Leading the sale was an oil by Frans Pourbus II 1569–1622)—one of the leading portraitists of the French Court—whose Portrait of Prince Philip William of Orange soared far past its €60,000 ($64,600) high estimate to reach €575,516 ($620,000). Paintings by the 16th-to- 17th-century Brueghels were also sought by collectors: A Couple Fishing, by Pieter Brueghel II, more than doubled its €180,000-to-€200,000 ($194–215,000) estimate when the round oil on panel achieved €552,000 ($594,000). Rest by a Windmill, by Jan Brueghel the Elder, exceeded its €500,000 ($538,000) high estimate when it sold for €523,446 ($564,000). The undated oil-oncanvas Portrait of King Philip IV of Spain, painted by a member of the circle of Diego Velázquez, sold for a handsome €308,000 ($332,000) against its €5,000 ($5,400) high estimate. Although only 55.5_percent of lots on offer sold, the sale represented the house’s second-strongest spring sale of Old Master paintings to date.
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