Ancient Flemish Art
See also : Ancient painting Early still life Renaissance Madonna and Child Groups Nude Self portrait II Christianity Manuscript Religious texts
Chronology : 1460-1479 16th century 1500-1519 17th Century 1600-1609 1610-1619 1620-1639 1640-1659
Chronology : 1460-1479 16th century 1500-1519 17th Century 1600-1609 1610-1619 1620-1639 1640-1659
early 1470s Unveiling a Renaissance Virgin and Child
2017 SOLD for $ 9M including premium
On April 27 in New York, Christie's sells a panel 111 x 125 cm composed as a triptych in Renaissance style, lot 8 estimated $ 3M. At first glance the piece is shocking : it is an oil painting with the exception of the drawings of the Virgin and Child in the central part and of one of the two characters of saints in the left wing.
The great collector Horace Walpole had acquired it for 80 guineas in 1752 in an auction, as a scene of the marriage of Henry VII with Elizabeth of York in 1486. A difference in technique between the characters and the architectural elements suggests that the composition is hybrid but Walpole is very proud to possess this painting considered as typically Tudor. The provenance is known : it had belonged to William Sykes half a century earlier.
It is exhibited in 1890. An acute observer tells in the Gazette des Beaux Arts that he perceives a classic Virgin and Child through the central part which is a church interior without figures.
The work was acquired in 1977 by the art dealer Edward Speelman. Convinced that only the architectural elements and three of the four saints were contemporaries of the Flemish Renaissance, he entrusted the restoration to the specialist David Bull of the Norton Simon Museum.
In a patient work that spans almost ten years, Bull removes with his knife the 18th century paintings, certainly made by or for Sykes who had a reputation as a faker and knew how to transform works when it pleased his clients. Bull's work brings to light a superb drawing of the Virgin and Child in the central part, supersedes Elizabeth of York with an ill-preserved drawing of St John the Baptist and restitutes to the false Tudor the attributes of St. Louis.
The expertise continued. Radiographic inspection and infrared reflectography demonstrate that the quality of the under-drawing is homogeneous throughout the surface. All the composite elements resulting from the painstaking work of Bull come from a Renaissance work. The beauty of drawing, painting and colors indicates that this panel is the autograph work of a master.
The comparison of expressive details, such as the face of the Virgin or the study of feet, with works indisputably attributed to Hugo van der Goes is convincing and a dating in the early 1470s is consistent with the dendrochronology of the panel. Hugo was a perfectionist until he fell into madness. He worked in Ghent where he admired the polyptych painted half a century earlier by the van Eyck brothers for the altar of St. Bavon's cathedral.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
The great collector Horace Walpole had acquired it for 80 guineas in 1752 in an auction, as a scene of the marriage of Henry VII with Elizabeth of York in 1486. A difference in technique between the characters and the architectural elements suggests that the composition is hybrid but Walpole is very proud to possess this painting considered as typically Tudor. The provenance is known : it had belonged to William Sykes half a century earlier.
It is exhibited in 1890. An acute observer tells in the Gazette des Beaux Arts that he perceives a classic Virgin and Child through the central part which is a church interior without figures.
The work was acquired in 1977 by the art dealer Edward Speelman. Convinced that only the architectural elements and three of the four saints were contemporaries of the Flemish Renaissance, he entrusted the restoration to the specialist David Bull of the Norton Simon Museum.
In a patient work that spans almost ten years, Bull removes with his knife the 18th century paintings, certainly made by or for Sykes who had a reputation as a faker and knew how to transform works when it pleased his clients. Bull's work brings to light a superb drawing of the Virgin and Child in the central part, supersedes Elizabeth of York with an ill-preserved drawing of St John the Baptist and restitutes to the false Tudor the attributes of St. Louis.
The expertise continued. Radiographic inspection and infrared reflectography demonstrate that the quality of the under-drawing is homogeneous throughout the surface. All the composite elements resulting from the painstaking work of Bull come from a Renaissance work. The beauty of drawing, painting and colors indicates that this panel is the autograph work of a master.
The comparison of expressive details, such as the face of the Virgin or the study of feet, with works indisputably attributed to Hugo van der Goes is convincing and a dating in the early 1470s is consistent with the dendrochronology of the panel. Hugo was a perfectionist until he fell into madness. He worked in Ghent where he admired the polyptych painted half a century earlier by the van Eyck brothers for the altar of St. Bavon's cathedral.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
#Masterpiece : un tableau rare de Hugo Van der Goes fait partie de la vente Old Master Paintings chez @ChristiesInc à New-York le 27 avril pic.twitter.com/tOVgTLUZgW
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) March 13, 2017
1505 The Best Artists from Ghent and Bruges
2014 SOLD 13.6 M$ including premium
The printed book cannot claim to achieve the beauty of illuminated manuscripts. Under the Habsburgs, the best Flemish painters illustrate books of great luxury. They have not revealed all their secrets : the artists did not sign and the sponsors are not identified.
One of these masterpieces is known as the Rothschild Prayerbook. It was sold for £ 8.6 million including premium at Christie's on July 8, 1999. It is estimated $ 12M, for sale by Christie 's in New York on January 29.
It is a book of hours for the use of Rome (meaning that is based on Roman liturgy), made around 1505 in Ghent or Bruges. In a small format 23 x 16 cm, this book with 252 leaves in luxurious vellum includes 67 large illustrations.
From an iconographic point of view, it is a fabulous collection of religious and liturgical scenes, showing in very fresh colors the life and customs of its time. Decorative borders offer an extended variety of topics.
The styles of these images clearly show that several workshops have co-operated, and comparison with other manuscripts and paintings can identify that it was made by the most renowned artists of their time. Their co-operation in such collective artworks was an extraordinary and unique business of which no direct witnessing has surfaced.
The main illustrators of the Rothschild Prayerbook were Gerard Horenbout who worked at Ghent and Alexander Bening, a member of the guilds of Bruges and Ghent. Simon Bening, son of Alexander, to whom a few images are attributed, will be the last great Flemish illuminator. The style of Gerard David, the leading painter in Bruges at that time, is recognized on several images.
POST SALE COMMENT
This masterpiece reaches once again a great price : $ 13.6M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's :
One of these masterpieces is known as the Rothschild Prayerbook. It was sold for £ 8.6 million including premium at Christie's on July 8, 1999. It is estimated $ 12M, for sale by Christie 's in New York on January 29.
It is a book of hours for the use of Rome (meaning that is based on Roman liturgy), made around 1505 in Ghent or Bruges. In a small format 23 x 16 cm, this book with 252 leaves in luxurious vellum includes 67 large illustrations.
From an iconographic point of view, it is a fabulous collection of religious and liturgical scenes, showing in very fresh colors the life and customs of its time. Decorative borders offer an extended variety of topics.
The styles of these images clearly show that several workshops have co-operated, and comparison with other manuscripts and paintings can identify that it was made by the most renowned artists of their time. Their co-operation in such collective artworks was an extraordinary and unique business of which no direct witnessing has surfaced.
The main illustrators of the Rothschild Prayerbook were Gerard Horenbout who worked at Ghent and Alexander Bening, a member of the guilds of Bruges and Ghent. Simon Bening, son of Alexander, to whom a few images are attributed, will be the last great Flemish illuminator. The style of Gerard David, the leading painter in Bruges at that time, is recognized on several images.
POST SALE COMMENT
This masterpiece reaches once again a great price : $ 13.6M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's :
A very #MerryChristmas to all. Here’s a stunning #nativity scene from the #RothschildPrayerbook! pic.twitter.com/RIVYbiXLjC
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) December 25, 2015Good and Evil on a Flemish Square
2012 SOLD 4.5 M£ including premium
Pieter Brueghel the elder is one the most popular ancient masters for the public of today. We love his celebrations, his many characters in very diverse attitudes who are busy in a medieval atmosphere. He has recorded for us the life of another time.
His themes, allegories, proverbs, parables, however, are well positioning this artist at the time when the religious crisis shook Europe, when Cranach and Titian, in their own way, were looking for the meaning of good and evil.
The Battle between Carnival and Lent, in 1559, is one of the most complex compositions of Brueghel. On the pretext of a festival on the village square, it shows people, their occupations, their games, and two processions facing each other in such a way that they irreversibly inhibit any possible progress. Carnival comes out of the inn and Lent out of the church.
Fortunately, the sons of the founder of the workshop were also excellent painters. Although being copies, the five known examples of the Battle between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Brueghel the younger are masterpieces.
Only one of these five paintings, it seems, has been dated using dendrochronology. This version of 1603, 118 x 166 cm, has been previously discussed in this group. In neglected condition, it was sold £ 2M including premium by Christie's on December 7, 2010.
On similar size and in very good condition, the only canvas of the group was sold twice by Christie's: £ 3.25 million including premium on 7 December 2006, and £ 6.9 million including premium on 6 December 2011, demonstrating the growing enthusiasm of the market.
Also in similar dimensions, the best preserved of the four panels is estimated £ 4M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 4. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Carnival and Lent remains a favorite theme of Brueghel's fans at auction. Despite its excellent condition, this one was however sold without excitement, exactly at its lower estimate, £ 4.5 million including premium.
His themes, allegories, proverbs, parables, however, are well positioning this artist at the time when the religious crisis shook Europe, when Cranach and Titian, in their own way, were looking for the meaning of good and evil.
The Battle between Carnival and Lent, in 1559, is one of the most complex compositions of Brueghel. On the pretext of a festival on the village square, it shows people, their occupations, their games, and two processions facing each other in such a way that they irreversibly inhibit any possible progress. Carnival comes out of the inn and Lent out of the church.
Fortunately, the sons of the founder of the workshop were also excellent painters. Although being copies, the five known examples of the Battle between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Brueghel the younger are masterpieces.
Only one of these five paintings, it seems, has been dated using dendrochronology. This version of 1603, 118 x 166 cm, has been previously discussed in this group. In neglected condition, it was sold £ 2M including premium by Christie's on December 7, 2010.
On similar size and in very good condition, the only canvas of the group was sold twice by Christie's: £ 3.25 million including premium on 7 December 2006, and £ 6.9 million including premium on 6 December 2011, demonstrating the growing enthusiasm of the market.
Also in similar dimensions, the best preserved of the four panels is estimated £ 4M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 4. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Carnival and Lent remains a favorite theme of Brueghel's fans at auction. Despite its excellent condition, this one was however sold without excitement, exactly at its lower estimate, £ 4.5 million including premium.
1607 The Stations of the Brueghels
2014 SOLD 5.5 M£ including premium
Biblical scenes are prominent in the art of Pieter Bruegel (not to be spelled Brueghel during his artistic career). They are perfectly adapted to his moralizing intent and to the expectations of his customers.
Bruegel painted the procession to Calvary in 1564. The dense and diverse crowd almost hides the relatively distant Christ carrying his cross. The religious dimension is mainly provided by the holy women in the foreground. This oil on panel is one of his largest works, 124 x 170 cm.
Pieter Brueghel the younger has not only copied the catalog of his father. His works in large format are often original compositions.
From 1599 he also treats the road to Calvary. In the 1607 version, oil on panel 122 x 170 cm, Christ is more visible and the crowd is less dense. In the distance, the city of Jerusalem looks immense.
This painting was sold for £ 5.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on July 5, 2006. It is estimated £ 5M for sale by Christie's in London on July 8.
On July 9 in London, Sotheby's sells a 1615 painting of the Crucifixion. The scene is located in a wide landscape, with a stylized Jerusalem just above the cross of Christ. The artist has chosen an anecdotal moment when the soldiers are busy raising the cross of the second thief.
This oil on panel 100 x 148 cm is estimated £ 3M.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
At Christie's, the result for the Road to Calvary, £ 5.5 million including premium, is slightly above the 2006 price.
2
At Sotheby's, the Calvary was not sold. Here are the results including premium for the other two important paintings by Pieter Brueghel II: £ 3.9 million for the bird trap and £ 1.54 million for the village feast.
Bruegel painted the procession to Calvary in 1564. The dense and diverse crowd almost hides the relatively distant Christ carrying his cross. The religious dimension is mainly provided by the holy women in the foreground. This oil on panel is one of his largest works, 124 x 170 cm.
Pieter Brueghel the younger has not only copied the catalog of his father. His works in large format are often original compositions.
From 1599 he also treats the road to Calvary. In the 1607 version, oil on panel 122 x 170 cm, Christ is more visible and the crowd is less dense. In the distance, the city of Jerusalem looks immense.
This painting was sold for £ 5.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on July 5, 2006. It is estimated £ 5M for sale by Christie's in London on July 8.
On July 9 in London, Sotheby's sells a 1615 painting of the Crucifixion. The scene is located in a wide landscape, with a stylized Jerusalem just above the cross of Christ. The artist has chosen an anecdotal moment when the soldiers are busy raising the cross of the second thief.
This oil on panel 100 x 148 cm is estimated £ 3M.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
At Christie's, the result for the Road to Calvary, £ 5.5 million including premium, is slightly above the 2006 price.
2
At Sotheby's, the Calvary was not sold. Here are the results including premium for the other two important paintings by Pieter Brueghel II: £ 3.9 million for the bird trap and £ 1.54 million for the village feast.
1608 Flowers in an Oil on Copper by Bosschaert
2008 SOLD 5.8 MCHF including premium
This small copper 26x18 cm, which Koller sells in Zurich on September 19 is typical of Flemish still lifes from the early seventeenth century. It depicts a bouquet of flowers in a glass, a butterfly, a shell. The composition, well centred, highlights the tulips. The painting is monogramed AB, and includes a trace of date: 160., probably 1608.
Its author, Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, is so named today to distinguish him from his son Ambrosius. The latter, and the Elder's two other sons Abraham and Johannes, also painted still lifes, but the best known of the family is perhaps Balthasar van der Ast, brother-in-law and pupil of the elder Ambrosius.
On 10 July 2002, Sotheby's achieved good results on works by these painters. A bouquet in a window, oil on copper of 28 x 23 cm by Ambrosius the Elder and typical of his work, had been sold £ 2.1 million charge included. The same day, an oval oil on copper of 1624 by Balthasar has almost reached 950 K £.
With a composition very similar as the copper to be sold by Koller, another oil on copper, by Ambrosius the Elder, 30 x 20 cm, was sold £ 1.75 million by Sotheby's in London in July 2000. It was on my taste more interesting than the Koller's, because the flowers were more numerous and less dispersed. In both works, the glass is almost identical.
It derives from these figures that the estimate given by Koller, 2.5 MCHF, is ambitious, but the auction house announced that the painting is in exceptional condition, after being kept for 150 years in the same collection.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Koller got a good result on these flowers by Bosschaert: 5 MCHF excluding charges, twice the low estimate.
This article will have a following:
A bouquet in a niche by Balthasar van der Ast, 48 x 36 cm, is the lot 16 of the sale of Zürichsee Auktionen in Erlenbach on September 24 (estimated 500 KCHF). As I said in the article above, Balthasar was the brother in law of Ambrosius Bosschaert.
2
Balthasar's painting was not sold.
Its author, Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, is so named today to distinguish him from his son Ambrosius. The latter, and the Elder's two other sons Abraham and Johannes, also painted still lifes, but the best known of the family is perhaps Balthasar van der Ast, brother-in-law and pupil of the elder Ambrosius.
On 10 July 2002, Sotheby's achieved good results on works by these painters. A bouquet in a window, oil on copper of 28 x 23 cm by Ambrosius the Elder and typical of his work, had been sold £ 2.1 million charge included. The same day, an oval oil on copper of 1624 by Balthasar has almost reached 950 K £.
With a composition very similar as the copper to be sold by Koller, another oil on copper, by Ambrosius the Elder, 30 x 20 cm, was sold £ 1.75 million by Sotheby's in London in July 2000. It was on my taste more interesting than the Koller's, because the flowers were more numerous and less dispersed. In both works, the glass is almost identical.
It derives from these figures that the estimate given by Koller, 2.5 MCHF, is ambitious, but the auction house announced that the painting is in exceptional condition, after being kept for 150 years in the same collection.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Koller got a good result on these flowers by Bosschaert: 5 MCHF excluding charges, twice the low estimate.
This article will have a following:
A bouquet in a niche by Balthasar van der Ast, 48 x 36 cm, is the lot 16 of the sale of Zürichsee Auktionen in Erlenbach on September 24 (estimated 500 KCHF). As I said in the article above, Balthasar was the brother in law of Ambrosius Bosschaert.
2
Balthasar's painting was not sold.
1609-1612 Massacre of the Innocents by Rubens
2002 SOLD 49.5 M£ including premium by Sotheby's
Shared by Wikimedia :
1612-1614 Rubens inspired by Titian
2010 SOLD 9 M£ including premium
On July 6 in London, Christie's is selling the portrait of a commander by Rubens, estimated 8 million pounds. The character is not named, and he can be considered as allegorical. He wears a heavy armor, a model that is more reminiscent of the late Renaissance in the previous century.
Represented in three quarter length, the man embodies the power of an officer who goes into battle. He pays little attention to two young pages busy adjusting his equipment. The press release with an illustration of this painting is shared by AuctionPublicity.
This oil on panel, 123 x 98 cm, made around 1612 to 1614, looks like a Titian by the quality of its composition and also the liveliness of its animation.
Rubens had visited Italy between 1600 and 1608 to study the great masters, and had fallen under the spell of the work of his Venetian predecessor. He could not ignore the room of the Caesars in the Palace in Mantua, where were gathered twelve portraits by Titian of men in armor. Another military allegory of Rubens, seeming close to this Titian series that disappeared in a fire in 1734, was sold £ 4.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on July 10, 2002.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Represented in three quarter length, the man embodies the power of an officer who goes into battle. He pays little attention to two young pages busy adjusting his equipment. The press release with an illustration of this painting is shared by AuctionPublicity.
This oil on panel, 123 x 98 cm, made around 1612 to 1614, looks like a Titian by the quality of its composition and also the liveliness of its animation.
Rubens had visited Italy between 1600 and 1608 to study the great masters, and had fallen under the spell of the work of his Venetian predecessor. He could not ignore the room of the Caesars in the Palace in Mantua, where were gathered twelve portraits by Titian of men in armor. Another military allegory of Rubens, seeming close to this Titian series that disappeared in a fire in 1734, was sold £ 4.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on July 10, 2002.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
%2C_Portrait_of_a_commander%2C_Christie's_Images.jpg)
1614 Rubens in front of Sodom
2016 SOLD for £ 45M including premium
Peter Paul Rubens was able to achieve the dream of the greatest artists : assimilating the art of his predecessors and going further. He came back from Italy in 1608 and settled in Antwerp, the city of his childhood. Peace has returned and the time is conducive to art. Aristocratic and religious commissions flow.
In Italy, Rubens had admired Titian. In the north, he sees the increasingly risqué themes by Goltzius and Wtewael. Taboos fall : Bible and mythology offer erotic stories through moral excuses.
On July 7 in London, Christie's sells as lot 12 Lot and his daughters, oil on canvas 190 x 225 cm painted by Rubens circa 1614. This painting is a rediscovery : it had not been seen since a failed attempt of sale in 1904 and 1905 and its re-inspection pushes it among the masterpieces of the artist.
Rubens offers here a three character scene of high psychological complexity. In 1608, François de Sales judged that the story of Lot was not an incest but a forgivable sin. Lot is a nice old drunkard, like Noah.
In his great compositions from this phase of his career, Rubens wisely mixes nude and clothing. Although the bare flesh is the main target of the work, such a mingled attire brings presence and actuality to his antique theme. Samson and Delilah, the Massacre of the Innocents and the Drunken Silenus are other famous examples.
The abundant flesh is processed in an impasto that allows subtle variations of light and texture and promotes the sensual effect despite the advanced age of the man. Lot and his daughters remained in excellent condition in which only an aging varnish may be slightly blamed.
The artist had carefully read the Genesis : the two women were not made pregnant in the same day and only one is naked, ready but also worrying for the act. Her sister is closer to the father, with the charming smile of a woman who is achieving her conspiracy. The attitude and indeed the splendidly haggard gaze of the man express his full intoxication that encourages the nude girl to pour the wine once again. The Silenus will reuse similar characters in 1616.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's:
In Italy, Rubens had admired Titian. In the north, he sees the increasingly risqué themes by Goltzius and Wtewael. Taboos fall : Bible and mythology offer erotic stories through moral excuses.
On July 7 in London, Christie's sells as lot 12 Lot and his daughters, oil on canvas 190 x 225 cm painted by Rubens circa 1614. This painting is a rediscovery : it had not been seen since a failed attempt of sale in 1904 and 1905 and its re-inspection pushes it among the masterpieces of the artist.
Rubens offers here a three character scene of high psychological complexity. In 1608, François de Sales judged that the story of Lot was not an incest but a forgivable sin. Lot is a nice old drunkard, like Noah.
In his great compositions from this phase of his career, Rubens wisely mixes nude and clothing. Although the bare flesh is the main target of the work, such a mingled attire brings presence and actuality to his antique theme. Samson and Delilah, the Massacre of the Innocents and the Drunken Silenus are other famous examples.
The abundant flesh is processed in an impasto that allows subtle variations of light and texture and promotes the sensual effect despite the advanced age of the man. Lot and his daughters remained in excellent condition in which only an aging varnish may be slightly blamed.
The artist had carefully read the Genesis : the two women were not made pregnant in the same day and only one is naked, ready but also worrying for the act. Her sister is closer to the father, with the charming smile of a woman who is achieving her conspiracy. The attitude and indeed the splendidly haggard gaze of the man express his full intoxication that encourages the nude girl to pour the wine once again. The Silenus will reuse similar characters in 1616.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's:
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.
1624 full set of the Four Seasons by Pieter Breughel the Younger
2016 SOLD for £ 6.5M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
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
1633-1635 Francken between Vice and Virtue
2010 SOLD 7 M€ including premium
Frans Francken the younger was a painter of Antwerp and a contemporary of Rubens. This master is known for much animated scenes from mythology and the Old Testament, and some curious interpretations of collectors' showrooms.
On April 21 in Vienna, Dorotheum sells as lot 5 an outstanding oil on panel 142 x 211 cm by Francken on the moralizing theme of human choice between vices and virtues.
The composition is in two superimposed registers, according to the practice which had been so common in medieval iconography, long before this painting dated 1633 or 1635.
Upstairs, in an architectural environment, a pilgrim is surrounded by the virtues, on the left of the image, and vices and sins, on the right. Above him, a cloud is housing the Paradise. The lower register shows Hell with Satan and his pleasures.
POST SALE COMMENT
I think that nothing similar went on the market since a long time. The result, € 7 million including premium, confirms the importance of this painting. A great result for a great work, from all points of view.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
On April 21 in Vienna, Dorotheum sells as lot 5 an outstanding oil on panel 142 x 211 cm by Francken on the moralizing theme of human choice between vices and virtues.
The composition is in two superimposed registers, according to the practice which had been so common in medieval iconography, long before this painting dated 1633 or 1635.
Upstairs, in an architectural environment, a pilgrim is surrounded by the virtues, on the left of the image, and vices and sins, on the right. Above him, a cloud is housing the Paradise. The lower register shows Hell with Satan and his pleasures.
POST SALE COMMENT
I think that nothing similar went on the market since a long time. The result, € 7 million including premium, confirms the importance of this painting. A great result for a great work, from all points of view.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
_-_Mankind%27s_Eternal_Dilemma_%E2%80%93_The_Choice_Between_Virtue_and_Vice.jpg)
1641 Van Dyck painted by Himself
2009 SOLD 8.3 M£ including premium
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 made the self-portrait on canvas that Sotheby's is selling in London on December 9. 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.
The lower estimate announced by Sotheby's is £ 2 million, but the press retains only the higher estimate, £ 3 million. Recent results for paintings by Van Dyck can actually give hope that this price is reached.
In the same family for three centuries, this portrait was one of the stars of the Van Dyck exhibition at Tate Britain in London last spring.
Here are links to information provided by other sites that encourage sharing. You will access to the photo of the artwork, with in one of these pages the presence of an assistant who gives the scale. I wish you a pleasant visit.
Shared by Guardian
Shared by Bloomberg
Shared by Art Market Monitor
POST SALE COMMENT
This outstanding and attractive painting get one of the best results of this London sale session: £ 8.3 million including premium.
In 1641, a few months before his death, he made the self-portrait on canvas that Sotheby's is selling in London on December 9. 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.
The lower estimate announced by Sotheby's is £ 2 million, but the press retains only the higher estimate, £ 3 million. Recent results for paintings by Van Dyck can actually give hope that this price is reached.
In the same family for three centuries, this portrait was one of the stars of the Van Dyck exhibition at Tate Britain in London last spring.
Here are links to information provided by other sites that encourage sharing. You will access to the photo of the artwork, with in one of these pages the presence of an assistant who gives the scale. I wish you a pleasant visit.
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This outstanding and attractive painting get one of the best results of this London sale session: £ 8.3 million including premium.
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
