Plus 18th Century Art
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not including Canaletto. not including Chinese art
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
not including Canaletto. not including Chinese art
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
1732 Roman Pantheon by Panini
2015 SOLD for $ 5.3M by Sotheby's
The Roman Pantheon is a masterpiece and one of the most remarkable engineering feats of antiquity. This monument is also a symbol of the arts and the seat since 1542 of one of the ten pontifical academies, the Congregazione dei Virtuosi al Pantheon to which many Roman artists belonged.
Giovanni Paolo Panini was admitted into the Congregazione in 1719 at the age of 28 years. He was already an important figure in the Roman art world, being since the same year a professor at the Accademia di San Luca.
Panini had been trained in the decoration of the palaces and was familiar with trompe l'oeil techniques. In painting, he specialized in capricci of ruins and ancient monuments. Unlike the Venetian vedutisti he reconstructed the ancient sites in whimsical juxtapositions.
Panini executed several paintings showing the interior of the Pantheon. The earliest known, oil on canvas 119 x 98 cm dated 1732, was sold for $ 5.3M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Sotheby's on January 29, 2015, lot 91.
Various characters are busy to pray, beg or chat in the great hall. They are scattered for accentuating the grandiose effect. The artist is sensitive to the geometrical feat of this place where the inner diameter of the dome and the height of the oculus have exactly the same size, 43.3 m. The figures that appear in the opening of the vestibule and in the oculus are on the same scale.
Giovanni Paolo Panini was admitted into the Congregazione in 1719 at the age of 28 years. He was already an important figure in the Roman art world, being since the same year a professor at the Accademia di San Luca.
Panini had been trained in the decoration of the palaces and was familiar with trompe l'oeil techniques. In painting, he specialized in capricci of ruins and ancient monuments. Unlike the Venetian vedutisti he reconstructed the ancient sites in whimsical juxtapositions.
Panini executed several paintings showing the interior of the Pantheon. The earliest known, oil on canvas 119 x 98 cm dated 1732, was sold for $ 5.3M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Sotheby's on January 29, 2015, lot 91.
Various characters are busy to pray, beg or chat in the great hall. They are scattered for accentuating the grandiose effect. The artist is sensitive to the geometrical feat of this place where the inner diameter of the dome and the height of the oculus have exactly the same size, 43.3 m. The figures that appear in the opening of the vestibule and in the oculus are on the same scale.
#AuctionUpdate: Panini's spectacular view of the Pantheon sells for $5.3M, setting an #ArtistRecord #MastersWeek pic.twitter.com/9D5xkDfj1y
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) January 29, 2015
1733-1735 L'Ouvrière en Tapisserie by Chardin
2013 SOLD for $ 4M by Christie's
Son of a craftsman, Chardin became a painter by an intense vocation. His colleagues early acknowledged him as a master in his first specialty, the still life. His technique was somehow different, which already disturbed.
Now he wants to earn a living. Still life, even well made, sold poorly. The fashion of the time, in those years following the Régence, is to licentiousness. Boldly, he chose a totally opposite way.
In the early 1730s, Chardin made his first genre scenes, based like those from the old Dutch masters on peaceful household themes. But he disliked the movement and the anecdotes. His figures are frozen in a static position. For the first time probably in the history of art, the texture becomes more important than the subject.
He made a very honorable career, but nobody understood him. Diderot said that "no one he knew had ever seen Chardin paint" (quoted by Christie's). His contemporaries were unable to follow him, but we may now see in his work some roots of modern art through Cézanne and Matisse.
To demonstrate the above, l'ouvrière en tapisserie (embroiderer) is an excellent example. Although the size is very small, 19 x 17 cm, the texture of embroidery, cap, apron are remarkably fine, with a touch anticipating Monet and Van Gogh.
One of the early examples of this scene designed around 1733-1735 was sold for $ 4M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on January 30, 2013, lot 38.
Now he wants to earn a living. Still life, even well made, sold poorly. The fashion of the time, in those years following the Régence, is to licentiousness. Boldly, he chose a totally opposite way.
In the early 1730s, Chardin made his first genre scenes, based like those from the old Dutch masters on peaceful household themes. But he disliked the movement and the anecdotes. His figures are frozen in a static position. For the first time probably in the history of art, the texture becomes more important than the subject.
He made a very honorable career, but nobody understood him. Diderot said that "no one he knew had ever seen Chardin paint" (quoted by Christie's). His contemporaries were unable to follow him, but we may now see in his work some roots of modern art through Cézanne and Matisse.
To demonstrate the above, l'ouvrière en tapisserie (embroiderer) is an excellent example. Although the size is very small, 19 x 17 cm, the texture of embroidery, cap, apron are remarkably fine, with a touch anticipating Monet and Van Gogh.
One of the early examples of this scene designed around 1733-1735 was sold for $ 4M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on January 30, 2013, lot 38.
replica from 1733 La Fontaine by Chardin
2021 SOLD for € 7.1M by Christie's
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was self taught. The acceptance of La Raie and Le Buffet by the Académie Royale de peinture et de sculpture in 1728 was a recognition of his skill in the balance of composition and soft light. He will be a painter of still lifes.
Fellow artists laugh at him : he is a painter of cakes and sausages. In reaction, Chardin begins in 1733 a genre theme of kitchen maids in everyday life in the manner of Teniers. La Blanchisseuse, 38 x 48 cm, is his masterpiece in this new style. This oil on canvas is kept at the Hermitage Museum.
Femme tirant de l'Eau à la Fontaine is the pendant to La Blanchisseuse. Two pairs are known, one at the Stockholm National Museum and the other at the Toledo Museum of Art.
The Fontaine from Stockholm is the original version. This oil on oak panel 38 x 42 cm has an obscured date that can be 1733.
Another autograph replica of La Fontaine, oil on canvas 40 x 43 cm signed by Chardin, is using the same exquisite palette of colors as the original. It was later made vertical by adding a 10 cm canvas stripe at the top. Beautifully preserved, it was sold for € 7.1M from a lower estimate of € 5M by Christie's on November 22, 2021, lot 7.
Fellow artists laugh at him : he is a painter of cakes and sausages. In reaction, Chardin begins in 1733 a genre theme of kitchen maids in everyday life in the manner of Teniers. La Blanchisseuse, 38 x 48 cm, is his masterpiece in this new style. This oil on canvas is kept at the Hermitage Museum.
Femme tirant de l'Eau à la Fontaine is the pendant to La Blanchisseuse. Two pairs are known, one at the Stockholm National Museum and the other at the Toledo Museum of Art.
The Fontaine from Stockholm is the original version. This oil on oak panel 38 x 42 cm has an obscured date that can be 1733.
Another autograph replica of La Fontaine, oil on canvas 40 x 43 cm signed by Chardin, is using the same exquisite palette of colors as the original. It was later made vertical by adding a 10 cm canvas stripe at the top. Beautifully preserved, it was sold for € 7.1M from a lower estimate of € 5M by Christie's on November 22, 2021, lot 7.
1736 Marquis de Gouvernet by Bouchardon
2012 SOLD for € 3.75M by Aguttes
Edmé Bouchardon is the most outstanding sculptor who worked during the reign of Louis XV. His originality is to reject all consequences of the baroque style. He viewed the imitation of the antique as an ideal that was also allowing to return to a direct observation of nature. Of course, as with any innovative artist, his contemporaries were shocked by the audacity of his best works.
After making beautiful busts of Popes and of Roman dignitaries, he was commissioned in France for a bust of the Marquis de Gouvernet, governor of Montélimar. Dated 1736, this marble 78 cm high had remained since that time in the family of the model. It was sold for € 3.75M on June 11, 2012 by Aguttes, preempted by the Musée du Louvre. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The marquis, 42 years old, bare chest, head up, is proud as a Roman emperor. He is however also a man of his time through the thick hair falling over the shoulders. The result is remarkably realistic, as the artist intended.
After making beautiful busts of Popes and of Roman dignitaries, he was commissioned in France for a bust of the Marquis de Gouvernet, governor of Montélimar. Dated 1736, this marble 78 cm high had remained since that time in the family of the model. It was sold for € 3.75M on June 11, 2012 by Aguttes, preempted by the Musée du Louvre. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The marquis, 42 years old, bare chest, head up, is proud as a Roman emperor. He is however also a man of his time through the thick hair falling over the shoulders. The result is remarkably realistic, as the artist intended.
1739 Grand Canal by Bellotto
2012 SOLD for £ 3.3M by Sotheby's
Son of a sister of Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto, born in 1722, learned his art from his uncle and was registered at 17 into the corporation of painters of Venice.
For a long time, his views of Venice were confused with the productions of the workshop of his uncle. Bernardo at the beginning of his career is however appreciated today as one of the most original vedutisti.
A pair of his early oils on canvas made around 1739 were among the first to be reassigned to Bellotto. They have been separated. One of them, 60 x 92 cm, was sold for £ 3.3M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on December 5, 2012, lot 47.
It is a general view of the Grand Canal taken from the Rialto bridge. The animation is intense on water and banks. The flat boats of daily life dominate the gondolas.
The main feature of this work is the use of the contrasting light from the extreme hours of the day. We now consider that the bold style of the very young painter had a deep influence on his uncle, so contributing to Canaletto's considerable commercial success in the next two decades.
Shortly afterwards, the path of the two artists separated. Bellotto left Venice in 1742 to export the vedutism in the major cities of Europe.
For a long time, his views of Venice were confused with the productions of the workshop of his uncle. Bernardo at the beginning of his career is however appreciated today as one of the most original vedutisti.
A pair of his early oils on canvas made around 1739 were among the first to be reassigned to Bellotto. They have been separated. One of them, 60 x 92 cm, was sold for £ 3.3M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on December 5, 2012, lot 47.
It is a general view of the Grand Canal taken from the Rialto bridge. The animation is intense on water and banks. The flat boats of daily life dominate the gondolas.
The main feature of this work is the use of the contrasting light from the extreme hours of the day. We now consider that the bold style of the very young painter had a deep influence on his uncle, so contributing to Canaletto's considerable commercial success in the next two decades.
Shortly afterwards, the path of the two artists separated. Bellotto left Venice in 1742 to export the vedutism in the major cities of Europe.
1744 Henri III at the Villa Contarini by Giambattista Tiepolo
2012 SOLD for $ 5.9M by Christie's
In 1744, a young man 21 years old named Vincenzo Pisani inherited the Villa Contarini. He began to renovate the palace, in memory of its former glory.
At one time long ago, Contarini welcomed a king. In 1574, Henri de Valois was King of Poland, when the death of his brother Charles IX made him heir to the kingdom of France. The haste with which he came back to Paris to become Henri III was criticized and was prejudicial to his reputation.
In that time, travels, even in a hurry, were long and not direct! This prince between two thrones spent ten days in Venice, which received him with luxurious ceremonies.
Pisani remembered that story, and ordered a fresco to Giambattista Tiepolo, then the best specialist in great decorative works in Venice, on the theme of the arrival of Henri III at the Villa Contarini. This work is now in Paris at the Musée Jacquemart-André.
An oil on canvas, 72 x 107 cm , is a preparatory work and probably a modello for the mural, but its detail and quality make it an outstanding piece by this artist. It was sold for $ 5.9M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on January 25, 2012.
Henri was there with his retinue, in an architected surrounding. On both sides, the colorful and lively crowd takes advantage of this opportunity to display luxurious clothes of satin and silk. This painting must also be interpreted as a tribute by Tiepolo to his predecessors of Henri's time, the architect Palladio and the painter Veronese.
At one time long ago, Contarini welcomed a king. In 1574, Henri de Valois was King of Poland, when the death of his brother Charles IX made him heir to the kingdom of France. The haste with which he came back to Paris to become Henri III was criticized and was prejudicial to his reputation.
In that time, travels, even in a hurry, were long and not direct! This prince between two thrones spent ten days in Venice, which received him with luxurious ceremonies.
Pisani remembered that story, and ordered a fresco to Giambattista Tiepolo, then the best specialist in great decorative works in Venice, on the theme of the arrival of Henri III at the Villa Contarini. This work is now in Paris at the Musée Jacquemart-André.
An oil on canvas, 72 x 107 cm , is a preparatory work and probably a modello for the mural, but its detail and quality make it an outstanding piece by this artist. It was sold for $ 5.9M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Christie's on January 25, 2012.
Henri was there with his retinue, in an architected surrounding. On both sides, the colorful and lively crowd takes advantage of this opportunity to display luxurious clothes of satin and silk. This painting must also be interpreted as a tribute by Tiepolo to his predecessors of Henri's time, the architect Palladio and the painter Veronese.
1762 The Minuet by Giandomenico Tiepolo
2017 SOLD for £ 3.1M by Christie's
Giambattista Tiepolo, painter and muralist, decorates the opulent Venetian palaces and the villas in the countryside where the wealthy aristocrats come for resting or entertainment. His themes are religious, historical, mythological or allegorical.
His art is in high demand and he is assisted by his two sons. The elder, Giandomenico, takes opportunity of these bucolic stays to observe a surprising mix of nobles, peasants and actors.
Circa 1762 Giandomenico Tiepolo painted a pair of oils on canvas 33 x 49 cm, separated some years ago.
The Minuet is danced by the nobles, recognizable by their beautiful clothes and the velvet masks of the women. This painting was sold by Christie's for £ 1.3M on December 6, 2007 and for £ 3.1M on July 6, 2017, lot 22.
Giandomenico amused without seeking to express a social criticism, unlike Hogarth. By its animation and its fine lines, this village scene also anticipates by several decades the drawings and paintings by Goya or Boilly.
The pendant to the Minuet was sold for $ 3.65M by Christie 's on January 29, 2014. The theme is more popular. A dancing gypsy girl rotates four dressed dogs standing on their hind legs. A dense and joyful crowd participates in the action.
His art is in high demand and he is assisted by his two sons. The elder, Giandomenico, takes opportunity of these bucolic stays to observe a surprising mix of nobles, peasants and actors.
Circa 1762 Giandomenico Tiepolo painted a pair of oils on canvas 33 x 49 cm, separated some years ago.
The Minuet is danced by the nobles, recognizable by their beautiful clothes and the velvet masks of the women. This painting was sold by Christie's for £ 1.3M on December 6, 2007 and for £ 3.1M on July 6, 2017, lot 22.
Giandomenico amused without seeking to express a social criticism, unlike Hogarth. By its animation and its fine lines, this village scene also anticipates by several decades the drawings and paintings by Goya or Boilly.
The pendant to the Minuet was sold for $ 3.65M by Christie 's on January 29, 2014. The theme is more popular. A dancing gypsy girl rotates four dressed dogs standing on their hind legs. A dense and joyful crowd participates in the action.
1765 Sacrifice au Minotaure by Fragonard
2023 SOLD for € 5.7M by Artcurial
Fragonard was back in Paris in 1761 after five years in Italy. He was influenced by Rubens and by Giambattista Tiepolo.
In 1765 at 33 years old, his piece of reception at the Académie Royale was a mythological Coresus et Callirrhoé, of which King Louis XV ordered a Gobelins tapestry.
In the same year the artist conceived another Baroque theme of exacerbated passions. A group of young Athenian people and their parents are attending the sorting of who among them will be devoured by the Minotaur. A young woman in white dress is fainting after being attributed the bad ticket. Her mother in the foreground is desperate like Mary during the Crucifixion and the non elected attendants are relieved from their anguish without compassion for the designated victim. In the stormy sky, an allegory of the fate holds a trident.
A modello was sketched, certainly for being submitted to the King. Titled Un Sacrifice antique, dit Le sacrifice au Minotaure, this oil on canvas 72 x 91 cm was sold for € 5.7M from a lower estimate of € 4M by Artcurial on November 22, 2023, lot 77. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The surrounding in a park and the vivid attitudes and colors remind Watteau.
No finished work was started, possibly because Fragonard long waited to be paid for the Coresus et Callirrhoé. That mood for antique passions follows by three years the Orpheus and Eurydice opera released in Vienna by Gluck.
In 1765 at 33 years old, his piece of reception at the Académie Royale was a mythological Coresus et Callirrhoé, of which King Louis XV ordered a Gobelins tapestry.
In the same year the artist conceived another Baroque theme of exacerbated passions. A group of young Athenian people and their parents are attending the sorting of who among them will be devoured by the Minotaur. A young woman in white dress is fainting after being attributed the bad ticket. Her mother in the foreground is desperate like Mary during the Crucifixion and the non elected attendants are relieved from their anguish without compassion for the designated victim. In the stormy sky, an allegory of the fate holds a trident.
A modello was sketched, certainly for being submitted to the King. Titled Un Sacrifice antique, dit Le sacrifice au Minotaure, this oil on canvas 72 x 91 cm was sold for € 5.7M from a lower estimate of € 4M by Artcurial on November 22, 2023, lot 77. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The surrounding in a park and the vivid attitudes and colors remind Watteau.
No finished work was started, possibly because Fragonard long waited to be paid for the Coresus et Callirrhoé. That mood for antique passions follows by three years the Orpheus and Eurydice opera released in Vienna by Gluck.
1767-1769 La Jeune Fille au Chapeau by Fragonard
2023 SOLD for € 3.25M by Boisgirard-Antonini
Two oval oil on canvas paintings by Fragonard had the same addressee, an inscription on the reverse of the frame by the artist to an unidentified Mme R. One of them is in horizontal format 46 x 57 cm. That replica dated 1768-1770 by Cabinet Turquin of the Philosophe lisant was sold in 2021 for € 7.7M by Enchères Champagne.
The other painting has just resurfaced, forgotten by a family under a heavy layer of grime.
Fortunately that old dust had protected the pigments against corrosion. The colors appear very fresh after the restoration. Its technique is typical of Fragonard around 1767-1769 with an overloaded brush, sometimes also painting with his fingers.
This Jeune fille au chapeau in bust length turns her head downwards with a nice childish gaze and smile. The large sun hat in the fashion of the period brings some mild shadow on the forehead. It was sold for € 3.25M from a lower estimate of € 400K by Boisgirard-Antonini on December 21, 2023, lot 196.
The other painting has just resurfaced, forgotten by a family under a heavy layer of grime.
Fortunately that old dust had protected the pigments against corrosion. The colors appear very fresh after the restoration. Its technique is typical of Fragonard around 1767-1769 with an overloaded brush, sometimes also painting with his fingers.
This Jeune fille au chapeau in bust length turns her head downwards with a nice childish gaze and smile. The large sun hat in the fashion of the period brings some mild shadow on the forehead. It was sold for € 3.25M from a lower estimate of € 400K by Boisgirard-Antonini on December 21, 2023, lot 196.
Chapeau bas pour Fragonard ! □
— Drouot (@Drouot) December 21, 2023
La Jeune fille au chapeau de Jean-Honoré Fragonard emporte plus de 3 millions aux enchères chez @boisgirard à l'Hôtel Drouot □
Inédite sur le marché, cette toile est une incroyable découverte qui provient de la même collection que le Philosophe. pic.twitter.com/in9Mm3eIrz
La "Jeune fille au chapeau" de Fragonard, une incroyable découverte lors d'un inventaire familial via @franceinfo @boisgirard @CabinetTurquin https://t.co/lD028hPRMF
— Drouot (@Drouot) December 21, 2023
1787 Diana and Callisto by Gandolfi
2010 SOLD for $ 4.1M by Christie's
In the century of Boucher, mythology is an excuse to show the nude. Gaetano Gandolfi works in Bologna. His neoclassical groups are like a choreography of Nymphs, Graces and Cupids whirling around the main goddess.
One of his most important works is a pair of paintings made to order for an anonymous Russian client. It is attested by a letter from Mauro Gandolfi who desired to find the preparatory drawings made by his father.
The patron is now identified with a strong presumption as a prince Yusupov who was ambassador to Turin and had a great collection of modern paintings. The appointment of this aristocrat as an honorary member of the Accademia Clementina in Bologna in 1787 provides a plausible date to the commission executed by Gandolfi.
The two oil paintings of the same size 148 x 170 cm resurfaced separately. Their processing of the theme of love is in opposition.
Diana and Callisto was sold by Christie's for $ 4.1M on January 27, 2010 from a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 29. The chaste goddess is a vigilante refusing an amnesty to Callisto naked by the nymphs to reveal her pregnancy. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The Birth of Venus is the classic episode of fertility and hope. The fully grown newborn goddess rises out of her shell to entice her surrounding. This painting was sold for $ 2.63M by Christie's on April 14, 2016, lot 115.
One of his most important works is a pair of paintings made to order for an anonymous Russian client. It is attested by a letter from Mauro Gandolfi who desired to find the preparatory drawings made by his father.
The patron is now identified with a strong presumption as a prince Yusupov who was ambassador to Turin and had a great collection of modern paintings. The appointment of this aristocrat as an honorary member of the Accademia Clementina in Bologna in 1787 provides a plausible date to the commission executed by Gandolfi.
The two oil paintings of the same size 148 x 170 cm resurfaced separately. Their processing of the theme of love is in opposition.
Diana and Callisto was sold by Christie's for $ 4.1M on January 27, 2010 from a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 29. The chaste goddess is a vigilante refusing an amnesty to Callisto naked by the nymphs to reveal her pregnancy. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The Birth of Venus is the classic episode of fertility and hope. The fully grown newborn goddess rises out of her shell to entice her surrounding. This painting was sold for $ 2.63M by Christie's on April 14, 2016, lot 115.
