An old master work by Frans Verbeeck (1510-1570), The Mocking of Human Follies, has set a new auction record for the artist at $3.8m.

The picture is similar in style to Brueghel and Bosch, and rivals their quality

The piece sold at Dorotheum's October 21 Old Master Auction, held in Vienna, and is now one of the highest selling pieces in an Austrian auction. It is considered the major work among the few surviving pieces from the Verbeeck family, with Frans' brother Jan also a renowned painter.

The work was estimated at $1.1m-1.5m, soaring 150% past its estimate. It was sold by a collector from Belgium, and will remain in Flemish hands according to Dorotheum.

Verbeeck was a painter from the Netherlands, who achieved fame for his paintings in the style of his predecessor Hieronymus Bosch. As Dorotheum states, "The present painting can be comfortably placed alongside the works of the great masters Pieter Brueghel the Elder and Hieronymus Bosch."

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