Years 1540-1569
See also : Ancient painting Ancient Germany Italian painting 1300-1700 Ancient England British Royals Christianity Madonna and Child Maps Books 1501-1700 Sciences Ancient science Astronomy Chinese porcelain Ancient Chinese porcelain Later Ming
1540 Visit to an Old Canon
2016 SOLD for £ 1.8M including premium
The intense curiosity of the fifteenth century, facilitated by the printed books, generated the modern science. The most advanced universities teach mathematics beside philosophy, theology, law and medicine. Disseminated from Bologna to Vienna or Krakow, humanists exchange new theories together.
Georg Joachim Rheticus was fond of astronomy, perhaps as a result of the appearance of the comet of 1531. He enrolled at the University of Wittenberg led by Melanchthon, the theoretician of Lutheranism.
As early as 1536, Rheticus was appointed professor of mathematics. Barely released from astrology, astronomy was at that time a branch of mathematics. The learned calculations made by Regiomontanus in the previous century had fruitfully revived the speculation about the true movements of the planets.
Two years later, Melanchthon allows Rheticus to suspend his teaching for a tour of Europe where he will visit the humanists. He hears of an old canon who spent his lifetime improving his astronomical calculations at such a point to solve the old issue of the motion of Earth, discussed since antiquity.
Rheticus so becomes the assistant to Copernicus in Frauenburg (Frombork). For nearly thirty years, the canon had refined the text of his demonstration of the heliocentric system, sometimes sending manuscripts to the very few scholars able to understand it. He does not think to edit because of an obvious difficulty to print his figures.
Rheticus supports Copernicus with enthusiasm. The younger scientist prepares a comprehensible summary with the agreement of the master. Printed in Gdansk in 1540, that 'De libris revolutionum ... narratio prima' is the first report ever published on heliocentrism. The theory is clearly and fully attributed to Copernicus without indicating the name of his efficient collaborator.
This first edition is extremely rare. A copy is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Christie's in London on July 13, lot 87.
Georg Joachim Rheticus was fond of astronomy, perhaps as a result of the appearance of the comet of 1531. He enrolled at the University of Wittenberg led by Melanchthon, the theoretician of Lutheranism.
As early as 1536, Rheticus was appointed professor of mathematics. Barely released from astrology, astronomy was at that time a branch of mathematics. The learned calculations made by Regiomontanus in the previous century had fruitfully revived the speculation about the true movements of the planets.
Two years later, Melanchthon allows Rheticus to suspend his teaching for a tour of Europe where he will visit the humanists. He hears of an old canon who spent his lifetime improving his astronomical calculations at such a point to solve the old issue of the motion of Earth, discussed since antiquity.
Rheticus so becomes the assistant to Copernicus in Frauenburg (Frombork). For nearly thirty years, the canon had refined the text of his demonstration of the heliocentric system, sometimes sending manuscripts to the very few scholars able to understand it. He does not think to edit because of an obvious difficulty to print his figures.
Rheticus supports Copernicus with enthusiasm. The younger scientist prepares a comprehensible summary with the agreement of the master. Printed in Gdansk in 1540, that 'De libris revolutionum ... narratio prima' is the first report ever published on heliocentrism. The theory is clearly and fully attributed to Copernicus without indicating the name of his efficient collaborator.
This first edition is extremely rare. A copy is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Christie's in London on July 13, lot 87.
13 juillet Vente des livres scientifiques de la bibliothèque Beltrame Consultez le catalogue https://t.co/akp7LGW1ji pic.twitter.com/CtcSeM2uMW
— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) July 1, 2016
1541-1543 Cranach the Younger dresses the Modern Woman ... of his Time
2007 SOLD 1.8 M£ including premium by Christie's
2011 SOLD 1.4 M£ including premium
Unsold at Sotheby's in New York on January 27 with an estimate of $ 3M, the portrait of a woman by Cranach the younger is now presented with a largely lowered estimate.
I republish below my previous article after having updated the information of the sale. OnDecember 7 in London , Sotheby's sells an oil on panel by Cranach the Younger, 62 x 39 cm.
The painting shows the portrait of a richly dressed lady, with an exuberant embroidered black hat. In the press release (of January sale) and in the catalog, the auction house draws attention to the resemblance between this work and the famous colorful linocut print by Picasso titled Buste de femme d'après Cranach le jeune.
The painting for sale is dated 1541 or 1543, well within the period of collaboration between father and son. The other portrait, very similar in composition, which inspired Picasso, was later (1564).
The homage of a modern artist to one of his distant predecessors can not keep indifferent an art historian. The choice of Velazquez by Dali, of the Cranachs by Picasso, becomes a valuable reference for appreciating the evolution of art (voluntarily I do not add the choice of Mona Lisa by Duchamp).
Indeed the portraits and Venus by the Cranachs have an expressive and psychological strength that bring them into the precursors of modern art.
The lot for sale is estimated £ 800K after being sold £ 1.8 million including premium at Christie's on July 5, 2007. Here is the link to the new catalogue.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait did not reach its price of 2007, but now it was sold : £ 1.4M including premium.
I republish below my previous article after having updated the information of the sale. OnDecember 7 in London , Sotheby's sells an oil on panel by Cranach the Younger, 62 x 39 cm.
The painting shows the portrait of a richly dressed lady, with an exuberant embroidered black hat. In the press release (of January sale) and in the catalog, the auction house draws attention to the resemblance between this work and the famous colorful linocut print by Picasso titled Buste de femme d'après Cranach le jeune.
The painting for sale is dated 1541 or 1543, well within the period of collaboration between father and son. The other portrait, very similar in composition, which inspired Picasso, was later (1564).
The homage of a modern artist to one of his distant predecessors can not keep indifferent an art historian. The choice of Velazquez by Dali, of the Cranachs by Picasso, becomes a valuable reference for appreciating the evolution of art (voluntarily I do not add the choice of Mona Lisa by Duchamp).
Indeed the portraits and Venus by the Cranachs have an expressive and psychological strength that bring them into the precursors of modern art.
The lot for sale is estimated £ 800K after being sold £ 1.8 million including premium at Christie's on July 5, 2007. Here is the link to the new catalogue.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait did not reach its price of 2007, but now it was sold : £ 1.4M including premium.
1542-1543 Good and Evil in Brescia
2012 SOLD 4.6 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
At the time of Titian, Brescia depended on the republic of Venice. The master painter working in the city was called Girolamo di Romano, named after the village where his family originated. His artist name was Il Romanino.
On June 6 in New York, Christie's sells a Cross Bearer by Romanino, oil on canvas 81 x 72 cm, estimated $ 2.5 M.
This episode of the Passion of Christ promotes the stoicism of the Christians against humiliation, symbolized by the cross, the crown of thorns, the shoulder that is laid bare in the effort. In his satin dress, the humiliated Christ is still the Lord illuminated by light.
Evil is very close but in the shadows, with the Baroque head of a terrible mustachioed soldier who puts all his energy trying to capture the attention of Christ. Unsuccessfully, of course.
Romanino's work is varied and not well documented, so it is difficult to date. Expert opinions on the realization of this painting converge however to 1542 or 1543.
Good and Evil will end up to dispute for that painting. In 1941, during the occupation of Paris by the Germans, it was included in a forced sale, and it took 70 years for returning it to the heirs of the robbed collector.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's had considered that the quality of the artwork was more important than the identification of its author, a relatively unknown provincial painter. They were right. The result: $ 4.6 million including premium.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
At the time of Titian, Brescia depended on the republic of Venice. The master painter working in the city was called Girolamo di Romano, named after the village where his family originated. His artist name was Il Romanino.
On June 6 in New York, Christie's sells a Cross Bearer by Romanino, oil on canvas 81 x 72 cm, estimated $ 2.5 M.
This episode of the Passion of Christ promotes the stoicism of the Christians against humiliation, symbolized by the cross, the crown of thorns, the shoulder that is laid bare in the effort. In his satin dress, the humiliated Christ is still the Lord illuminated by light.
Evil is very close but in the shadows, with the Baroque head of a terrible mustachioed soldier who puts all his energy trying to capture the attention of Christ. Unsuccessfully, of course.
Romanino's work is varied and not well documented, so it is difficult to date. Expert opinions on the realization of this painting converge however to 1542 or 1543.
Good and Evil will end up to dispute for that painting. In 1941, during the occupation of Paris by the Germans, it was included in a forced sale, and it took 70 years for returning it to the heirs of the robbed collector.
POST SALE COMMENT
Christie's had considered that the quality of the artwork was more important than the identification of its author, a relatively unknown provincial painter. They were right. The result: $ 4.6 million including premium.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
1543 That Copernicus book revolutionized the science
2008 SOLD 2.2 M$ including premium
The exact title was "Nicolai Copernici Torinensis De Revolutionibus orbium coelestium." It was printed in 1543 and appeared just before the author's death. Torun was the name of his hometown.
Of relatively small size (20 x 27 cm, 202 pages), this book that forever changed the design we had of the universe is decorated with woodcuts and tables of calculations.
A copy of the original edition is now for sale at Christie's, lot 60 of the sale of New York on June 17. It is nicely printed, and remained extremely clean. In its flexible binding of same period, it was part of a prestigious library during the seventeenth century.
Its estimate? 900 K $.
One of my previous articles made me review the fate in two April auctions of books by other big names in science, including De humani corporis of Vesalus, also of 1543. This very important book did not find a buyer in Paris on April 23 for 140 K €, at Pierre Bergé et Associés.
New York is not Paris, but I am afraid that Christie's get some difficulties to sell this book.
POST SALE COMMENT
After revolutionizing science, this book has just revolutionized the auction world: $ 2.2 million fees included. It is a very important result for a an exceptional specimen of one of the most significant books in the history of our civilization.
Of relatively small size (20 x 27 cm, 202 pages), this book that forever changed the design we had of the universe is decorated with woodcuts and tables of calculations.
A copy of the original edition is now for sale at Christie's, lot 60 of the sale of New York on June 17. It is nicely printed, and remained extremely clean. In its flexible binding of same period, it was part of a prestigious library during the seventeenth century.
Its estimate? 900 K $.
One of my previous articles made me review the fate in two April auctions of books by other big names in science, including De humani corporis of Vesalus, also of 1543. This very important book did not find a buyer in Paris on April 23 for 140 K €, at Pierre Bergé et Associés.
New York is not Paris, but I am afraid that Christie's get some difficulties to sell this book.
POST SALE COMMENT
After revolutionizing science, this book has just revolutionized the auction world: $ 2.2 million fees included. It is a very important result for a an exceptional specimen of one of the most significant books in the history of our civilization.
1545 The Painter and the Burger
2010 SOLD 5.6 M£ including premium
Christie's presents for sale on July 6 in London a beautiful German portrait of the sixteenth century, in good condition, estimated £ 5 million.
The artist, Georg Pencz, was known at Nuremberg as the best pupil of Dürer. At that time the German art was imbued with the Italian influence. Pencz is also (and mostly) famous as a printmaker. The painting is signed with his monogram.
The model, Sigismund Baldinger, is a typical member of the commercial bourgeoisie. Based in Nuremberg where he joined the council, he worked for a merchant family of Augsburg.
In 1545, Baldinger was 35 years old. He is a bearded man with short hair, well dressed, very modern-looking. Solid and confident, he gazes with authority and courtesy. If he believes that this artwork forwards the image of his glory to his descendants, he is right. He will be knighted soon after and this oil on panel, 135 x 118 cm, will remain in his family for nearly four centuries.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait of a civilian is altogether rare, large size and of high quality. It is not easy to find an auction history for this pupil of Dürer. The market understood: £ 5.6 million including premium.
The artist, Georg Pencz, was known at Nuremberg as the best pupil of Dürer. At that time the German art was imbued with the Italian influence. Pencz is also (and mostly) famous as a printmaker. The painting is signed with his monogram.
The model, Sigismund Baldinger, is a typical member of the commercial bourgeoisie. Based in Nuremberg where he joined the council, he worked for a merchant family of Augsburg.
In 1545, Baldinger was 35 years old. He is a bearded man with short hair, well dressed, very modern-looking. Solid and confident, he gazes with authority and courtesy. If he believes that this artwork forwards the image of his glory to his descendants, he is right. He will be knighted soon after and this oil on panel, 135 x 118 cm, will remain in his family for nearly four centuries.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait of a civilian is altogether rare, large size and of high quality. It is not easy to find an auction history for this pupil of Dürer. The market understood: £ 5.6 million including premium.
1546 The Agnese Atlas
2012 SOLD for $ 2.77M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020
The cartographer Battista Agnese produces in Venice handwritten maps to constitute composite atlases, the contents of which vary for different clients.
Although his nautical maps fully use the classic portolan representation, his customers seem to have mostly been sovereign princes and great prelates. For example, he assembled circa 1542 on commission from the Emperor Charles V an atlas for the use of Prince Philip, later Philip II.
Agnese takes great care to integrate the most recent discoveries. When Ulloa observed in 1540 that Baja California was a peninsula and not an island, Agnese immediately applied this information while also including the new place names defined by the explorer. The maps are illuminated with full-cheeked figures of the winds at the four cardinal points and at four or six intermediate points.
On April 10, 2012, Christie's sold an Agnese atlas for $ 2.77M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 159.
This collection, in a binding from the early 18th century, has the very rare characteristic of being considered complete. It consists of 15 bifolium vellum plates 18 x 25 cm with blank reverse, including twelve two-page maps.
The first ten maps are portolans from the three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) and the seas, not to forget the Black Sea. The next one is a world map in oval projection which includes the parallels and meridians and the line of Magellan's circumnavigation. The last map displays the North Atlantic in globular projection.
The atlas is not dated but is dedicated to Adolf von Schaumburg during the very short period when he was administrator of the archdiocese of Cologne, in 1546. He was appointed in January 1547 archbishop elector of that city.
Although his nautical maps fully use the classic portolan representation, his customers seem to have mostly been sovereign princes and great prelates. For example, he assembled circa 1542 on commission from the Emperor Charles V an atlas for the use of Prince Philip, later Philip II.
Agnese takes great care to integrate the most recent discoveries. When Ulloa observed in 1540 that Baja California was a peninsula and not an island, Agnese immediately applied this information while also including the new place names defined by the explorer. The maps are illuminated with full-cheeked figures of the winds at the four cardinal points and at four or six intermediate points.
On April 10, 2012, Christie's sold an Agnese atlas for $ 2.77M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 800K, lot 159.
This collection, in a binding from the early 18th century, has the very rare characteristic of being considered complete. It consists of 15 bifolium vellum plates 18 x 25 cm with blank reverse, including twelve two-page maps.
The first ten maps are portolans from the three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian) and the seas, not to forget the Black Sea. The next one is a world map in oval projection which includes the parallels and meridians and the line of Magellan's circumnavigation. The last map displays the North Atlantic in globular projection.
The atlas is not dated but is dedicated to Adolf von Schaumburg during the very short period when he was administrator of the archdiocese of Cologne, in 1546. He was appointed in January 1547 archbishop elector of that city.
Jiajing - The Carps of the Heavenly Pond
2017 SOLD for HK$ 214M including premium
The palace bowls of the Chenghua emperor were fabulous by the quality of the porcelain and their early application of polychromy but the pieces were small and the drawings were naive. A period of inactivity begins because of court protests against the onerous taste of the leading concubine for such a luxury.
The progress of Jingdezhen porcelain is restarting with the Jiajing emperor, an art lover and an adept of Taoism. Becoming emperor at the age of 14 in 1522, Jiajing reigned for 45 years. Large pieces are made under his rule, using the bright color palette identified as wucai. Wucai literally means five enamels, five having here a meaning of plurality adjusted to the five elements
This emperor liked to state that he was the fisherman of the heavenly pond. The pattern with fish swimming amidst aquatic plants enables a pleasing interweaving of the drawings on the walls of the jars and Jiajing himself promotes this theme by massive commissions. The details of the themes are related to homophonic rebuses bringing to the emperor the auspices that he so much enjoyed.
A 46 cm high jar with its cover is one of the biggest pieces of that type. It is animated by carps of two different sizes. The suspension of the fish in water allows various attitudes. The porcelain was first painted with the classical underglaze blue. The other colors were added over the glaze. Experts believe that three firings have been necessary.
Pieces which are still with their original cover are very rare in private hands. This one was sold for HK $ 44M including premium by Sotheby's on October 29, 2000, a very high price at that time for a Chinese porcelain. It will be sold by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 27, lot 8006. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The progress of Jingdezhen porcelain is restarting with the Jiajing emperor, an art lover and an adept of Taoism. Becoming emperor at the age of 14 in 1522, Jiajing reigned for 45 years. Large pieces are made under his rule, using the bright color palette identified as wucai. Wucai literally means five enamels, five having here a meaning of plurality adjusted to the five elements
This emperor liked to state that he was the fisherman of the heavenly pond. The pattern with fish swimming amidst aquatic plants enables a pleasing interweaving of the drawings on the walls of the jars and Jiajing himself promotes this theme by massive commissions. The details of the themes are related to homophonic rebuses bringing to the emperor the auspices that he so much enjoyed.
A 46 cm high jar with its cover is one of the biggest pieces of that type. It is animated by carps of two different sizes. The suspension of the fish in water allows various attitudes. The porcelain was first painted with the classical underglaze blue. The other colors were added over the glaze. Experts believe that three firings have been necessary.
Pieces which are still with their original cover are very rare in private hands. This one was sold for HK $ 44M including premium by Sotheby's on October 29, 2000, a very high price at that time for a Chinese porcelain. It will be sold by Christie's in Hong Kong on November 27, lot 8006. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Jiajing - The Sixth Color of the Wucai
2012 SOLD 2 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The multicolored porcelain was developed during the Ming dynasty. It takes the name of wucai, which means "five colors". It is already very decorative, with bright and pure enamel colors.
In the sale of 11 and 12 September in New York, Sotheby's has a covered pot decorated with fish, with the mark of the Jiajing Emperor. These animals swim above the weeds, between plant motifs regularly arranged.
The reign of Jiajing (not to be confused with Jiaqing of the Qing) was very long, from 1521 to 1567 of our calendar.Disgusted by politics, he turned to Taoism. We could consider fish as a Taoist symbol of life in freedom, in contrast to the rituals of the court, but remember that it is also a symbol of abundance.
Despite its etymology, wucai fish pots have a sixth color, the beautiful dark orange of the animals. This is not an anomaly, "five" in this case being a way of expressing a plurality.
Other jars, in the Musée Guimet in Paris or in the Museum of Beijing, show the fish in the same attitudes as in the Sotheby's lot, while the plant environment varies. A pot without its cover was sold RMB 15M including premium byChina Guardian in Beijing during the 2012 spring auctions.
The jar for sale by Sotheby's comes from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, which had never exhibited it because they also have another similar piece. It is estimated $ 500K, very reasonably. It is illustrated by Sotheby's on the page announcing the sale.
Here is the link to the catalogue, and the size : 41 cm high.
POST SALE COMMENT
As I told it, the estimate was too reasonable, especially since the provenance was impeccable. Result for the pot: $ 2M including premium.
The multicolored porcelain was developed during the Ming dynasty. It takes the name of wucai, which means "five colors". It is already very decorative, with bright and pure enamel colors.
In the sale of 11 and 12 September in New York, Sotheby's has a covered pot decorated with fish, with the mark of the Jiajing Emperor. These animals swim above the weeds, between plant motifs regularly arranged.
The reign of Jiajing (not to be confused with Jiaqing of the Qing) was very long, from 1521 to 1567 of our calendar.Disgusted by politics, he turned to Taoism. We could consider fish as a Taoist symbol of life in freedom, in contrast to the rituals of the court, but remember that it is also a symbol of abundance.
Despite its etymology, wucai fish pots have a sixth color, the beautiful dark orange of the animals. This is not an anomaly, "five" in this case being a way of expressing a plurality.
Other jars, in the Musée Guimet in Paris or in the Museum of Beijing, show the fish in the same attitudes as in the Sotheby's lot, while the plant environment varies. A pot without its cover was sold RMB 15M including premium byChina Guardian in Beijing during the 2012 spring auctions.
The jar for sale by Sotheby's comes from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, which had never exhibited it because they also have another similar piece. It is estimated $ 500K, very reasonably. It is illustrated by Sotheby's on the page announcing the sale.
Here is the link to the catalogue, and the size : 41 cm high.
POST SALE COMMENT
As I told it, the estimate was too reasonable, especially since the provenance was impeccable. Result for the pot: $ 2M including premium.
1560 Quiet Mysticism of Titian
2011 SOLD 16.9 M$ including premium
In the later Renaissance, it is difficult to imagine a more complete painter than Titian. His great mythological or religious scenes offer the full range of psychological expression from violence to peace.
At the end of his life, his creativity is much alive, but he has nothing more to prove to increase his fame. Painter of sensuality and characters, he became the painter of the passions.
Circa 1560, he painted A Sacra Conversazione, also known as the Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine. We really catch the intelligence being transferred between the Child Jesus, held by his mother, and Catherine of Alexandria. The Child is active and friendly, Catherine is serious and focused, the Madonna encourages the movement of Jesus. St Luke, standing, is carefully watching.
This large painting on canvas, 128 x 170 cm, is estimated $ 15M, for sale at Sotheby's in New York on January 27. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
There is no doubt about the importance of this work. Already in the 1620s, it had the honor to draw the attention of Van Dyck, who made a sketch of it in a notebook now preserved at the British Museum.
POST SALE COMMENT
As expected, this beautiful Titian dominated the week of ancient art sales in New York. Sold $ 16.9 million including premium, it does not, however, exceed its estimate.
I invite you to play the video shared on the web by Sotheby's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
At the end of his life, his creativity is much alive, but he has nothing more to prove to increase his fame. Painter of sensuality and characters, he became the painter of the passions.
Circa 1560, he painted A Sacra Conversazione, also known as the Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine. We really catch the intelligence being transferred between the Child Jesus, held by his mother, and Catherine of Alexandria. The Child is active and friendly, Catherine is serious and focused, the Madonna encourages the movement of Jesus. St Luke, standing, is carefully watching.
This large painting on canvas, 128 x 170 cm, is estimated $ 15M, for sale at Sotheby's in New York on January 27. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
There is no doubt about the importance of this work. Already in the 1620s, it had the honor to draw the attention of Van Dyck, who made a sketch of it in a notebook now preserved at the British Museum.
POST SALE COMMENT
As expected, this beautiful Titian dominated the week of ancient art sales in New York. Sold $ 16.9 million including premium, it does not, however, exceed its estimate.
I invite you to play the video shared on the web by Sotheby's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1562-1563 An Artist's Studio in the Village
2014 SOLD 8.9 M$ including premium
Born in Vicenza, Francesco da Ponte was trained in Venice where he perhaps met Bellini. He soon opened his artist's studio in the village of Bassano, 65 km away from Venice, where he observed the peasants.
His son Jacopo, known as Jacopo Bassano, succeeded him. Making frequent visits to Venice, he assimilated the mannerist expression of emotions while maintaining a realistic observation of peasants, animals and landscapes.
Christian scenes painted by Jacopo are lively and sensitive representations of life in his village. The Adoration of the Shepherds is a perfect theme for this peasant painter.
A large oil on canvas, 72 x 112 cm, in excellent condition, is estimated $ 8M for sale on January 29 in New York at Christie's. It was painted in 1562 or 1563. On the same date in Venice, Veronese painted the Wedding at Cana. The outstanding place offered by Veronese to Jacopo in his monumental painting demonstrates that the art of the villager was well received in the city of the Doges.
Jacopo is contemporary of another peasant painter whom he probably could not know: Pieter Bruegel. Bassano and Bruegel have another common history: their sons succeeded them, using their images as trademarks for their workshops during several decades.
POST SALE COMMENT
Great result for this rare artwork from an outstanding master : $ 8.9M including premium, in line with the estimate.
His son Jacopo, known as Jacopo Bassano, succeeded him. Making frequent visits to Venice, he assimilated the mannerist expression of emotions while maintaining a realistic observation of peasants, animals and landscapes.
Christian scenes painted by Jacopo are lively and sensitive representations of life in his village. The Adoration of the Shepherds is a perfect theme for this peasant painter.
A large oil on canvas, 72 x 112 cm, in excellent condition, is estimated $ 8M for sale on January 29 in New York at Christie's. It was painted in 1562 or 1563. On the same date in Venice, Veronese painted the Wedding at Cana. The outstanding place offered by Veronese to Jacopo in his monumental painting demonstrates that the art of the villager was well received in the city of the Doges.
Jacopo is contemporary of another peasant painter whom he probably could not know: Pieter Bruegel. Bassano and Bruegel have another common history: their sons succeeded them, using their images as trademarks for their workshops during several decades.
POST SALE COMMENT
Great result for this rare artwork from an outstanding master : $ 8.9M including premium, in line with the estimate.
1562-1567 Muscle and Ecorché
2015 SOLD for $ 2.05M including premium
Willem van Tetrode, a native from Delft, was for many years a collaborator to Benvenuto Cellini. The importance and originality of his art was recently rediscovered. His period of greatest creativity was in Florence at the court of Cosimo I from 1562 to 1567. He was known in Italy as Guglielmo Flammingo.
While Cellini promotes an uncompromising modernism, van Tetrode is familiar with antique statues which he frequently works to restore.
His time marks a new curiosity about the mechanisms of the human body. Leonardo's studies had opened this path in art, in a search for more realistic attitudes. Vesalius, the founder of scientific anatomy, and Giambologna, the sculptor of the human body in motion, were also among the protégés of Cosimo I.
Sculptures by van Tetrode display an extreme tension of male bodies in various attitudes that exacerbate muscles, under or without skin. His influence will be considerable, particularly on de Vries and Goltzius.
On January 27 in New York, Christie's sells two bronzes by Willem van Tetrode estimated $ 1.5 million each.
At Lot 52, Hercules with his club symbolizes the heroic strength, very steady on his long legs, with a serene face. This bronze is 39 cm high.
At Lot 71, an écorché (skinned) man is in a dance position at the extreme limits of balance. This bronze is 44 cm high.
RESULTS :
Hercules : 2.05M including premium.
Ecorché man : unsold.
While Cellini promotes an uncompromising modernism, van Tetrode is familiar with antique statues which he frequently works to restore.
His time marks a new curiosity about the mechanisms of the human body. Leonardo's studies had opened this path in art, in a search for more realistic attitudes. Vesalius, the founder of scientific anatomy, and Giambologna, the sculptor of the human body in motion, were also among the protégés of Cosimo I.
Sculptures by van Tetrode display an extreme tension of male bodies in various attitudes that exacerbate muscles, under or without skin. His influence will be considerable, particularly on de Vries and Goltzius.
On January 27 in New York, Christie's sells two bronzes by Willem van Tetrode estimated $ 1.5 million each.
At Lot 52, Hercules with his club symbolizes the heroic strength, very steady on his long legs, with a serene face. This bronze is 39 cm high.
At Lot 71, an écorché (skinned) man is in a dance position at the extreme limits of balance. This bronze is 44 cm high.
RESULTS :
Hercules : 2.05M including premium.
Ecorché man : unsold.
Bronze of Hercules Pomarius by Danielsz.van Tetrode, $2,045,000. http://t.co/9EhmXLMWQp #antiques #sculpture pic.twitter.com/D6xDdxb24U
— Maine Antique Digest (@AntiqueDigest) April 25, 2015
1564 Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by Steven van der Meulen
2007 SOLD for £ 2.6M including premium by Sotheby's
Link to catalogue.
1565 Martyred Virgin and Horrible Beast
2018 SOLD for $ 2.17M including premium
St. Margaret of Antioch is a symbol of the resistance through the Christian faith to all the horrors of the world. Even the most credulous hagiographers very early recognized that her story was apocryphal. Her victory over Satan disguised as a dragon puts this martyred virgin in a situation similar to the temptations of St. Anthony.
In the most extreme versions of her legend, the young woman comes out unscathed from each trial, leading to her final martyrdom. Swallowed in her whole by the dragon, she is rejected when her crucifix irritates the digestive system of the monster. The rich patrons of the later Renaissance appreciate such an allegory of irreproachable virtue.
Raphael executed around 1518 two paintings on this theme. The version of the Vienna Museum is the most dramatic. The body of the foul beast encircles the young woman who remains standing with a great calm brought by her confidence in her crucifix. In the Louvre version, Margaret moves away from the beast.
Towards the end of his career, Titian conceived an even more dramatic composition. The position of the girl is similar to that of Vienna's Raphael but she is frightened. The beast is under her bare foot in the foreground in a mixture of dark tones that increases the horror by voluntarily reducing the readability.
The standing Margaret looks down at her enemy. She turns her back on another apocalyptic danger, the fire of Venice far away. This heterogeneous scene becomes more logical if it appears as a cluster of threats around the heroic Christian and not as a victory. Clothes and hair are impeccable, which does not match with a regurgitation, even miraculous.
Two almost identical versions are known of Titian's St. Margaret. One of them, in the Prado, is dated circa 1559.
The other version, oil on canvas 198 x 168 cm after a reduction of height in the mid-20th century, had belonged to the collection of King Charles I. It is signed by Titian near a vanity but was probably realized in major part by his workshop, perhaps simultaneously with the autograph version. The quality of the light of the Venice fire makes propose for its completion a later date, around 1565.
This painting is estimated $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on February 1, lot 27. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In the most extreme versions of her legend, the young woman comes out unscathed from each trial, leading to her final martyrdom. Swallowed in her whole by the dragon, she is rejected when her crucifix irritates the digestive system of the monster. The rich patrons of the later Renaissance appreciate such an allegory of irreproachable virtue.
Raphael executed around 1518 two paintings on this theme. The version of the Vienna Museum is the most dramatic. The body of the foul beast encircles the young woman who remains standing with a great calm brought by her confidence in her crucifix. In the Louvre version, Margaret moves away from the beast.
Towards the end of his career, Titian conceived an even more dramatic composition. The position of the girl is similar to that of Vienna's Raphael but she is frightened. The beast is under her bare foot in the foreground in a mixture of dark tones that increases the horror by voluntarily reducing the readability.
The standing Margaret looks down at her enemy. She turns her back on another apocalyptic danger, the fire of Venice far away. This heterogeneous scene becomes more logical if it appears as a cluster of threats around the heroic Christian and not as a victory. Clothes and hair are impeccable, which does not match with a regurgitation, even miraculous.
Two almost identical versions are known of Titian's St. Margaret. One of them, in the Prado, is dated circa 1559.
The other version, oil on canvas 198 x 168 cm after a reduction of height in the mid-20th century, had belonged to the collection of King Charles I. It is signed by Titian near a vanity but was probably realized in major part by his workshop, perhaps simultaneously with the autograph version. The quality of the light of the Venice fire makes propose for its completion a later date, around 1565.
This painting is estimated $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on February 1, lot 27. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This Titian belonged to King Charles I https://t.co/zYqIxDo4dx #Titian #OldMasters pic.twitter.com/WEZCRrBnsh
— Paul Fraser (@PFCollectibles) January 9, 2018
