The rediscovered original of Abraham Bloemaert's Two Boys Singing is expected to see some of the highest bids in part II of Christie's forthcoming Old Master Paintings auction.
Held on January 31 in New York, the sale will be led by two pieces from Dutch masters: the Bloemaert piece, and a wonderful still life from Jan Van Huysum, which have both been valued at $150,000-250,000.
 According to Roethlisberger, the cracker in the boy's hand is a symbol of the brittleness of life |
The Bloemaert work was attributed as such by Swiss art historian Marcel Roethlisberger in 2008. He believes the work to be the rediscovered original that served as the basis for a famous print by Abraham's son, Cornelis Bloemaert, with the younger artist also naming his father as the original artist.
The work likely dates to 1625, which was a period when Bloemaert experimented with lighting and genre subjects similar to those found in the work of Caravaggio. Christie's has stated that he may also have been looking to the works of his former pupil Gerrit van Honthorst, who had recently returned from Italy and began producing works of similar themes with great success.
Bloemaert's work can be found in the collections of all the top institutions around the globe, including Paris' Louvre, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and London's Royal Academy.
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