Dorotheum’s Evening Old Master Auction got off to a flying start last Tuesday on the 21st October. The highlight of the catalogue, a satirical and bizarre allegory of human foolishness by Flemish master Frans Verbeeck entitled “The Mocking of Human Follies”, sold for more than 3 million euros (€ 3,035.000), setting a new all-time record for the artist. The painting was one of the main works in the surviving collection from the Verbeeck family, and after last Tuesday’s hard fought bidding war, it has been determined that the work will remain in Flemish hands.
"The Mocking of Human Follies" bears a particular stylistic resemblance to the works of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel. The painting portrays a scene filled with a wide spectrum of characters who are engaging in various bizarre and detailed scenes, serving clearly as vivid illustrations of historical sayings that revolve around the eternal theme of human foolishness and folly.
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