da Vinci's New Acolytes

Kelly Crow’s tour d’horizon of the art market has this new wrinkle in the Old Master market:

Both houses say around a dozen collectors from Hungary, Poland and Russia recently entered the Old Masters market. By and large, Christie’s specialist Nicholas Hall says they want iconic Leonardo da Vinci, but with those works scarce, they’re bidding up “quirky” examples by da Vinci’s followers.

Artist to watch:One follower is known as the Master of the Parrot. On June 8, Christie’s in New York will offer the painter’s 16th-century “Saint Mary Magdalene Before a Cloth of Honor…” for at least $600,000. “If it says ‘After Leonardo,’ they bid,” Mr. Hall said. “Even rank copies of the ‘Mona Lisa’ are selling like crazy.”

The Art Market Snaps Back (Wall Street Journal)