Decade 1640-1649
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Italian sculpture Rembrandt Flemish art Early still life British Royals Books Books 1501-1700
See also : Italian sculpture Rembrandt Flemish art Early still life British Royals Books Books 1501-1700
De HEEM
1
masterpiece
1640 Table of Desserts
Louvre
Developed since the beginning of the 17th century as a supplement or a minor art, still life enters a new phase around 1640. The Flemish had brought naturalism and the Dutch had brought the light. Fruits and other foods have joined the bouquets, with Clara Peeters and Willem Heda.
Antwerp and Utrecht are 150 km apart and artistic links are strong between the two cities. The two most important painters of the new style, the Pronkstilleven, are Johannes van Antwerpen, born in Utrecht, who will be known as Jan Davidsz de Heem, and Adriaen van Utrecht, born in Antwerp.
Still life shows by definition perishable objects. His baroque Pronkstilleven reinforces the message of vanity through the abundance of scarce foods, the unstable mess on the banquet preparation table and the presence of musical instruments. The rich colors made of expensive pigments supersede the effects of light displayed in Haarlem by Heda.
De Heem was a member of the Antwerp guild in 1636, after having been trained in Utrecht and Leiden. Between 1640 and 1643, he realizes four monumental works, which will remain the largest of his career, at the apparent rate of one painting per year. His customers have not been identified.
Table of Desserts, oil on canvas 1.45 x 2 m preserved in the Louvre, appears as the first in this series. The imbalance of the objects on the crumpled tablecloth will inspire Cézanne's research and the "Nature morte d'après de Heem" painted by Matisse in 1915 is a modernist remake of this specific work.
Antwerp and Utrecht are 150 km apart and artistic links are strong between the two cities. The two most important painters of the new style, the Pronkstilleven, are Johannes van Antwerpen, born in Utrecht, who will be known as Jan Davidsz de Heem, and Adriaen van Utrecht, born in Antwerp.
Still life shows by definition perishable objects. His baroque Pronkstilleven reinforces the message of vanity through the abundance of scarce foods, the unstable mess on the banquet preparation table and the presence of musical instruments. The rich colors made of expensive pigments supersede the effects of light displayed in Haarlem by Heda.
De Heem was a member of the Antwerp guild in 1636, after having been trained in Utrecht and Leiden. Between 1640 and 1643, he realizes four monumental works, which will remain the largest of his career, at the apparent rate of one painting per year. His customers have not been identified.
Table of Desserts, oil on canvas 1.45 x 2 m preserved in the Louvre, appears as the first in this series. The imbalance of the objects on the crumpled tablecloth will inspire Cézanne's research and the "Nature morte d'après de Heem" painted by Matisse in 1915 is a modernist remake of this specific work.
2
1643 Banquet Still Life
2020 SOLD for £ 5.8M by Christie's
The second painting is the largest at 2.60 m wide. It is kept at the City Museum in Brussels. This still life with black servant and parrot may also be titled The meal in jeopardy.
The third is the Banquet Still Life with a Lobster, 152 x 206 cm executed in 1642, that may also be titled A Lavish banquet still life, flanked by columns, before a landscape. It was sold for $ 6.6M by Christie's on January 15, 1988. It is illustrated in 3rd position in a story by the auction house.
The fourth painting, oil on canvas 155 x 211 cm painted in 1643, had not been seen since an auction in 1817 and is still uncleaned. It was sold for £ 5.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Christie's on December 15, 2020, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The third is the Banquet Still Life with a Lobster, 152 x 206 cm executed in 1642, that may also be titled A Lavish banquet still life, flanked by columns, before a landscape. It was sold for $ 6.6M by Christie's on January 15, 1988. It is illustrated in 3rd position in a story by the auction house.
The fourth painting, oil on canvas 155 x 211 cm painted in 1643, had not been seen since an auction in 1817 and is still uncleaned. It was sold for £ 5.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Christie's on December 15, 2020, lot 10. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1640 Bay Psalm Book
2013 SOLD for $ 14.2M by Sotheby's
The Puritans fleeing the England of the Stuarts built in Massachusetts Bay the communities that could meet their religious and social ideals. One of the villages, named Cambridge in 1638, specifically had a cultural vocation. Harvard College was founded there in 1636.
The singing of the psalms is a strong element of their liturgy, linking together the first parishioners of that region still in wilderness. Their scholars do not want to use the available British translations. Their new version in English verse takes the excuse of a need to be closer to the original Hebrew text. It was actually a remarkable collective work, and the first sign of their independence from the Church of England.
They now have to publish this text. In London, Josse Glover supports the project and in turn leaves to America in 1638. He did not reach it, but he was accompanied by Stephen Day (or Daye), a locksmith who will be the first printer in New England.
Currently known by the nickname Bay Psalm Book, The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre is printed by Day in 1640 in Cambridge and sold by the earliest bookseller of New England, Hezekiah Usher.
The original edition consisted of 1700 copies. For a century, the book was highly successful and often reprinted. Because of its liturgical use, most copies were damaged and destroyed.
The arrival at auction of a copy in good condition of the 1640 edition is an event of the utmost importance for American bibliophiles and patriots. In 1947, one of them went to be more expensive than the Old Testament of the Gutenberg Bible.
Another one is estimated $ 14.2M by Sotheby's on November 26, 2013. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's. The seller is the Old South Church in Boston which keeps another copy in a similar condition.
The singing of the psalms is a strong element of their liturgy, linking together the first parishioners of that region still in wilderness. Their scholars do not want to use the available British translations. Their new version in English verse takes the excuse of a need to be closer to the original Hebrew text. It was actually a remarkable collective work, and the first sign of their independence from the Church of England.
They now have to publish this text. In London, Josse Glover supports the project and in turn leaves to America in 1638. He did not reach it, but he was accompanied by Stephen Day (or Daye), a locksmith who will be the first printer in New England.
Currently known by the nickname Bay Psalm Book, The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre is printed by Day in 1640 in Cambridge and sold by the earliest bookseller of New England, Hezekiah Usher.
The original edition consisted of 1700 copies. For a century, the book was highly successful and often reprinted. Because of its liturgical use, most copies were damaged and destroyed.
The arrival at auction of a copy in good condition of the 1640 edition is an event of the utmost importance for American bibliophiles and patriots. In 1947, one of them went to be more expensive than the Old Testament of the Gutenberg Bible.
Another one is estimated $ 14.2M by Sotheby's on November 26, 2013. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's. The seller is the Old South Church in Boston which keeps another copy in a similar condition.
1641 van DYCK
1
Self Portrait
2009 SOLD for £ 8.3M by Sotheby's
A native of Antwerp and pupil of Rubens, Van Dyck moved permanently to England in 1632. He got there one of the greatest successes in the history of painting as a portraitist of King Charles I and his court.
In 1641, a few months before his death, he executed a self-portrait on canvas. He is a typical gentleman of the mid-seventeenth century, with long hair pulled back to clear the forehead, and abundant whiskers. He was shown almost in profile, in an oval format that is highlighted by a splendid frame.
In the same family for three centuries, this portrait was one of the highlights of the Van Dyck exhibition at Tate Britain in London in the spring of 2009. It was sold for £ 8.3M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Sotheby's on December 9, 2009.
In 1641, a few months before his death, he executed a self-portrait on canvas. He is a typical gentleman of the mid-seventeenth century, with long hair pulled back to clear the forehead, and abundant whiskers. He was shown almost in profile, in an oval format that is highlighted by a splendid frame.
In the same family for three centuries, this portrait was one of the highlights of the Van Dyck exhibition at Tate Britain in London in the spring of 2009. It was sold for £ 8.3M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Sotheby's on December 9, 2009.
Self-portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) sold for $13.63 million in 2009. #NationalSelfieDay #art #auction pic.twitter.com/6uzblndHOB
— Maine Antique Digest (@AntiqueDigest) June 21, 2016
2
Princess Mary
2018 SOLD for £ 5.9M by Christie's
A great art patron, King Charles I wanted to take one of the best portrait painters to his service. He chooses Antoon (Anthony) van Dyck. Equal to his famous contemporaries Rubens, Hals, Velazquez and Rembrandt for the quality of the faces, van Dyck also brings a careful attention to the attitudes of the characters, always natural, never stiff. He is undoubtedly the best portraitist of children.
When van Dyck began this new mission in 1632, the royal couple had two children, Charles and Mary. James, Elizabeth and Anne will be born later. The artist watches them grow.
The mother, Henriette, brought to the Stuart court her French elegance with luxurious fabrics. A portrait kept in the Boston Museum shows Mary in 1637. The six-year-old princess wears a long silk dress to which the artist's skill brings a lustrous appearance.
Making autograph copies is a common practice of van Dyck. By the quality of dress and jewels and the transparency of the embroidery, the 158 x 109 cm autograph oil on canvas for sale by Christie's on December 6, 2018 is perhaps the original painting of 1641. It was sold for £ 5.9M, lot 15. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The wedding portrait of Princess Mary, 158 x 109 cm oil on canvas painted by Van Dyck in 1641, was sold by Christie's for £ 5.9M in 2018.
An autograph replica in the same size with a possible participation of the studio was sold for £ 790K by Sotheby's on December 5, 2018, lot 30. The figure of the young princess is identical but the ambience background has nearly vanished, and the spectacular coral pink gown worn at the wedding has become a saturated orange, probably to please the new Orange in-laws of the princess.
A portrait of the same format and same year features her brother the Prince of Wales later King Charles II, aged 11, in armor. It was probably since its creation a pendant with Mary's picture in orange. It was sold for £ 2.6M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Sotheby's in the same sale as above, lot 29.
When van Dyck began this new mission in 1632, the royal couple had two children, Charles and Mary. James, Elizabeth and Anne will be born later. The artist watches them grow.
The mother, Henriette, brought to the Stuart court her French elegance with luxurious fabrics. A portrait kept in the Boston Museum shows Mary in 1637. The six-year-old princess wears a long silk dress to which the artist's skill brings a lustrous appearance.
Making autograph copies is a common practice of van Dyck. By the quality of dress and jewels and the transparency of the embroidery, the 158 x 109 cm autograph oil on canvas for sale by Christie's on December 6, 2018 is perhaps the original painting of 1641. It was sold for £ 5.9M, lot 15. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The wedding portrait of Princess Mary, 158 x 109 cm oil on canvas painted by Van Dyck in 1641, was sold by Christie's for £ 5.9M in 2018.
An autograph replica in the same size with a possible participation of the studio was sold for £ 790K by Sotheby's on December 5, 2018, lot 30. The figure of the young princess is identical but the ambience background has nearly vanished, and the spectacular coral pink gown worn at the wedding has become a saturated orange, probably to please the new Orange in-laws of the princess.
A portrait of the same format and same year features her brother the Prince of Wales later King Charles II, aged 11, in armor. It was probably since its creation a pendant with Mary's picture in orange. It was sold for £ 2.6M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Sotheby's in the same sale as above, lot 29.
These portraits of an 11 year-old Charles II, when Prince of Wales, and his 9 year-old sister Mary, Princess Royal, were among the last works #VanDyck painted for his royal patron, Charles I. #SothebysMasters https://t.co/cGm7aFEAvb pic.twitter.com/lYbs1RzTEW
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) September 13, 2018
1640s Hercules by Tacca
2018 SOLD for £ 6.8M by Christie's
Pietro Tacca had the skills and the position to become one of the best sculptors of all time. He was unlucky. Disciple and then assistant to Giambologna in Florence, he succeeds the master in 1608. At the same time Baroque supersedes Mannerism.
Tacca designs groups in violent action as well as equestrian monuments, made in bronze by assembling elements. His statue of King Philip IV of Spain on a rearing horse only standing on its hind legs and tail is an unprecedented technical feat but the artist died in 1640 just before the installation of this masterpiece.
In 1612 the heir to the throne of England is the 18 years old Prince Henry. He communicates to the Grand Duke of Tuscany his interest in bronzes. Appealed by the idea of an easy support for a new alliance, the Grand Duke commissions to Tacca a set of groups illustrating the labours of Hercules.
Around 1614 Tacca prepares five models but the young English prince had died and the project no longer interests anyone. Twenty years later there were still arrears of payment.
It is not Pietro but his son Ferdinando who brings to perfection the art of the Florentine bronze, with a surface finish that simulates in a differentiated way the skin, the hair, the textile, the hide, the rock, the plant. The five groups of Hercules had remained unused. Ferdinando made the first bronzes of this series after the death of his father. The sculpture is out of fashion. Ten years later Ferdinando had become a theater machinist and an architect.
In 1681 the French King Louis XIV wishes to complete the education of his son and heir the Grand Dauphin. He gathers a collection of nine humanist minded bronzes including four groups of Hercules made in the 1640s by Ferdinando Tacca.
Released from the royal collections during the French Revolution, Hercules slaying the Acheloüs bull, 58 x 55 x 38 cm with a beautiful reddish-brown patina, was sold for $ 1.65M by Sotheby's on May 20, 1994 and for £ 6.8M by Christie's on July 5, 2018, lot 110.
Tacca designs groups in violent action as well as equestrian monuments, made in bronze by assembling elements. His statue of King Philip IV of Spain on a rearing horse only standing on its hind legs and tail is an unprecedented technical feat but the artist died in 1640 just before the installation of this masterpiece.
In 1612 the heir to the throne of England is the 18 years old Prince Henry. He communicates to the Grand Duke of Tuscany his interest in bronzes. Appealed by the idea of an easy support for a new alliance, the Grand Duke commissions to Tacca a set of groups illustrating the labours of Hercules.
Around 1614 Tacca prepares five models but the young English prince had died and the project no longer interests anyone. Twenty years later there were still arrears of payment.
It is not Pietro but his son Ferdinando who brings to perfection the art of the Florentine bronze, with a surface finish that simulates in a differentiated way the skin, the hair, the textile, the hide, the rock, the plant. The five groups of Hercules had remained unused. Ferdinando made the first bronzes of this series after the death of his father. The sculpture is out of fashion. Ten years later Ferdinando had become a theater machinist and an architect.
In 1681 the French King Louis XIV wishes to complete the education of his son and heir the Grand Dauphin. He gathers a collection of nine humanist minded bronzes including four groups of Hercules made in the 1640s by Ferdinando Tacca.
Released from the royal collections during the French Revolution, Hercules slaying the Acheloüs bull, 58 x 55 x 38 cm with a beautiful reddish-brown patina, was sold for $ 1.65M by Sotheby's on May 20, 1994 and for £ 6.8M by Christie's on July 5, 2018, lot 110.
masterpiece
1642 The Night Watch (De Nachtwacht) by Rembrandt
Rijksmuseum
The image in the Rijksmuseum is shared by Wikimedia with attribution Rembrandt, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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1643 Kyoto Lacquered Chest
2013 SOLD for € 7.3M by Rouillac
Around 1640 in Kyoto, the art of lacquer reached a fabulous refinement. The Dutch East India Company managed to export some pieces of very high quality.
At that time in Europe, the commode has not been invented, and the usual saving furniture is the coffre, without drawers. A wonderful chest kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum is part of a group of four shipped to Batavia on 1 October 1643. Its attested belonging to the Mazarin - La Meilleraye family suggests that it was acquired by the cardinal-minister. It is identified as the Mazarin chest.
The very detailed website of the museum devotes a full page to another chest from the same series, lamenting that its fate is unknown since 1941. Black and white photos show a panel and the top..
The lost piece was just found in a family that had no idea of its importance. It is listed in the annual prestige sale at the château de Cheverny by Rouillac on June 9, 2013. The auction house considers that it had been acquired circa 1658 in Amsterdam by an agent of Mazarin. The cardinal, a great lover of art, was considered as the richest man in the world.
This is a large piece, 64 x 145 x 73 cm. The total surface of black and gold lacquer is extraordinary: nearly 9 square meters including the inside of the lid. Despite its decades of incognito survival, it is in very good condition.
Above all, it represents by itself a synthesis of the decorative arts of Japan, with all the technical applications of lacquer including inlays of mother of pearl. The many figures of people, animals and palaces are exquisite.
The position of these chests in the history of furniture is great. It was to wait for more than half a century to get the fashion of commodes and desks decorated with lacquered panels.
Acquired for € 7.3M for the benefit of the Rijksmuseum, the chest will come back to Amsterdam three and a half centuries after being bought in this city by an agent of Mazarin.
At that time in Europe, the commode has not been invented, and the usual saving furniture is the coffre, without drawers. A wonderful chest kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum is part of a group of four shipped to Batavia on 1 October 1643. Its attested belonging to the Mazarin - La Meilleraye family suggests that it was acquired by the cardinal-minister. It is identified as the Mazarin chest.
The very detailed website of the museum devotes a full page to another chest from the same series, lamenting that its fate is unknown since 1941. Black and white photos show a panel and the top..
The lost piece was just found in a family that had no idea of its importance. It is listed in the annual prestige sale at the château de Cheverny by Rouillac on June 9, 2013. The auction house considers that it had been acquired circa 1658 in Amsterdam by an agent of Mazarin. The cardinal, a great lover of art, was considered as the richest man in the world.
This is a large piece, 64 x 145 x 73 cm. The total surface of black and gold lacquer is extraordinary: nearly 9 square meters including the inside of the lid. Despite its decades of incognito survival, it is in very good condition.
Above all, it represents by itself a synthesis of the decorative arts of Japan, with all the technical applications of lacquer including inlays of mother of pearl. The many figures of people, animals and palaces are exquisite.
The position of these chests in the history of furniture is great. It was to wait for more than half a century to get the fashion of commodes and desks decorated with lacquered panels.
Acquired for € 7.3M for the benefit of the Rijksmuseum, the chest will come back to Amsterdam three and a half centuries after being bought in this city by an agent of Mazarin.
1643 Portrait of a Gentleman by Hals
2024 SOLD for £ 5.7M by Christie's
The portraits by Frans Hals identify the date of execution and the age of the sitter.
The half length figure of an old man is inscribed 1643 and the age 6x with the lower numeral missing. A coat of arms with wolf heads is certainly for de Wolff, a leading family of linen weavers in Haarlem, but which de Wolff man is still questionable.
The figure is lively and spontaneous in the psychological style of the artist. The lifelike style did not cancel the pronounced aquiline nose of the sitter. The extravagant ruff would have been out-fashioned by the mid-1640s but nevertheless suitable for a man of the old generation. The gaze is self confident as for a successful merchant going elderly.
This oil on canvas 93 x 76 cm was sold for £ 5.7M by Christie's on July 2, 2024, lot 17.
This period marks the culmination of Hals's career. Soon afterward the economy of Haarlem had a downturn and the commissions for portraits became rarer.
The portrait in three quarter length dated 1621 of a 59 year old man has a strong resemblance with the de Wolf portrait. The attire is similar with a simpler ruff and without hat, the face expression is friendly and the hands are communicating. The coat of arms is at the same position on the wall. He was a wealthy cloth dyer and brewer in Haarlem. This oil on canvas 122 x 92 cm was listed and withdrawn by Christie's on February 5, 2025, lot 25.
The half length figure of an old man is inscribed 1643 and the age 6x with the lower numeral missing. A coat of arms with wolf heads is certainly for de Wolff, a leading family of linen weavers in Haarlem, but which de Wolff man is still questionable.
The figure is lively and spontaneous in the psychological style of the artist. The lifelike style did not cancel the pronounced aquiline nose of the sitter. The extravagant ruff would have been out-fashioned by the mid-1640s but nevertheless suitable for a man of the old generation. The gaze is self confident as for a successful merchant going elderly.
This oil on canvas 93 x 76 cm was sold for £ 5.7M by Christie's on July 2, 2024, lot 17.
This period marks the culmination of Hals's career. Soon afterward the economy of Haarlem had a downturn and the commissions for portraits became rarer.
The portrait in three quarter length dated 1621 of a 59 year old man has a strong resemblance with the de Wolf portrait. The attire is similar with a simpler ruff and without hat, the face expression is friendly and the hands are communicating. The coat of arms is at the same position on the wall. He was a wealthy cloth dyer and brewer in Haarlem. This oil on canvas 122 x 92 cm was listed and withdrawn by Christie's on February 5, 2025, lot 25.
#AuctionUpdate #FransHals’s ‘Portrait of a gentleman of the de Wolff family’ sold for £5,715,000. This remarkably lively masterpiece by Hals has been out of public view for more than sixty years and in the same family’s possession for over a century: https://t.co/6mTAIqBZl6 pic.twitter.com/C7TwESVNLG
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) July 2, 2024
1646 An Old Man at a Casement by Flinck
2017 SOLD for $ 10.3M by Christie's
Tronies were one of the earliest specialties of Rembrandt.
A beautifully executed tronie of a richly dressed melancholic old man leaning on an embroidered cushion at a casement was attributed to that great master when it was acquired by the empress Catherine II for the Hermitage Museum under creation. Its provenance was from the bulk sale of 317 paintings collected by Gotzkowsky. This former advisor to Frederick the Great had also been an entrepreneur in silk and porcelain and was close to bankruptcy after a failed speculation on grain.
That painting left the collection of the Russian crown on the mid 19th century. Its signature and date G. Flinck f(ecit) 1646 at the lower left were discovered later.
Govaert Flinck had been a skilled pupil of Rembrandt in Amsterdam for a short time around 1636 and followed his master's style in his own studio in the same city. From ca 1648 he turned to history painting in the follow of Rubens.
The tronie of the Hermitage, oil on a single plank poplar panel 70 x 60 cm, was sold by Christie's for £ 2.34M on December 6, 2011, lot 13 and for $ 10.3M on April 27, 2017, lot 42. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A beautifully executed tronie of a richly dressed melancholic old man leaning on an embroidered cushion at a casement was attributed to that great master when it was acquired by the empress Catherine II for the Hermitage Museum under creation. Its provenance was from the bulk sale of 317 paintings collected by Gotzkowsky. This former advisor to Frederick the Great had also been an entrepreneur in silk and porcelain and was close to bankruptcy after a failed speculation on grain.
That painting left the collection of the Russian crown on the mid 19th century. Its signature and date G. Flinck f(ecit) 1646 at the lower left were discovered later.
Govaert Flinck had been a skilled pupil of Rembrandt in Amsterdam for a short time around 1636 and followed his master's style in his own studio in the same city. From ca 1648 he turned to history painting in the follow of Rubens.
The tronie of the Hermitage, oil on a single plank poplar panel 70 x 60 cm, was sold by Christie's for £ 2.34M on December 6, 2011, lot 13 and for $ 10.3M on April 27, 2017, lot 42. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1648 Study of Christ by Rembrandt
2018 SOLD for £ 9.5M by Sotheby's
The end of the 1640s is very difficult for Rembrandt. He is a widower and his life with his son's nanny creates a scandal. Orders cease and his financial situation is very bad. He is nevertheless one of the best portrait painters of his time.
The scenes from the Gospels are part of his offer. In 1648 he paints The Pilgrims of Emmaus, oil on wood 68 x 65 cm preserved in the Musée du Louvre. Christ, who is of course the central character, responds to his traditional figuration, with waving hair covering his shoulders and with a short beard.
Rembrandt is more interested in the realism and psychology of faces than in mysticism. The young man who posed for the Emmaus scene is recognizable in a group of portraiture studies with various positions of the head that express the concentration of prayer and the humility, without a halo.
Two of these portraits were considered as autographs by the Rembrandt Research Project. The four or five other paintings in this group are copies of lost originals or imitations.
One of the two authentic portraits, oil on wood 25 x 21 cm, is kept at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The other one, in same technique and dimensions, was sold for £ 9.5M from a lower estimate of £ 6M by Sotheby's on December 5, 2018, lot 18. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The scenes from the Gospels are part of his offer. In 1648 he paints The Pilgrims of Emmaus, oil on wood 68 x 65 cm preserved in the Musée du Louvre. Christ, who is of course the central character, responds to his traditional figuration, with waving hair covering his shoulders and with a short beard.
Rembrandt is more interested in the realism and psychology of faces than in mysticism. The young man who posed for the Emmaus scene is recognizable in a group of portraiture studies with various positions of the head that express the concentration of prayer and the humility, without a halo.
Two of these portraits were considered as autographs by the Rembrandt Research Project. The four or five other paintings in this group are copies of lost originals or imitations.
One of the two authentic portraits, oil on wood 25 x 21 cm, is kept at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The other one, in same technique and dimensions, was sold for £ 9.5M from a lower estimate of £ 6M by Sotheby's on December 5, 2018, lot 18. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1646-1649 Artist Studio by Sweerts
2023 SOLD for £ 12.6M by Christie's
In Rome from 1626 to 1639, Pieter van Laer pejoratively nicknamed il Bamboccio created a new style of Italian genre of the lower classes inspired from Dutch and Flemish art.
His followers are joined from 1646 to 1652 or slightly later by the Brussels born Michael Sweerts. Nothing is known about the training of this elusive but eclectic artist.
The Artist Studio is one of the most popular scenes by Sweerts while in Rome. Several in period replicas are known, some of them probably partly autograph. In this complex image, the artist at his easel in the dark is looking at his model, a seamstress at work in full light. In the foreground an assistant looks at a huge accumulation of plaster busts.
A previously unknown Artist Studio is considered as the original. It is signed and located by Sweerts and is tentatively dated from his Roman beginnings between 1646 and 1649 for pre-dating the examples kept at the Rijksmuseum and at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
This oil on canvas 80 x 108 cm was sold for £ 12.6M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Christie's on July 6, 2023, lot 6.
The sewing woman devoting her attention to her work anticipates Vermeer's lacemaker by two decades. Fallen like Vermeer in oblivion, Sweerts was rediscovered in 1907.
His followers are joined from 1646 to 1652 or slightly later by the Brussels born Michael Sweerts. Nothing is known about the training of this elusive but eclectic artist.
The Artist Studio is one of the most popular scenes by Sweerts while in Rome. Several in period replicas are known, some of them probably partly autograph. In this complex image, the artist at his easel in the dark is looking at his model, a seamstress at work in full light. In the foreground an assistant looks at a huge accumulation of plaster busts.
A previously unknown Artist Studio is considered as the original. It is signed and located by Sweerts and is tentatively dated from his Roman beginnings between 1646 and 1649 for pre-dating the examples kept at the Rijksmuseum and at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
This oil on canvas 80 x 108 cm was sold for £ 12.6M from a lower estimate of £ 2M by Christie's on July 6, 2023, lot 6.
The sewing woman devoting her attention to her work anticipates Vermeer's lacemaker by two decades. Fallen like Vermeer in oblivion, Sweerts was rediscovered in 1907.
#AuctionUpdate #MichaelSweerts's 'The Artist's Studio with a Seamstress' sold for £12,615,000 (x6 its low estimate) achieving a #WorldAuctionRecord for the artist. In a large studio, a painter sits at an easel with his back to the viewer turning in profile to observe his subject. pic.twitter.com/wfVQ72UbGs
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) July 6, 2023
