"Venus and Soldier" is Venus and Mars after Crispijn van der Passche

Macaigne, from France, sells on 21 January 2018 a "Flemish School, 16th century" Venus and Soldier, estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 Euro.

It is a slightly modified copy after an engraving by Crispijn Van de Passe (1589-1611), probably an original design by him ("fecit and excudit" the engraving says at the bottom). As such, it isn't worth the estimate but closer to 2,000 Euro.

Two Antwerp churches in background of Saint Norbert painting

Copages, from France, sells on 10 January 2018 a "Late 16th - Early 17th century" Saint Norbert of Xanten, estimated at 3,500 to 4,000 Euro.

The description correctly refers to his preachings in Antwerp and his founding of the order of the Premonstratensians. The painting shows the Antwerp Cathedral (to the left), and the tower of the Saint Michael's Abbey in Antwerp (which was founded by Saint Norbert) to the right. Interest in this painting will probably mainly come from Antwerp or people linked to the Premonstratensians, it isn't very interesting from a purely artistic point of view.

The same topic has been treated a few times, including the above anonymous drawing from the same period which fails to identify the Saint (information from the RKD, drawing from the Scottish National Gallery). It shows the same two church towers, though less architecturally correct. That the topic was popular in this period was because he wsa a Catholic saint preaching against schismatic "sects" (the Tanchelins for Saint Norbert, the Lutherans and other Protestant branches in the late 16th century). Antwerp had suffered badly under the religious wars.

Best wishes for 2018

My best wishes for 2018, may it bring us many gems at auction!

2017 was again a good year for me and my blog. No truly spectacular finds, but many nice works, and many fine contacts with fellow art lovers.

I ended the year with one discovery on Twitter which didn't make it to my blog yet (I often post things on one but not the other, depending on the time I have and what I have to say about the paintings).

In a small French auction, I noticed a very nice but damaged painting of Saint Jerome estimated at only 1500 Euro, which sold for 10,500 Euro instead. Sleuthing by some Twitterati revealed it to be a work by Gerrit Honthorst (and not some copy after a French artist, as the auction house thought), which was so far only known through a copy in Italy. It seems likely that it will appear in a major auction house (after restoration) pretty soon, with a much higher estimate!

2018 for me starts with a book I found cheap now at auction at the Kolbe & Fanning auction of numismatic books (a niche, but an expensive one, and this is the most important auction of the genre), which is nice. 500 lots, estimated between $150 and $20,000! Mine is somewhere inbetween ;-) and may give me some money to spend on art instead.

The blog passed the 100,000 pageviews in total last year, and has a rather steady readership, thanks! I may try to list the countries which visit it this year, people come from all over the world, so art truly is a global language and love.

UPDATE; sold later in 2018 as an "attributed to Trophime Bigot" for 14300 Euro. 

Almost bought an unknown Rubens' drawing

Marquis-Olivier, from France, sells on 16 December 2017 a "Flemish School, 17th century" drawing (sanguine) of "Angels adoring the Virgin", estimated at 200€ (they first offered it a month ago with a 400€ estimate, but I guess it didn't sell then).

At first, I was very excited about this drawing, as it looked like a work by Rubens, a sketch for his Vallicella Madonna (of which different versions exist).

The drawing is similar enough to be clearly about the same work, but different enough not to be a copy after it but some design for it.

The quality of the drawing was good (though not superb), and the style was typical for Rubens' in his Italian period.

Luckily I contacted someone who knows a lot more about Rubens. At first they were enthusiastic (but realistic), and agreed that this could well be an unknown and unrecognised drawing by Rubens.

But just days before the sale, they came back with bad news: it is almost certainly a copy after all, not after a painting, but after an authentic drawing by Rubens kept in the Albertina in Vienna. That drawing is nearly identical to the one for sale, but better in its execution. They may still be two versions of the same design, with perhaps the one for sale slightly earlier, but the more likely explanation is that the one for sale is a copy after the one in the Albertina (perhaps at best a workshop copy from Rubens' time). So in the end we decided, with some regrets, not to go for it.

And that's how I almost bought an unknown Rubens' drawing!

Old "Attributed to Simone Martini" is copy after Master of the Gold Brocade

Allgäuer, from Germany, sells on 11 January 2018 as lot 1989 a "Painter of the 19th / 20th century" Maria Lactans, estimated at 100 Euro. They indicate that it has an old attribution to Simone Martini.

It actually is a copy after the Master of the Gold Brocade, a composition I discussed at some length in a post from May 2017. The version for sale is probably later (as indicated by the auction house) and in any case definitely not by the Master of the Gold Brocade; but even so it is a very cheap copy (if you exclude shipping costs and the like when you're not based in Germany). If it would turn out to be 16th century, it would of course be worth closer to 5,000 Euro, but without provenance and seeing only the front of the painting in a photo, this is for me impossible to be certain about.

This composition is of course very closely related to the one by the Master of the Magdalen Legend I discussed last week; the main differences are the background, the clothing of the child, and the position of the hands. In every original by the Master of the Gold Brocade, this background brocade is symmetrical left-right, but in this version it is more some loose decoration, again indicating that it isn't an original.

The auction also has a decent and cheap copy after Van Dyck: lot 1997, a work of nearly a square meter. 300 Euro is a bargain for this.

UPDATE: the Master of the Gold Brocade, estimated then at 100 Euro, is now (19 April 2018) for sale at Christie's New York with an estimate of $6,000 to $8,000, described as "South Netherlandish School, last quarter of the 15th century". Good work by whoever bought this!

UPDATE 2: and it sold for a whopping $21,000, or 200 times the estimate it had 3 months earlier!

Wise and Foolish Virgins

Accademia Fine Art, from Monaco, sells on 17 December 2017 an "Attributed to Frans Francken" scene of merrymaking, estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 Euro.

The scene is the Parable of the 5 Wise and the 5 Foolish Virgins, which was quite popular in the 17th century in Flanders and is known from a few recurring compositions (see e.g. my post from April 2015).

This one can indeed be situated with the Franckens, although one sold at Christie's in 2009 was attributed to Pieter Lisaert, according to the RKD. That one fetched $25,000. The main difference, apart from the quality and condition, seems to be the castle scene on the upper right, where the foolish virgins are drinking wine. Daring! The dimensions are nearly identical though (72 by 105 vs. 73 by 104)

Another version is attributed to Francken.

The copy for sale is rather weak and definitely not made by Francken himself, and the estimate seems rather steep. Getting 3,000 to 4,000 for it would be a very good result.

UPDATE: not sold, again for sale on 31 January 2018 (now as a Frans Francken II, not "attributed to"!) with an estimate of 3,200 to 3,800 Euro, which is more realistic but still optimistic.

A nice Flemish drawing at the same auction (which had already been offered last year, if my memory doesn't deceive me), is actually a copy after Gerard Seghers (engraving by Paulus Pontius). The 320 Euro estimate certainly isn't excessive, but don't expect to buy an original design by a master...

"Flemish, 18th century" is probably Dutch, 17th century

Gallerias Arno, from Italy, sells on 13 December 2017 an "18th century Flemish Master" nocturnal village kermesse, estimated at 1,200 Euro.

It isn't really a kermesse (a village feast) but a typical "help, my village is burning" painting. It is also not Flemish, but Dutch, and not 18th century, but first half of the 17th century.

It is the work of or after Pieter de Bloot (1601-1658), and the RKD has a very similar work (but in much better condition) which was sold at Sotheby's in 1958 and 1994, with nearly the same dimensions.

At best, the work for sale needs cleaning to reveal actual de Bloot quality, and the estimate is a relative bargain; at worst, it is a poorer copy where the estimate is the most it will fetch.