Jewish couple painting reading the Torah

[HistoryTeacher]

I picked this up at an estate sale held for a couple who were either antique collectors or dealers. It was half off day, and I liked it so I got if or $12.50. It was barely attached to the modern frame it was in.

I am guessing it is from one of those starving artist companies or Chinese imports, but I thought I would see if anyone had any thoughts.

The only thing I have found is this Pinterest link https://in.pinterest.com/pin/522347256784460835/ of the painting (or a copy of it) that appears to come from an old ebay listing.

The poor signature makes me think this is a cheap decorative painting.





The photo from Pinterest:

 

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[CreakyDigger]

It says "original oil painting" on the back, and you can see the brush strokes. Is this a subject that a counterfeiter would take the time to produce? One doubts it.

 

[Red-Coat]

Hmmm…

This work came up for auction at J. Greenstein & Co., Inc. in NY on 6th January 2016 and was described as:

“A PAINTING OF AN OLD JEWISH COUPLE BY S BANISH. Dutch, 20th century. Oil on canvas 12x16".



The artist name means nothing to me, but some severe Googling might track something about him/her.

Two things to note here. Firstly it’s not the same painting but they both have the same visual cues and general subject composition. Secondly, although I can’t find a high resolution picture for comparison, its clear from even low resolution that yours has nothing like the same subtlety of brushwork. This is especially noticeable in the rendition of the faces, with yours having a na?ve, cartoon-like quality.



Above, I've shown the faces together, with yours at the top. I can’t believe they’re by the same hand. Presumably we’re looking at one artist’s work inspired by another. It’s even possible that both were inspired by some earlier artist since “S Banish” doesn’t appear to be an artist of any renown. Again, some more serious Googling might cast a bit of light on that.

The work I pictured had a pre-auction estimate of $300-500 but the lot passed without anyone making the required opening bid of $300.

 

[HistoryTeacher]

CreakyDigger--I was thinking the same thing when I got--who would bother copying this subject?

Thanks Redcoat. That is very helpful. When I first saw the painting the image seemed very familiar--like I'd seen it before. You are right that the one I have seems of lower quality. It looks like a quick copy. There are art companies in China that take commissions to make oil painting copies of original works (one of them lists on ebay). The old lady seems to be wearing lipstick!

Dutch makes sense in the auction description. It seems to be in imitation of the style of Dutch Northern Renaissance art. They did a lot of people sitting at tables, surrounded by everyday items.

This is the kind of mystery I don't mind spending 12.50 to wrestle with.

 

[Red-Coat]

There?s also this, described as "An elderly Jewish couple reading a letter from the Holy Land", oil on canvas laid down on board 16 x 12 1/4 inches (40.6 x 31.1 cm):

https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/An-elderly-Jewish-couple-reading-a-lette/5ECF02E138734338?

Sold at Christies in London on 10th May 2006 with a hammer price of 300 British pounds (pre-auction estimate 300-500). The auction listing says that it's 'signed' but also that the artist is 'unknown'. The image isn't good enough to see the signature.

It's clearly the 'same' painting as the one that didn't sell in New York, said to be by "S. Banish" although I suspect it's another version of it rather than physically the same piece. Otherwise, I would have thought that Christie's would also have been able to attribute it.

I rather suspect this is output from a commercial studio and that "S. Banish" may be a non-existent artist or a fictitious umbrella name for a group of artists producing these as sentimental wall-art. If so, yours may be from the same studio but by a less-skilled hand, or by a copyist imitating the style.

There were a lot of commercial studios producing these kinds of works (as original paintings) in the mid-1900s for sale at ?pop-up? art shows in the shopping areas of large cities.