the attire of the man is not really remarkable, the woman is more distinctly represented, holding a flower and wearing a very large hat. These things are typical for some Swiss portraits of the period, especially by Johannes Dünz (1645-1736). The two examples are from 1671 and 1672.

The link is not really strong though, but the paintings for sale don't look Dutch to me. Paintings by Dünz only fetch about 1,000 Euro, so it is not as if this attribution would increase these in value; but it's always nice to bring a lesser known painter to attention, and to see a pair of portraits which have remained together for ages.

Portuguese, ca. 1500 Christ at the Column is copy after Del Piombo

Veritas, from Portugal, sells on 22 February 2017 a "Portugal, late15th early 16th century" Christ at the Column, a large panel (168 by 68 cm) estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 Euro.

It is an interesting, well painted work, but sadly it isn't late 15th century and not an original composition either.

The original is a 1518 fresco by Sebastiano del Piombo in the San Pietro in Montorio in Rome.

The work for sale is probably based on an engraving after the original, and painted in a rather archaic style. if it was really early 16th century, it would be a very early Renaissance painting for the region and would warrant the estimate. As a later (second half 16th century?) copy, of unknown origin, it is probably worth 3,000 to 4,000 Euro instead. Perhaps it is a work by Garcia Fernandes (died 1565)?

Note that a second work, clearly forming a pair with this one, is sold separately at the same auction. I'm always amazed that sellers and auctioneers are still willing to separate such pairs after they have been together for 400 years or more, but it's their prerogative of course. It has the same dimensions and estimate, but is less appealing to me. I can't find an immediate match for it, but it seems likely to be based on older paintings as well.

"Attributed to Roeland Savery" copies elements from other Flemish Orpheus paintings

Veritas, from Germany, sells on 18 October 2016 an "Attributed to Roeland Savery" Orpheus and the animals, a small panel (18 by 32cm) estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

It copies elements from a similar work by Jacob Hoefnagel. The horse and the deer in front of it are nearly the same.

Of course, Hoefnagel did only copy the composition from Jan Brueghel I from ca. 1600.

The painting for sale has some similarities to the work of Savery (e.g. the eyes of the horse), but acks his refinement and sense of luxury. Some aspects, e.g. the deer, are also completely different to how Savery would paint.

I would call this an anonymous Flemish work from ca. 1650, not really good enough to attribute to any specific master. The estimate seems about right.

Copy after Jasper Van der Lanen

At Veritas, a Portuguese auction house, they sell on 29 April 2015 a "Dutch School of the 18th century" Piramus and Thisbe, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

It was previously sold at Alcala in October 2014 for 1,200 Euro, as 17th century Flemish School.

What neither auction house seems to have noted is that it is a copy of a work (but with a different landscape) by Jasper van der Lanen, an early 17th century Flemish artist: this work was for sale at Dorotheum in 2011, estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 Euro, but didn't sell. It may be that both go back to an even earlier work, but I could find no evidence for said work.