Decade 1620-1629
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1620 The Jovial Conspiracies of Isabella Brant
2018 SOLD for $ 5.7M including premium
On April 19 in New York, Christie's sells an oil painting 105 x 76 cm by Rubens on the theme of a satyr holding a basket of grapes and quinces with a nymph at his side, dated around 1620 by the auction house. It is estimated $ 5M, lot 41.
The bearded satyr is in the prime of his life, with two thin horns on his forehead and pointed ears. The nymph is ready to grab a grape in the basket. The two characters do not look at each other but have the same jovial smile.
They are featured in other compositions of the same period. In a lost painting known through copies, the same nymph is naked under a transparent veil. Interestingly they are linked with two group scenes, Bacchanal and Drunken Silenus, both of which are disgusting images intended to make viewers aware of the consequences of debauchery.
The Bacchanal, 95 x 107 cm, is traditionally dated around 1615 and kept at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Our satyr is on the left, nude and drunk, supported with difficulty by a naked satyress with legs and hooves of a goat.
The Drunken Silenus is traditionally dated between 1616 and 1617. The surviving version 212 x 214 cm kept at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich is one of Rubens' most famous masterpieces. Around the staggering satyr, all the other characters at the top of the picture are laughing. Another version was destroyed in Berlin in 1945.
In Drunken Silenus the woman just behind the satyr emits a happy look of connivance towards the spectator as if it was she who had abused the weakness of the old male with grape and wine. She had the same role as the central figure in Lot and his daughters painted in 1614 who is busy to drunk her father. It is not a coincidence that the faces of these young women are similar : they are certainly portraits of the ever smiling Isabella Brant, the wife of Rubens.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The bearded satyr is in the prime of his life, with two thin horns on his forehead and pointed ears. The nymph is ready to grab a grape in the basket. The two characters do not look at each other but have the same jovial smile.
They are featured in other compositions of the same period. In a lost painting known through copies, the same nymph is naked under a transparent veil. Interestingly they are linked with two group scenes, Bacchanal and Drunken Silenus, both of which are disgusting images intended to make viewers aware of the consequences of debauchery.
The Bacchanal, 95 x 107 cm, is traditionally dated around 1615 and kept at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Our satyr is on the left, nude and drunk, supported with difficulty by a naked satyress with legs and hooves of a goat.
The Drunken Silenus is traditionally dated between 1616 and 1617. The surviving version 212 x 214 cm kept at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich is one of Rubens' most famous masterpieces. Around the staggering satyr, all the other characters at the top of the picture are laughing. Another version was destroyed in Berlin in 1945.
In Drunken Silenus the woman just behind the satyr emits a happy look of connivance towards the spectator as if it was she who had abused the weakness of the old male with grape and wine. She had the same role as the central figure in Lot and his daughters painted in 1614 who is busy to drunk her father. It is not a coincidence that the faces of these young women are similar : they are certainly portraits of the ever smiling Isabella Brant, the wife of Rubens.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1621 Mystical Loves in Genova
2016 SOLD for $ 30.5M including premium
Born in Pisa, Orazio Gentileschi begins his career in Rome. He does not follow the anti-mannerism of the Carracci nor the tenebrism of Caravaggio. His art is nevertheless modern for his time with beautiful contrasts and a pleasant naturalism.
In 1621, he is invited by the wealthy Genovese merchant Giovanni Antonio Sauli, son of a former Doge of that city, to work in his palazzo as a painter and as an artistic adviser. Gentileschi executes three monumental paintings on the theme of mystical love, an excuse for displaying sensual nudes.
Sublimating the religions, the artist chooses his stories in the Old Testament, Christian parables and Greek myths. Lot's daughters symbolize the expectation, Danae the annunciation and Magdalene the repentance. Success is immediate and in the practice of his time the artist himself will paint a few copies.
The three original paintings of the Palazzo Sauli have long remained in the descendance of the patron. Danae, oil on canvas 161 x 227 cm, is estimated $ 25M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on January 28, lot 41.
The princess lies on her unmade bed. She is nude excepted a veil of chastity. Cupid opens the curtains to let going the lightning of Jupiter in the form of a shower of golden coins and ribbons. The gesture of the young woman is peaceful and welcoming, with her arm raised in the same oblique direction as the movement of the fertilizing god disguised as gold.
Gentileschi had been too often described as a Caravaggian but his Danae is a masterpiece of late profane mannerism. I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's where the monumental nature of the artwork is highlighted. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1621, he is invited by the wealthy Genovese merchant Giovanni Antonio Sauli, son of a former Doge of that city, to work in his palazzo as a painter and as an artistic adviser. Gentileschi executes three monumental paintings on the theme of mystical love, an excuse for displaying sensual nudes.
Sublimating the religions, the artist chooses his stories in the Old Testament, Christian parables and Greek myths. Lot's daughters symbolize the expectation, Danae the annunciation and Magdalene the repentance. Success is immediate and in the practice of his time the artist himself will paint a few copies.
The three original paintings of the Palazzo Sauli have long remained in the descendance of the patron. Danae, oil on canvas 161 x 227 cm, is estimated $ 25M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on January 28, lot 41.
The princess lies on her unmade bed. She is nude excepted a veil of chastity. Cupid opens the curtains to let going the lightning of Jupiter in the form of a shower of golden coins and ribbons. The gesture of the young woman is peaceful and welcoming, with her arm raised in the same oblique direction as the movement of the fertilizing god disguised as gold.
Gentileschi had been too often described as a Caravaggian but his Danae is a masterpiece of late profane mannerism. I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's where the monumental nature of the artwork is highlighted. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1621 Beyond the Bouquet
2019 SOLD for € 3.3M including premium
Ambrosius Bosschaert began his career in Middelburg before 1605. At that time of great craze for botany, he painted bouquets of flowers in glass vases. He was the pioneer of still life in Northern Europe, just before Savery and Brueghel.
This novelty is very successful. Bosschaert will never change his theme but variants appear. His early works are painted on copper, which provides an extreme delicacy in the floral details. Then he also uses wood for offering larger formats.
The flowers, certainly painted from modellos, are grouped for their aesthetics, without worrying about their season of blossoming. Gradually the bright yellow iris and the red tulip come to occupy a dominant position in the group. The flowers of the bouquet may not have a mystical meaning but on the table butterflies and cut flowers are symbols of ephemeral life. An empty shell promises the resurrection.
The early compositions are on a plain dark background. Around 1618 he innovates by placing the bouquet and the ledge in front of the arcature of a window, against the backdrop of a lacustrine or fluvial landscape in dull colors, with some hardly recognizable monuments over a horizon of hills.
In the last phase he removes the window. Two examples are known, with a comparable floral composition and still in front of the same landscape. The terminus ante quem is the death of the artist in 1621. By the quality of his achievements, the autograph art of Ambrosius 'the elder' cannot be confused with that of his three sons and his brother-in-law who were practicing similar themes.
One of these two paintings is a copper 28 x 23 cm. The other example, which has just been identified in a deceased estate where it was previously considered as a work by Brueghel de Velours, is a 29 x 19 cm oil on panel. It will be sold on June 19 in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, by the joint operation of two auction houses, Fraysse and Binoche et Giquello, lot 9.
A bouquet in front of the usual dark background, oil on copper 34 x 23 cm with an unreadable date which is probably 1621, was sold for € 1.7M including premium by Gros et Delettrez on June 1, 2012. A few misses were reported in the catalog.
The tweet below shows a detail.
This novelty is very successful. Bosschaert will never change his theme but variants appear. His early works are painted on copper, which provides an extreme delicacy in the floral details. Then he also uses wood for offering larger formats.
The flowers, certainly painted from modellos, are grouped for their aesthetics, without worrying about their season of blossoming. Gradually the bright yellow iris and the red tulip come to occupy a dominant position in the group. The flowers of the bouquet may not have a mystical meaning but on the table butterflies and cut flowers are symbols of ephemeral life. An empty shell promises the resurrection.
The early compositions are on a plain dark background. Around 1618 he innovates by placing the bouquet and the ledge in front of the arcature of a window, against the backdrop of a lacustrine or fluvial landscape in dull colors, with some hardly recognizable monuments over a horizon of hills.
In the last phase he removes the window. Two examples are known, with a comparable floral composition and still in front of the same landscape. The terminus ante quem is the death of the artist in 1621. By the quality of his achievements, the autograph art of Ambrosius 'the elder' cannot be confused with that of his three sons and his brother-in-law who were practicing similar themes.
One of these two paintings is a copper 28 x 23 cm. The other example, which has just been identified in a deceased estate where it was previously considered as a work by Brueghel de Velours, is a 29 x 19 cm oil on panel. It will be sold on June 19 in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, by the joint operation of two auction houses, Fraysse and Binoche et Giquello, lot 9.
A bouquet in front of the usual dark background, oil on copper 34 x 23 cm with an unreadable date which is probably 1621, was sold for € 1.7M including premium by Gros et Delettrez on June 1, 2012. A few misses were reported in the catalog.
The tweet below shows a detail.
L’œuvre phare de la vente Binoche & Giquello : "Fleurs coupées dans un Römer posé sur un entablement sur fond de paysage" peinte par Ambrosius #Bosschaert le Vieux sur panneau de chêne vient d'emporter 3 307 800 euros (frais compris) ! pic.twitter.com/noznuDLvUB
— Drouot (@Drouot) June 19, 2019
early 1620s The Baroque Synthesis of Johann Liss
2019 SOLD for £ 5.7M including premium
Johann Liss was born in Oldenburg near Lübeck. The artistic tradition was almost nonexistent in Holstein. Ready to capture all the new trends, the young man begins his journey circa 1615. In Haarlem he is appealed by the eroticism of Goltzius. Later he will be nicknamed Pan. Around 1618, just over 20 years old, he incorporates the style and some themes from Rubens and Jordaens.
Like so many others including the Caravagesques of Utrecht, he arrives in Italy. He shares his time between Rome and Venice. He will not finish this classic learning tour : he dies in Verona in the epidemic of plague that started in Venice in 1629.
Sandrart, who knew him very well in Venice in 1629, reminded his predilection for this city where they appreciate the expressive colors of Titian and Veronese. He also narrated the impulsive creativity of Liss, able to seek inspiration for several days before rushing to do a new work without taking time to eat and sleep. This immutable cycle ends with a wandering during which he empties his purse we do not know where.
St. Mary Magdalene between Vice and Virtue is a theme borrowed from Jordaens. The semi-nude woman in ecstasy has chosen the nice young Angel who brings her the palm of repentance. She holds a skull, the usual symbol of vanity, and ignores the old woman who is presenting the treasures of the Orient.
This work was composed in the early 1620s. The contrasting lighting, bright on the Good and nonexistent on the Evil, is Caravagesque. The Venetian influence, by which one expects the luxury of the clothes and the shock of the colors, is obvious but not yet dominant.
Two identical oils on canvas exist. Both can be autograph. One of them, 114 x 135 cm, is kept in the Dresden Museum. The other, 99 x 126 cm, surfaced more recently. It was sold for £ 1M including premium by Christie's on December 9, 1994 and is estimated £ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 3, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's where it is compared with a small painting by Wtewael.
Like so many others including the Caravagesques of Utrecht, he arrives in Italy. He shares his time between Rome and Venice. He will not finish this classic learning tour : he dies in Verona in the epidemic of plague that started in Venice in 1629.
Sandrart, who knew him very well in Venice in 1629, reminded his predilection for this city where they appreciate the expressive colors of Titian and Veronese. He also narrated the impulsive creativity of Liss, able to seek inspiration for several days before rushing to do a new work without taking time to eat and sleep. This immutable cycle ends with a wandering during which he empties his purse we do not know where.
St. Mary Magdalene between Vice and Virtue is a theme borrowed from Jordaens. The semi-nude woman in ecstasy has chosen the nice young Angel who brings her the palm of repentance. She holds a skull, the usual symbol of vanity, and ignores the old woman who is presenting the treasures of the Orient.
This work was composed in the early 1620s. The contrasting lighting, bright on the Good and nonexistent on the Evil, is Caravagesque. The Venetian influence, by which one expects the luxury of the clothes and the shock of the colors, is obvious but not yet dominant.
Two identical oils on canvas exist. Both can be autograph. One of them, 114 x 135 cm, is kept in the Dresden Museum. The other, 99 x 126 cm, surfaced more recently. It was sold for £ 1M including premium by Christie's on December 9, 1994 and is estimated £ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 3, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's where it is compared with a small painting by Wtewael.
#AuctionUpdate One of the finest examples of the Johann Liss’ work to remain in private hands, this captivating portrayal of Mary Magdalene choosing Salvation over Temptation sets a new artist record at £5,665,200. #SothebysOldMasters pic.twitter.com/y5ULAr506W
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 3, 2019
1623 Shakespeare's First Folio
2001 SOLD for $ 6.2M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
Happy birthday #WilliamShakespeare! Here's the #FirstFolio we sold in 2001: http://t.co/5AT12N7jFV #otd #rarebooks pic.twitter.com/jNbnSAuScH
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) April 23, 20151624 Peasant Music at the Time of ter Brugghen
2009 SOLD 10 M$ including premium
The January sales of ancient art at Sotheby's in New York always include exceptional works by great artists. The January 29 auction will be no exception.
The cover of the catalog, however, is entrusted to a master who is not among the best known to the public: Hendrick ter Brugghen.
His oil on canvas 101 x 83 cm, signed and dated 1624, shows a bagpipe player. The auction house said that it was once the pendant of a lute player. Opening the Wikipedia, the artist offers us a flute player. The common characteristics between them is that they show popular instruments far from the luxurious subjects of many other artists.
Each of these musicians is represented alone with his instrument, against a neutral background. The simple beret, the badly cut beard and the naked shoulder of the bagpiper describe a musician of the peasant class. The effects of shadows and light give him presence and even psychology.
Indeed ter Brugghen, who worked in Utrecht, may have known Caravaggio on a trip to Rome and was one of his first followers. The ancient paintings of Caravagesque style are rare in the market, and prices are always high. It is estimated $ 4 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
It was the masterpiece of this great sale. It sold $ 10 million including premium, well above its high estimate.
It had earned the honors of the cover of the catalog.
The cover of the catalog, however, is entrusted to a master who is not among the best known to the public: Hendrick ter Brugghen.
His oil on canvas 101 x 83 cm, signed and dated 1624, shows a bagpipe player. The auction house said that it was once the pendant of a lute player. Opening the Wikipedia, the artist offers us a flute player. The common characteristics between them is that they show popular instruments far from the luxurious subjects of many other artists.
Each of these musicians is represented alone with his instrument, against a neutral background. The simple beret, the badly cut beard and the naked shoulder of the bagpiper describe a musician of the peasant class. The effects of shadows and light give him presence and even psychology.
Indeed ter Brugghen, who worked in Utrecht, may have known Caravaggio on a trip to Rome and was one of his first followers. The ancient paintings of Caravagesque style are rare in the market, and prices are always high. It is estimated $ 4 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
It was the masterpiece of this great sale. It sold $ 10 million including premium, well above its high estimate.
It had earned the honors of the cover of the catalog.
1624 full set of the Four Seasons by Pieter Brueghel the Younger
2016 SOLD for £ 6.5M including premium by Christie's
The Four Seasons: Spring; Summer; Autumn; and Winter by Pieter Brueghel II sells
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) July 7, 2016
over estimate achieving £6,466,500 pic.twitter.com/ct1E886gXK
1624 A Dutch Artist in the Roman Night
2014 SOLD 7.6 M$ including premium
Gerrit van Honthorst is also known as Gherardo delle Notti. It was said that he owed such a nickname to his genre scenes lit by candlelight, which were his favorite theme. This would be fair, but it is also too watered down. Notti has a pre-Fellinian flavour : Gerrit enjoyed the nights in the Roman brothels that he had frequented with his Utrecht fellows, ter Brugghen and van Baburen.
Back in Holland, they remembered the exuberant musical atmosphere, the erotic proximity of performers with visitors, the brightly colored clothes and the wide open necklines.
On June 5, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 3.4 million including premium an oil on canvas 78 x 95 cm painted by Gerrit in 1624. A couple sings enthusiastically while reading their text under candlelight.
The oil on canvas 99 x 139 cm for sale by Sotheby's in New York on January 30 was painted around the same year by the same artist. The theme is musical : the man plays the violin and the woman is playing the lute, separated from the public by a balustrade. The atmosphere of this night club observed four centuries ago is entertaining and friendly.
The subtlety of the lighting is post-Caravaggian. In full light, the woman's face expresses a radiant merriness with an intensity rarely seen in a painting. The violinist, lesser lit, sings with passion while looking at the other side. A young drinker completes the group, much less visible in the shadow, or in the smoke.
The estimate, $ 2M, is the same price as originally expected by Christie's for the painting sold last year, but the largest size and the interesting lighting justify still further the conclusion of my previous discussion : Caravaggism can trigger higher bidding. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was hoping for a result well above the estimate. Done: $ 7.6 million including premium.
Back in Holland, they remembered the exuberant musical atmosphere, the erotic proximity of performers with visitors, the brightly colored clothes and the wide open necklines.
On June 5, 2013, Christie's sold for $ 3.4 million including premium an oil on canvas 78 x 95 cm painted by Gerrit in 1624. A couple sings enthusiastically while reading their text under candlelight.
The oil on canvas 99 x 139 cm for sale by Sotheby's in New York on January 30 was painted around the same year by the same artist. The theme is musical : the man plays the violin and the woman is playing the lute, separated from the public by a balustrade. The atmosphere of this night club observed four centuries ago is entertaining and friendly.
The subtlety of the lighting is post-Caravaggian. In full light, the woman's face expresses a radiant merriness with an intensity rarely seen in a painting. The violinist, lesser lit, sings with passion while looking at the other side. A young drinker completes the group, much less visible in the shadow, or in the smoke.
The estimate, $ 2M, is the same price as originally expected by Christie's for the painting sold last year, but the largest size and the interesting lighting justify still further the conclusion of my previous discussion : Caravaggism can trigger higher bidding. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
I was hoping for a result well above the estimate. Done: $ 7.6 million including premium.
1626 A Mannerist Bronze atop a Fountain
2014 SOLD for $ 28M including premium
Christie's had cancelled the sale of a bronze by Adriaen de Vries just before the auction that had been scheduled for July 7, 2011, for reasons related to the export of the item. Here is the press releasewhich was issued by Christie's for announcing the 2011 sale.
It is now listed by Christie's for sale in New York on December 11, lot 10 estimated $ 15M.
Here is my 2011 discussion (slightly reworded) introducing this lot:
During a routine visit to a castle in 2010, the expert from Christie's takes a look at the fountain in the middle of the yard. Thus a previously unknown masterpiece enters the art history.
The bronze 109 cm high adorning the top of the fountain had been in that place for at least 300 years. It is signed by Adriaen de Vries and dated 1626, the year of the artist's death.
Influenced by Giambologna, De Vries was spreading the new fashion for mannerism. Their bronzes give life to muscular bodies twisted in expressive attitudes inspired by antiquity, and which will be much later admired by Rodin.
The theme of the artwork is a naked standing mythological figure carrying a globe. This statue is shown on the article shared in 2011 by Antique Trader.
De Vries is particularly known for his statues for gardens and fountains. Working in Prague for the Emperor Rudolf II, he remained in that city after the death of his patron and accepted private commissions.
The arrival of such a lot on the art market is exceptional. We must go back over twenty years ago to find another authentic bronze by this artist. On 7 December 1989, the Getty bought at Sotheby's for £ 6.8 million including premium a Dancing faun 76 cm high.
It is now listed by Christie's for sale in New York on December 11, lot 10 estimated $ 15M.
Here is my 2011 discussion (slightly reworded) introducing this lot:
During a routine visit to a castle in 2010, the expert from Christie's takes a look at the fountain in the middle of the yard. Thus a previously unknown masterpiece enters the art history.
The bronze 109 cm high adorning the top of the fountain had been in that place for at least 300 years. It is signed by Adriaen de Vries and dated 1626, the year of the artist's death.
Influenced by Giambologna, De Vries was spreading the new fashion for mannerism. Their bronzes give life to muscular bodies twisted in expressive attitudes inspired by antiquity, and which will be much later admired by Rodin.
The theme of the artwork is a naked standing mythological figure carrying a globe. This statue is shown on the article shared in 2011 by Antique Trader.
De Vries is particularly known for his statues for gardens and fountains. Working in Prague for the Emperor Rudolf II, he remained in that city after the death of his patron and accepted private commissions.
The arrival of such a lot on the art market is exceptional. We must go back over twenty years ago to find another authentic bronze by this artist. On 7 December 1989, the Getty bought at Sotheby's for £ 6.8 million including premium a Dancing faun 76 cm high.
1626-1627 A Youthful Master in Leiden
2012 SOLD 8.4 M£ including premium
In 1626/1627, Rembrandt was operating a studio in Leiden, his hometown, in cooperation with Jan Lievens. Both artists, aged 20, had been apprentices with Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, and were already known for their immense talent.
Rembrandt wants to show his skills as a portraitist and specializes in tronies, these anonymous figures of characters showing varied human types. To win clients, he endeavours to show that he is mastering the technique of painting, the composition, and of course these contrasts of light and shadow made popular by Caravaggio and his followers.
On July 3 in London, Christie's sells the bust portrait of a soldier, a small panel 40 x 29 cm estimated £ 8M. Of course, the character is not identifiable, nor the origin of his uniform.
The chiaroscuro is particularly marked in this work, where half of the face is in the shadow of the wide hat. The realism of this heavy face is pretty neat. Whether you are beautiful or ugly, your best portrait will be done by the specialist, Harmensz Rembrandt van Rijn.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price slightly below the lower estimate for this early work by Rembrandt: £ 8.4 million including premium.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's.
The image below is shared by Wikimedia.
Rembrandt wants to show his skills as a portraitist and specializes in tronies, these anonymous figures of characters showing varied human types. To win clients, he endeavours to show that he is mastering the technique of painting, the composition, and of course these contrasts of light and shadow made popular by Caravaggio and his followers.
On July 3 in London, Christie's sells the bust portrait of a soldier, a small panel 40 x 29 cm estimated £ 8M. Of course, the character is not identifiable, nor the origin of his uniform.
The chiaroscuro is particularly marked in this work, where half of the face is in the shadow of the wide hat. The realism of this heavy face is pretty neat. Whether you are beautiful or ugly, your best portrait will be done by the specialist, Harmensz Rembrandt van Rijn.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price slightly below the lower estimate for this early work by Rembrandt: £ 8.4 million including premium.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's.
The image below is shared by Wikimedia.
1627-1628 Indian inscribed diamond in a 1972 necklace assembly by Cartier
2011 SOLD for $ 8.8M including premium by Christie's
1627-1629 St John the Evangelist by Domenichino
2009 SOLD 9.2 M£ including premium
Domenico Zampieri, better known as Domenichino, was born in Bologna in 1581. In that city he was naturally a student and collaborator of the Carracci. Like them, he reacts against mannerism with a simple style and sharp colors. His themes show no originality, but his careful work makes him one of the best artists of his time.
Painter of religious subjects, he was especially a fresco artist, and so was accustomed to very large sizes. The St John the Evangelist I am discussing today is 2.5 x 2 meters, a monumental dimension for an ancient canvas.
The saint in a red dress is in an attitude of a preacher or a teacher, confirmed as such by the two inevitable symbolic putti wearing open books.
This painting was regarded in the eighteenth century as a masterpiece of one of the greatest masters, but fashions change and Domenichino ceased to be so flattered. The scarcity of old works of this size on the market justifies the estimate that Christie's now let filtering before issuing their official release: £ 10 million in London on December 8. This amount is probably the high estimate.
It has the advantage of being fresh on the market, as it belonged to the same family for one hundred years.
The probable date of the artwork falls between 1627 and 1629.
The lower estimate is 7 M£.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting was one of three major lots in the sale of ancient art by Christie's in London. It was sold £ 9.2 million including premium.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Painter of religious subjects, he was especially a fresco artist, and so was accustomed to very large sizes. The St John the Evangelist I am discussing today is 2.5 x 2 meters, a monumental dimension for an ancient canvas.
The saint in a red dress is in an attitude of a preacher or a teacher, confirmed as such by the two inevitable symbolic putti wearing open books.
This painting was regarded in the eighteenth century as a masterpiece of one of the greatest masters, but fashions change and Domenichino ceased to be so flattered. The scarcity of old works of this size on the market justifies the estimate that Christie's now let filtering before issuing their official release: £ 10 million in London on December 8. This amount is probably the high estimate.
It has the advantage of being fresh on the market, as it belonged to the same family for one hundred years.
The probable date of the artwork falls between 1627 and 1629.
The lower estimate is 7 M£.
POST SALE COMMENT
This painting was one of three major lots in the sale of ancient art by Christie's in London. It was sold £ 9.2 million including premium.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1629 The Art of Bodegon
2019 SOLD for $ 6.5M including premium
Juan Sanchez Cotan is a painter in Toledo at the time of El Greco. In 1603 he leaves the world to enter as a lay brother in a Carthusian monastery. The inventory made in his studio just after his departure lists 60 paintings including 12 still lifes.
Sanchez Cotan wished to reproduce with the greatest pictorial accuracy some elements of nature that he positions in a balanced composition. Vegetables, fruit and game fowls are laying or hanging in a uniformly gray window frame against a black background. He had invented the bodegon, an unprecedented style in modern painting that anticipates Chardin and Cézanne.
Several originals survive. One of them is dated 1602. Another one, oil on canvas re-sized at 73 x 62 cm after removal of the central part, was sold for £ 4M including premium by Christie's on December 8, 2004.
The growing interest in botanical gardens and cabinets of curiosity led to the still life paintings of flowers and fruit in Flanders and Milan from 1606. In the 1620s the best Spanish continuator to Sanchez Cotan, Juan van der Hamen y Leon, inserts flowers in the bodegones.
In 1626 van der Hamen finds a trick to display complex arrangements in very large formats : he replaces Sanchez Cotan's window by three stone bases of varying heights and widths.
On May 1 in New York, Christie's sells a bodegon of fruit with a large vase of flowers, oil on canvas 86 x 132 cm painted by van der Hamen in 1629, lot 109 estimated $ 6M. Painted in the same year and style by the same artist, a bodegon of fruit with an artichoke, 79 x 100 cm, was sold for € 900K including premium by Christie's on October 6, 2004.
Sanchez Cotan wished to reproduce with the greatest pictorial accuracy some elements of nature that he positions in a balanced composition. Vegetables, fruit and game fowls are laying or hanging in a uniformly gray window frame against a black background. He had invented the bodegon, an unprecedented style in modern painting that anticipates Chardin and Cézanne.
Several originals survive. One of them is dated 1602. Another one, oil on canvas re-sized at 73 x 62 cm after removal of the central part, was sold for £ 4M including premium by Christie's on December 8, 2004.
The growing interest in botanical gardens and cabinets of curiosity led to the still life paintings of flowers and fruit in Flanders and Milan from 1606. In the 1620s the best Spanish continuator to Sanchez Cotan, Juan van der Hamen y Leon, inserts flowers in the bodegones.
In 1626 van der Hamen finds a trick to display complex arrangements in very large formats : he replaces Sanchez Cotan's window by three stone bases of varying heights and widths.
On May 1 in New York, Christie's sells a bodegon of fruit with a large vase of flowers, oil on canvas 86 x 132 cm painted by van der Hamen in 1629, lot 109 estimated $ 6M. Painted in the same year and style by the same artist, a bodegon of fruit with an artichoke, 79 x 100 cm, was sold for € 900K including premium by Christie's on October 6, 2004.
Christie’s to Sell Shickman Collection Led by Spanish Still Lives https://t.co/DUYZZPBEnR pic.twitter.com/xSsE0vtely
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) November 21, 2018
