Decade 1620-1629
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Ancient England Ancient painting Rembrandt Music in old painting Ancient sculpture Books 17th century books Literature India Islam Cartier
See also : Ancient England Ancient painting Rembrandt Music in old painting Ancient sculpture Books 17th century books Literature India Islam Cartier
1621 Danaë by Orazio Gentileschi
2016 SOLD for $ 30.5M by Sotheby's
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. Danaë, oil on canvas 161 x 227 cm, was sold for $ 30.5M by Sotheby's on January 28, 2016, 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.
The series of three paintings executed by Orazio Gentileschi from the 1621 commission for the Palazzo Sauli in Genova included a Maddalena penitente. This painting inspired from Correggio and Titian was sold for $ 4.9M by Sotheby's on January 26, 2023, lot 7.
The outstretched position of the bare breasted woman resting on her left elbow heightened on a plinth reminds the Danaë from the same provenance, sold for $ 30.5M by Sotheby's in 2016. They were not conceived as pendants : the Maddalena, oil on canvas 150 x 187 cm, is smaller.
The penitent is laying in the mountain cave and gazing to heaven inspired. The left elbow lays on an opened holy book with a skull on the ground below.
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. Danaë, oil on canvas 161 x 227 cm, was sold for $ 30.5M by Sotheby's on January 28, 2016, 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.
The series of three paintings executed by Orazio Gentileschi from the 1621 commission for the Palazzo Sauli in Genova included a Maddalena penitente. This painting inspired from Correggio and Titian was sold for $ 4.9M by Sotheby's on January 26, 2023, lot 7.
The outstretched position of the bare breasted woman resting on her left elbow heightened on a plinth reminds the Danaë from the same provenance, sold for $ 30.5M by Sotheby's in 2016. They were not conceived as pendants : the Maddalena, oil on canvas 150 x 187 cm, is smaller.
The penitent is laying in the mountain cave and gazing to heaven inspired. The left elbow lays on an opened holy book with a skull on the ground below.
1623 Shakespeare's First Folio
2020 SOLD for $ 10M by Christie's
The Globe Theatre is created in 1599. It is managed by the actors of the Lord Chamberlain's Men company in the form of a share capital. William Shakespeare has little stake in this business but he is the principal author of the plays which are performed there.
This man of the stage died in 1616 without having paid attention to the literary value of his own works. Half of his plays were unpublished. The others had been issued as poor quality booklets of which we can be assume that they were not verified by the author.
John Heminges and Henry Condell, who owned overall half of the shares of the Globe Theatre, judiciously decided to reconstruct with the best possible accuracy the whole of Shakespeare's dramatic work. They knew 36 plays of which 18 had never been published. They will have to buy back the publishing rights to some of them and to retrieve the partial manuscripts that had been entrusted to the actors to perform their own role.
The print is of the top luxury, in relation to the literary magnificence of the work. What would later be called the First Folio is a superb volume of 454 leaves 32 x 21 cm, printed in 1623 by Jaggard and Blount. It is forever used as the top reference for any Shakespearean scholarship.
The production run of the First Folio is estimated at around 750 copies. About 220 survive today. 56 are complete, of which only 5 are in private hands. All but six are from the third issue when the content was frozen and the error of a redundant page has been corrected.
Shakespeare is the greatest success in English literature and editions are multiplying. Garrick puts Shakespeare still higher in fashion and Edmond Malone devotes his life to the study of his work. Malone proposes in 1778 a chronology of the plays, observes the literary greatness of the First Folio and has a new edition published in 1790.
On October 14, 2020, Christie's sold a complete copy of the First Folio for $ 10M from a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 12. In 1809 its owner had submitted it to Malone's appreciation just before having it bound. The expert's autograph letter is joined to the volume. Malone found it to be a fine, genuine copy of the First Folio. A few small repairs will be carried out according to his recommendations. This copy has retained the cleanliness observed by Malone more than 200 years ago.
This man of the stage died in 1616 without having paid attention to the literary value of his own works. Half of his plays were unpublished. The others had been issued as poor quality booklets of which we can be assume that they were not verified by the author.
John Heminges and Henry Condell, who owned overall half of the shares of the Globe Theatre, judiciously decided to reconstruct with the best possible accuracy the whole of Shakespeare's dramatic work. They knew 36 plays of which 18 had never been published. They will have to buy back the publishing rights to some of them and to retrieve the partial manuscripts that had been entrusted to the actors to perform their own role.
The print is of the top luxury, in relation to the literary magnificence of the work. What would later be called the First Folio is a superb volume of 454 leaves 32 x 21 cm, printed in 1623 by Jaggard and Blount. It is forever used as the top reference for any Shakespearean scholarship.
The production run of the First Folio is estimated at around 750 copies. About 220 survive today. 56 are complete, of which only 5 are in private hands. All but six are from the third issue when the content was frozen and the error of a redundant page has been corrected.
Shakespeare is the greatest success in English literature and editions are multiplying. Garrick puts Shakespeare still higher in fashion and Edmond Malone devotes his life to the study of his work. Malone proposes in 1778 a chronology of the plays, observes the literary greatness of the First Folio and has a new edition published in 1790.
On October 14, 2020, Christie's sold a complete copy of the First Folio for $ 10M from a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 12. In 1809 its owner had submitted it to Malone's appreciation just before having it bound. The expert's autograph letter is joined to the volume. Malone found it to be a fine, genuine copy of the First Folio. A few small repairs will be carried out according to his recommendations. This copy has retained the cleanliness observed by Malone more than 200 years ago.
Only five complete copies of the 'First Folio' remain in private hands, and on 24 April in #NewYork, Christie’s will offer the first complete copy to come on the market in almost two decades during our #ExceptionalSale. https://t.co/orNUeX30H0 pic.twitter.com/k90SszIXD0
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) February 25, 2020
1624 Bagpipe Player by ter Brugghen
2009 SOLD for $ 10.2M by Sotheby's
An oil on canvas 101 x 83 cm by Hendrick ter Brugghen, signed and dated 1624, stages a bagpipe player. It was once the pendant of a lute player. A flute player is also known. These representations of popular are faraway from from the luxurious themes of the period.
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 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 bagpipe player was sold for for $ 10.2M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on January 29, 2009, lot 40. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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 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 bagpipe player was sold for for $ 10.2M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on January 29, 2009, lot 40. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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1626 fountain by de Vries
2014 SOLD for $ 28M by Christie's
Influenced by Giambologna, Adriaen 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. De Vries is famous 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.
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 unrecorded 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. The theme is a naked standing mythological figure carrying a globe. It was sold for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on December 11, 2014, lot 10.
On December 7, 1989, the Getty bought at Sotheby's for £ 6.8M a Dancing faun 76 cm high.
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 unrecorded 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. The theme is a naked standing mythological figure carrying a globe. It was sold for $ 28M from a lower estimate of $ 15M by Christie's on December 11, 2014, lot 10.
On December 7, 1989, the Getty bought at Sotheby's for £ 6.8M a Dancing faun 76 cm high.
REMBRANDT
1
breakthrough
1625 Stoning of St. Stephen
Musée de Lyon
Working in his hometown Leiden in a productive rivalry with the child prodigy Jan Lievens, the young and ambitious Rembrandt van Rijn manages to revolutionize the art of painting for its effects of light on the faces, night and day, bold compositions and unconventional themes. He makes his hand to tronies, self portraits and the biblical conducive to bring him patrons and fame.
In 1625, an early painting is a stoning of St. Stephen. It is a chiaroscuro separated by a diagonal, seeking by this bold composition to highlight the epic nature of the scene. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1625, an early painting is a stoning of St. Stephen. It is a chiaroscuro separated by a diagonal, seeking by this bold composition to highlight the epic nature of the scene. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
1626-1627 Bust portrait of a soldier
2012 SOLD for £ 8.4M by Christie's
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, 2012, Christie's sold for £ 8.4M the bust portrait of a soldier, a small panel 40 x 29 cm. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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. The character is of course not identifiable, nor the origin of his uniform.
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, 2012, Christie's sold for £ 8.4M the bust portrait of a soldier, a small panel 40 x 29 cm. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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. The character is of course not identifiable, nor the origin of his uniform.
3
1628 The Adoration of the Kings
2023 SOLD for £ 11M by Sotheby's
Staging by night an Adoration of the Kings with the Star of Bethlehem as a secondary light is probably unprecedented. A small oil on oak panel 24.5 x 18.5 cm upright painted in grisaille and sepia with ochre ca 1628 is certainly a sketch for an etching that was never made, or made in another theme such as the 1630 Presentation to the Temple.
At that time the artist also used the technique of oil on copper for small size such as a Denial of St. Peter also processed as an Oriental multi-figure nocturnal lit from the left.
The Adoration had been considered as painted by Rembrandt until an auction at Christie's in 1985. Once again offered as from the circle of Rembrandt by Christie's while providing the visibility to the former full attribution, it was sold for € 860K from a lower estimate of € 10K on October 6, 2021, lot 7.
Re-attributed to Rembrandt by Sotheby's through infrared imaging revealing the scratches of the pictorial revisions over black framing lines, it iwas sold for £ 11M on December 6, 2023, lot 11. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
At that time the artist also used the technique of oil on copper for small size such as a Denial of St. Peter also processed as an Oriental multi-figure nocturnal lit from the left.
The Adoration had been considered as painted by Rembrandt until an auction at Christie's in 1985. Once again offered as from the circle of Rembrandt by Christie's while providing the visibility to the former full attribution, it was sold for € 860K from a lower estimate of € 10K on October 6, 2021, lot 7.
Re-attributed to Rembrandt by Sotheby's through infrared imaging revealing the scratches of the pictorial revisions over black framing lines, it iwas sold for £ 11M on December 6, 2023, lot 11. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
DONG QICHANG in the style of Huang Gongwang
Intro
Huang Gongwang, a scholar-official of the Southern school, had made a breakthrough in the art of landscape imaging. Disillusioned by the political turpitudes, he spent his old age in the Fuchun mountains near Hangzhou. He was acknowledged by Dong Qichang as the best master of the Yuan dynasty.
He constructed his landscape by very dry brush strokes and very light ink wash. His masterpiece is a long handscroll resulting from a three year work, 1347 to 1350 CE. Starting from observation, the artist builds an ideal Taoist landscape of mountains and rivers in which he adds many tiny details. The whole is integrating the flow of the four seasons. This realistic style departs from the yin and yang inspiration of landscape shaping. That scroll was acquired by Dong Qichang in 1596 CE.
He constructed his landscape by very dry brush strokes and very light ink wash. His masterpiece is a long handscroll resulting from a three year work, 1347 to 1350 CE. Starting from observation, the artist builds an ideal Taoist landscape of mountains and rivers in which he adds many tiny details. The whole is integrating the flow of the four seasons. This realistic style departs from the yin and yang inspiration of landscape shaping. That scroll was acquired by Dong Qichang in 1596 CE.
1
undated Thatched Cottage in a Sparse Forest
2015 SOLD for RMB 69M by China Guardian
On November 15, 2015, China Guardian sold for RMB 69M a mountain landscape by Dong Qichang, hand scroll 26 x 146 cm, lot 1327.
The clean and sharp ink line defines a mountain landscape where the accumulation of rocks is beautifully exaggerated. The ground is scattered with more realistic trees. The scenery is not animated, but a discrete group of thatched cottages brings a human dimension.
The auction house opens the question if the landscape is a reinterpretation of Huang's Fuchun or a transfer of his style to the Jiangnan scenery.
The clean and sharp ink line defines a mountain landscape where the accumulation of rocks is beautifully exaggerated. The ground is scattered with more realistic trees. The scenery is not animated, but a discrete group of thatched cottages brings a human dimension.
The auction house opens the question if the landscape is a reinterpretation of Huang's Fuchun or a transfer of his style to the Jiangnan scenery.
2
1627 Fuchun Mountain
2012 SOLD for RMB 63M by China Guardian
A handscroll 28.5 x 297 cm painted by Dong Qichang in 1627 CE is an acknowledged reinterpretation of Huang Gongwang's Fuchun Mountains. Even the coloring method is an imitation of Huang's Fuchun original, then owned by Dong who had also just acquired a replica by Shen Zhou.
It was sold for RMB 63M by China Guardian on October 28, 2012, lot 868. In opposition with the picture narrated above, the horizon is not trimmed by the upper edge.
It was sold for RMB 63M by China Guardian on October 28, 2012, lot 868. In opposition with the picture narrated above, the horizon is not trimmed by the upper edge.
1627-1972 The Taj Mahal of Elizabeth Taylor
2011 SOLD for $ 8.8M by Christie's
The ideal art, which makes the whole world dream, must evoke love, death and wealth at the same time. Adding elegance and monumentality, I described the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of the beloved wife of Shah Jahan.
In 1972, for Elizabeth Taylor's 40th birthday, Richard Burton humorously declares that he would have liked to offer her the Taj Mahal but that the monument was not transportable. The real gift is an evocation of it : a Mughal piece of jewelry, which Burton had bought for around £ 350K.
This jewel is centered with a large heart-shaped diamond inserted in a surrounding of same shape in red stones, jade and small diamonds. The diamond is inscribed in Persian : Nur Jahan Baygum Padshah, 23, 1037. The ribbon for using it as a pendant is faded. Liz Taylor has it replaced by Cartier with a gold chain terminated by a fraying of gold threads bearing rubies.
In the Hegira calendar, 1037, corresponding to 1627 CE, is the year of Jahangir's death in the 23rd year of his reign and thus marks the end of the long recency of his wife Nur Jahan. Shah Jahan is the son and successor of Jahangir.
This jewel designated as the Taj Mahal was sold on December 13, 2011 for $ 8.8M from a lower estimate of $ 300K, lot 56 in the auction by Christie's of Elizabeth Taylor's estate.
After the sale, the buyer, who remained anonymous, understands that there is no evidence that the Taj Mahal jewel was ever in the hands of Jahangir or Shah Jahan. He is an important customer and Christie's is attempting to cancel the sale of this lot. The trust in charge of the actress's estate opposed it in 2015 and 2017 by legal complaints, arguing the absence of irregularity. The end of the story is not known.
In 1972, for Elizabeth Taylor's 40th birthday, Richard Burton humorously declares that he would have liked to offer her the Taj Mahal but that the monument was not transportable. The real gift is an evocation of it : a Mughal piece of jewelry, which Burton had bought for around £ 350K.
This jewel is centered with a large heart-shaped diamond inserted in a surrounding of same shape in red stones, jade and small diamonds. The diamond is inscribed in Persian : Nur Jahan Baygum Padshah, 23, 1037. The ribbon for using it as a pendant is faded. Liz Taylor has it replaced by Cartier with a gold chain terminated by a fraying of gold threads bearing rubies.
In the Hegira calendar, 1037, corresponding to 1627 CE, is the year of Jahangir's death in the 23rd year of his reign and thus marks the end of the long recency of his wife Nur Jahan. Shah Jahan is the son and successor of Jahangir.
This jewel designated as the Taj Mahal was sold on December 13, 2011 for $ 8.8M from a lower estimate of $ 300K, lot 56 in the auction by Christie's of Elizabeth Taylor's estate.
After the sale, the buyer, who remained anonymous, understands that there is no evidence that the Taj Mahal jewel was ever in the hands of Jahangir or Shah Jahan. He is an important customer and Christie's is attempting to cancel the sale of this lot. The trust in charge of the actress's estate opposed it in 2015 and 2017 by legal complaints, arguing the absence of irregularity. The end of the story is not known.
1627-1629 St. John the Evangelist by Domenichino
2009 SOLD for £ 9.2M by Christie's
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 workmanship 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. A St. John the Evangelist executed between 1627 and 1629 has a monumental dimension for an ancient canvas, 2.5 x 2 m.
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. After being kept for one hundred years in the same family, it was sold for £ 9.2M from a lower estimate of £ 7M by Christie's on December 8, 2009. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Painter of religious subjects, he was especially a fresco artist, and so was accustomed to very large sizes. A St. John the Evangelist executed between 1627 and 1629 has a monumental dimension for an ancient canvas, 2.5 x 2 m.
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. After being kept for one hundred years in the same family, it was sold for £ 9.2M from a lower estimate of £ 7M by Christie's on December 8, 2009. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
masterpiece
1628-1629 Annunciation by Rubens
Antwerp Rubenshuis
A sketch for the Annunciation by Rubens served as a modello for a large size altarpiece painting 310 x 180 cm with a rounded top. Both were probably executed during the second stay of the artist in Spain, between August 1628 and April 1629.
In this much balanced composition inspired from Titian, Gabriel is flying down to the confidently praying Mary kneeling on a prie-dieu while a pair of putti are throwing flowers from the sky. A dove represents the Holy Spirit.
The sketch is an oil on panel 42 x 31.4 cm executed with great speed and spontaneity like a drawing. In the sketch the putti are blurred while the two major characters are more clearly defined. The dendrochronology finds that the tree had been fallen around 1615. It was sold by Sotheby's for $ 4.8M on February 6, 2025, lot 325. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The image of the altarpiece is shared by Wikimedia.
In this much balanced composition inspired from Titian, Gabriel is flying down to the confidently praying Mary kneeling on a prie-dieu while a pair of putti are throwing flowers from the sky. A dove represents the Holy Spirit.
The sketch is an oil on panel 42 x 31.4 cm executed with great speed and spontaneity like a drawing. In the sketch the putti are blurred while the two major characters are more clearly defined. The dendrochronology finds that the tree had been fallen around 1615. It was sold by Sotheby's for $ 4.8M on February 6, 2025, lot 325. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The image of the altarpiece is shared by Wikimedia.
