German school, 16th century, Portrait of a bearded man. Photo Sotheby's

Gouache on vellum. Diameter: 66 mm; 2 1/2 in. Estimation 15,000 — 20,000 USD

Although this miniature and the following lot do to some extent resemble the portrait miniatures of Hans Holbein the Younger, to whom they were previously attributed, they are ultimately more Germanic in style, and closer to the works of Lower Rhenish artists, such as Barthel Bruyn. It has also been suggested that they may be somewhat later in date - i.e. late 16th or even 17th century - and possibly Netherlandish, rather than German or Swiss in origin, citing similarities in palette with the notable series of small gouaches depicting standing soldiers by Lucas van Valckenborch, now in the Albertina, Vienna.1 But those similarities seem, in the end, superficial, and the handling and conception are surely those of an earlier period, most probably the second quarter of the 16th century.

1. One of these signed with initials: Inv. no. 13580; Benesch 1928, no. 304

Sotheby's. Old Master Drawings. New York | 29 janv. 2014 - www.sothebys.com