"16th century Flemish School" is by follower of Quentin or Jan Matsys

De Ruiter, from the Netherlands, sells on 19 March 2020 a "Flemish School, 16th century" "pastoral romantic scene" estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The panel is clearly made by a follower of Jan Matsys (1510-1575), the son of Quentin Matsys. Jan often used the same male head in his satirical pieces, like the above "Prodigal Son" from Petworth House.

But the same head also appears in works by his father, like the "Ill-matched lovers" from the National Gallery in Washington.

Closer comparison clearly shows the similarities, and the differences, which are partly due to the worse condition of the one for sale. I have also mirrored the head from the Jan Massys to show again the same origin.

I couldn't find an equally matching example for the head of the woman, but it still clearly fits in the range of caricatural older woman depicted by both Massyses.

The man's head is by far the best part of the work for sale: if it all had been like that, I would have probably put it down as a workshop copy, not the work of a follower, and would have adjusted the value upwards accordingly. As it stands though, it still is an interesting work from the period, and should easily fetch the estimate.

A nearly identical work (almost the same dimensions as well) was sold by Hampel in 2014, estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro, and described correctly as "follower of Quentin Massys". I don't know if it was sold, and for how much. The bottom of the two is the De Ruiter one, for ease of comparison.

"Follower of Pieter Pourbus" is follower of Gillis Mostaert instead

Vassy & Jalenques, from France, sells on 14 March 2020 a "Flemish School, ca. 1600, follower of Pieter Pourbus" Adam and Eve, estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

The work doesn't resemble the paintings by Pieter Pourbus really, and some searching shows that it is based on a work by Gillis Mostaert instead.

This engraving by Jan Sadeler (from the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum) shows the same central element, and clearly attributes the "invention" of the composition to Gillis Mostaert. As both artists are almost contemporaneous, there is no reason to doubt this.

I don't know if the changes to format and the animals depicted within are due to the imagination of the copy-painter, or if a version existed with this format as well. It may even be that this is the actual original, there isn't much material to compare with (most extant Mostaert paintings are rather different busy city or village views). The work for sale certainly is good, but probably not good enough to be an original.

Even so, it should not have any trouble getting the estimate if people see it for what it is.

A Memling-inspired Saint Anne

Cornette de Saint-Cyr, from France, sells on 30 January 2020 a "ca. 1520 Flemish School" Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 Euro.

Another version of the painting is at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, as "Anonymous, Flemish, ca. 1500", so while it confirms the date and region, it doesn't help us any further in finding the artist or inspiration for it.

And a minor variation is shown in a work from the Walker Art Gallery (through Art UK) Attributed simply to the Netherlandish School.

A miniature from the Simon Bening Workshop, from ca. 1510, shows the same structure, with many comparable elements in the dress and positions. It is for sale at Jörn Günther Rare Books. It seems unlikely that there would be no link between this miniature and the Walker art version above, as the folds in the dress of the Virgin are just too similar.

Older Italian versions simply showed Anne hovering over (sometimes really towering!) and protecting Mary. This can also be seen in e.g. this painting by Jan Joest of Kalkar, from the Columbus Museum of Arts, which dates to ca. 1510 and is thus contemporary to the work for sale.

This vertical depiction of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, with Anne reading a book, seems to have originated with Hans Memling in ca. 1480, from a diptych in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

UPDATE: sold for 7,800 Euro.

"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

18th c. Flemish is copy after Hendrik Goltzius

Chorley's, from England, sells on 28 January 2020 an "18th century Flemish School" Salvator Mundi,  estimated at £300 to £500.

It is a good copy after an engraving by Hendrick Goltzius from 1589 (found at the Rijksmuseum). There seems to be no reason to date this to the 18th century and not to the 17th century, when this would have been more popular.

It should be worth £700 to £1000 probably.

UPDATE: indeed, sold for £800.

An unknown Antonius Claeissens?

Chorley's, from England, sells on 28 January 2020 a "17th century Flemish" Virgin and Child, estimated at £700 to £1,000.

The remarkable physique of the Virgin, with the very broad shoulders, makes me believe that we should look in the direction of the Claeissens brothers from Bruges.

Probably the closest is a work by Antonius Claeissens (active 1551-1613), which has a very similar Virgin, with a comparable background as well (found through RKD). The row of tassels at the top is comparable, but most striking is the nearly identical dress of the Virgin, with the same border decoration.

The chances of having the same bodytype for the rather solemn virgin, with the same dress and decoration, same type of flower, same type of background, but a different artist or workshop, seems rather slim.

Antoon Claeissens is sadly the least interesting of the four Claeissens (compared to his brother Pieter the Younger and certainly his other brother Gilles or his father Pieter the Elder). Even so, this is a relatively rare work from the very last spasms of the great School of Bruges which started with Van Eyck, Memling and Christus, and which was already overtaken by the more modern art of the Pourbus family.

This work should be worth 2,000 to 3,000 Euro.

UPDATE: sold for 7,500, impressive!