Years 1660-1679
See also : Ancient painting Christianity Music and dance Old Dutch masters Spain II Spain III Ancient Spain Furniture Ancient French furniture Louis XIV to XVI Blue diamond
1660 Dutch Prayers
2012 SOLD 5.6 M£ including premium
The evangelical or hagiographic iconography is not the only way to glorify religion in art. The piety of humble people demonstrates its universality.
The 17th century was the golden age of Dutch genre painting. In dealing with the subject of the prayer before the meal, Jan Steen offers a realistic, plausible and yet picturesque view of the tranquility of poor people helped by their piety in facing the trials of everyday life.
The meal will be frugal and the room is not decorated. Empathy is strong between the woman holding a nice infant boy and the slightly hunchbacked man who repeat together the long vernacular prayer hanging on the wall.
This oil on panel, 53 x 45 cm, made in 1660, brings the nostalgia for another time, as expressed by a master who certainly contributed to influence the great intimate art of Vermeer.
It is estimated £ 5M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 5. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, £ 5.6M including premium, is in line with the estimate for this contemporary of Vermeer.
The 17th century was the golden age of Dutch genre painting. In dealing with the subject of the prayer before the meal, Jan Steen offers a realistic, plausible and yet picturesque view of the tranquility of poor people helped by their piety in facing the trials of everyday life.
The meal will be frugal and the room is not decorated. Empathy is strong between the woman holding a nice infant boy and the slightly hunchbacked man who repeat together the long vernacular prayer hanging on the wall.
This oil on panel, 53 x 45 cm, made in 1660, brings the nostalgia for another time, as expressed by a master who certainly contributed to influence the great intimate art of Vermeer.
It is estimated £ 5M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 5. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, £ 5.6M including premium, is in line with the estimate for this contemporary of Vermeer.
1660 The Human Comedy of Jan Steen
2011 SOLD 4.9 M£ including premium
It is rare to have fun when seeing an old painting. Made around 1660, an oil on panel by Jan Steen, 46 x 60 cm, takes us into a comedy worthy of Molière. The minute details of the characters and furnishings make it a masterpiece of the interior genre of that time.
Indeed, a comical scene is running in a comfortable Dutch cityhouse. A young man and a young woman are playing cards. She looks innocent and quiet, yet she is blatantly cheating. He is serious and concerned.
The secondary characters reinforce the discomfort of the victim. An acolyte of the woman is disturbing the player with a glass of wine. The dog does not care about the disappointments of his master and sleeps blissfully.
This painting is estimated £ 4.5 million, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 7.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was ambitious but the result is successful : £ 4.9M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
Indeed, a comical scene is running in a comfortable Dutch cityhouse. A young man and a young woman are playing cards. She looks innocent and quiet, yet she is blatantly cheating. He is serious and concerned.
The secondary characters reinforce the discomfort of the victim. An acolyte of the woman is disturbing the player with a glass of wine. The dog does not care about the disappointments of his master and sleeps blissfully.
This painting is estimated £ 4.5 million, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 7.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was ambitious but the result is successful : £ 4.9M including premium.
I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
1660 Pre-Romantic Landscapes in Holland
2015 SOLD for $ 4.8M including premium
The frozen landscape was a major theme for Dutch painting in the seventeenth century. The pioneer was Hendrick Avercamp, born in Amsterdam, who moved to Kampen. His scenes were first inspired by the varied crowds of Brueghel, and later he lowered the horizon to better express atmosphere and light.
Aert van der Neer, also born in Amsterdam, was thirty years old in 1633 when Avercamp died. He appears as his successor with his frozen rivers or canals in a pleasant environment with trees, houses and mills in a skilled composition with peacefully scattered walkers and skaters. An oil on panel 40 x 55 cm painted in the late 1640s was sold for £ 2,65M including premium by Sotheby's on 4 December 2013.
On January 29 in New York, Sotheby's sells a scene of frozen river at sunset, oil on panel 46 x 70 cm painted by van der Neer circa 1660, lot 35 estimated $ 4M. The warm light that soaks this winter scene makes secondary the details of the gentle animation.
Van der Neer missed his career despite a collaboration with Cuyp. His moonlight sceneries did not excite his contemporaries and he was not considered as an outstanding artist.
Two centuries later, Andreas Schelfhout was the best known Dutch Romantic landscape painter. He had thoroughly studied Ruisdael and Hobbema. Times had changed and Schelfhout obtained success with scenes similar as the best paintings by van der Neer. An oil on canvas 96 x 145 cm painted by Schelfhout in 1857, previously discussed in this column, was sold for € 480K including premium by Sotheby's on December 13, 2010.
Aert van der Neer, also born in Amsterdam, was thirty years old in 1633 when Avercamp died. He appears as his successor with his frozen rivers or canals in a pleasant environment with trees, houses and mills in a skilled composition with peacefully scattered walkers and skaters. An oil on panel 40 x 55 cm painted in the late 1640s was sold for £ 2,65M including premium by Sotheby's on 4 December 2013.
On January 29 in New York, Sotheby's sells a scene of frozen river at sunset, oil on panel 46 x 70 cm painted by van der Neer circa 1660, lot 35 estimated $ 4M. The warm light that soaks this winter scene makes secondary the details of the gentle animation.
Van der Neer missed his career despite a collaboration with Cuyp. His moonlight sceneries did not excite his contemporaries and he was not considered as an outstanding artist.
Two centuries later, Andreas Schelfhout was the best known Dutch Romantic landscape painter. He had thoroughly studied Ruisdael and Hobbema. Times had changed and Schelfhout obtained success with scenes similar as the best paintings by van der Neer. An oil on canvas 96 x 145 cm painted by Schelfhout in 1857, previously discussed in this column, was sold for € 480K including premium by Sotheby's on December 13, 2010.
Highlights from #MastersWeek: @Sothebys New York http://t.co/TA834HHegp pic.twitter.com/0PdFjb0xKs
— BLOUIN ARTINFO (@artinfodotcom) January 31, 20151661 Saint James the Greater by Rembrandt
2007 SOLD for $ 26M including premium by Sotheby's
1661 The Jewels of the French Crown
2017 SOLD for CHF 14.4M including premium
The collection of the Diamants de la Couronne de France is an estate declared inalienable by King François I in 1530. It increases over the years to constitute the elements of the royal and imperial jewels incessantly recomposed until the fall of the Second Empire in 1870 according to the variations of fashion. The collection was dismantled at the beginning of the Troisième République.
Cardinal Mazarin was an avid collector of art and jewelry. When he died in 1661 he left 18 diamonds to the Crown as a dation in payment that allowed him to pass on the rest of his huge inheritance to his family. This group includes the Sancy which was considered as the most beautiful diamond known in Europe until the discovery of the Régent.
At that time all the major diamonds had been extracted from Golconda mines. It was not until 1725 that a Brazilian source came to compete with that Indian provenance.
Note that the Beau Sancy which adorned the crown of the coronation of Marie de Médicis was a personal gift to her by King Henri IV and was not inalienable. It left France in 1641 and was sold for CHF 9M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2012.
On November 14 in Geneva, Christie's sells as lot 600 Le Grand Mazarin which had been a major piece of the cardinal's bequest. Analyzed by the GIA before the auction, this brilliant cut diamond weighing 19.07 carats is of type IIa. Its VS2 clarity is sensational for a historic diamond. Its light pink color is extremely rare.
Le Grand Mazarin was worn by Queen Marie-Thérèse wife of Louis XIV, then by King Louis XIV himself in a chain and later by Empress Marie-Louise wife of Napoléon I in a diadem made by Nitot.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's and read the instructive featured post that accompanies it.
Cardinal Mazarin was an avid collector of art and jewelry. When he died in 1661 he left 18 diamonds to the Crown as a dation in payment that allowed him to pass on the rest of his huge inheritance to his family. This group includes the Sancy which was considered as the most beautiful diamond known in Europe until the discovery of the Régent.
At that time all the major diamonds had been extracted from Golconda mines. It was not until 1725 that a Brazilian source came to compete with that Indian provenance.
Note that the Beau Sancy which adorned the crown of the coronation of Marie de Médicis was a personal gift to her by King Henri IV and was not inalienable. It left France in 1641 and was sold for CHF 9M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2012.
On November 14 in Geneva, Christie's sells as lot 600 Le Grand Mazarin which had been a major piece of the cardinal's bequest. Analyzed by the GIA before the auction, this brilliant cut diamond weighing 19.07 carats is of type IIa. Its VS2 clarity is sensational for a historic diamond. Its light pink color is extremely rare.
Le Grand Mazarin was worn by Queen Marie-Thérèse wife of Louis XIV, then by King Louis XIV himself in a chain and later by Empress Marie-Louise wife of Napoléon I in a diadem made by Nitot.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's and read the instructive featured post that accompanies it.
The historic Le Grand Mazarin #diamond is now on view in #Geneva until 14 November: https://t.co/BV5ooNMJwk pic.twitter.com/ym4zasjk1P
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) November 9, 2017
1661 Interior with Music
2011 SOLD 1.76 M$ including premium
2016 SOLD for $ 610K including premium
PRE 2016 SALE DISCUSSION
The sale of the ancient art from the Taubman collection is organized by Sotheby's in New York on January 27. It includes at lot 26 a music scene of the Dutch Golden Age, previously discussed in this column.
Taubman bought it for $ 1.76M including premium in the sale of the Safra collection at Sotheby's on January 26, 2011, far below the estimate, which certainly explains the caution of the auction house in its new lower estimate: $ 800K. This charming genre painting does not however lack merit.
The artist, Hendrick Sorgh, is little known but nevertheless had a successful career in Rotterdam. His scenes of peasant taverns are inspired by his contemporary Teniers the Younger. His active participation in local life leads him to observe the bourgeois in their vast interiors, with kindness but without the theatrical dynamism of Jan Steen, for example.
The oil on canvas 68 x 82 cm from the Safra and Taubman collections, painted in 1661, shows a group of young people busy playing music. A man plays the theorbo and another the violin, and a woman sings. Their group includes another young woman whose dreamy attitude, captured by the emotion of the music, is seconded by the symbol of the virginal passion, the bird in its cage.
The theme of the musical group, rare in the art of Sorgh, is more common by Teniers.
The sale of the ancient art from the Taubman collection is organized by Sotheby's in New York on January 27. It includes at lot 26 a music scene of the Dutch Golden Age, previously discussed in this column.
Taubman bought it for $ 1.76M including premium in the sale of the Safra collection at Sotheby's on January 26, 2011, far below the estimate, which certainly explains the caution of the auction house in its new lower estimate: $ 800K. This charming genre painting does not however lack merit.
The artist, Hendrick Sorgh, is little known but nevertheless had a successful career in Rotterdam. His scenes of peasant taverns are inspired by his contemporary Teniers the Younger. His active participation in local life leads him to observe the bourgeois in their vast interiors, with kindness but without the theatrical dynamism of Jan Steen, for example.
The oil on canvas 68 x 82 cm from the Safra and Taubman collections, painted in 1661, shows a group of young people busy playing music. A man plays the theorbo and another the violin, and a woman sings. Their group includes another young woman whose dreamy attitude, captured by the emotion of the music, is seconded by the symbol of the virginal passion, the bird in its cage.
The theme of the musical group, rare in the art of Sorgh, is more common by Teniers.
1663 Good Practice in Holland
2014 SOLD 4.4 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Contemporary of Vermeer, Jacob Ochtervelt probably begins his career in Haarlem before moving back to his hometown Rotterdam. He follows the fashion of the time in creating genre.
His best compositions show social contrasts, leaving the fair role to wealthy citizens. The foreground is the entrance hall to the house whose door is wide open to the outside. Happiness and peace are within, while the poor remain outside and try to communicate. They are musicians, merchants or beggars.
On January 30 in New York, Sotheby's sells an oil on canvas 82 x 67 cm, lot 38 in the catalog, estimated $ 3M. The price may seem high for such a little known master, but the composition is subtle. Made in 1663 when the artist was not yet thirty years old, this painting may be considered as his masterpiece.
The attention is focused on a young child in long gown, identified as a boy by how he wears his chain. Observed by his nurse, he does not even try to watch the beggar to whom he gives the alms. His parents in a room next door and the dog of the household confirm the quiet and decorous nature of this scene of manners.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result for this painting by a lesser known artist: $ 4.4 million including premium, almost reaching the higher estimate.
Contemporary of Vermeer, Jacob Ochtervelt probably begins his career in Haarlem before moving back to his hometown Rotterdam. He follows the fashion of the time in creating genre.
His best compositions show social contrasts, leaving the fair role to wealthy citizens. The foreground is the entrance hall to the house whose door is wide open to the outside. Happiness and peace are within, while the poor remain outside and try to communicate. They are musicians, merchants or beggars.
On January 30 in New York, Sotheby's sells an oil on canvas 82 x 67 cm, lot 38 in the catalog, estimated $ 3M. The price may seem high for such a little known master, but the composition is subtle. Made in 1663 when the artist was not yet thirty years old, this painting may be considered as his masterpiece.
The attention is focused on a young child in long gown, identified as a boy by how he wears his chain. Observed by his nurse, he does not even try to watch the beggar to whom he gives the alms. His parents in a room next door and the dog of the household confirm the quiet and decorous nature of this scene of manners.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result for this painting by a lesser known artist: $ 4.4 million including premium, almost reaching the higher estimate.
1664 A Diamond for the Infanta
2008 SOLD 16.4 M£ including premium
It will be one of the most remarkable lots of this fall. A diamond in an extremely rare color, an exceptional size and a royal provenance dating back to more than three centuries ago.
This Indian greyish-blue diamond weighing 35.56 carat of VS2 clarity is chosen in 1664 by King Philip IV of Spain to enter the dowry of his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. The princess is well known for being in 1656 the main character of the Meninas of Velazquez. So this diamond is a contemporary of the royal glory of the Koh-I-Noor, the Regent and the Orlov. Entered in the Bavarian royal family by a marriage in 1722, it was then known as Blaue Wittelsbacher.
It is found twice at Christie's: in 1931 at the sale of the crown jewellery of Bavaria, and now in preparation for the sale of December 10 in London.
Christie's does not give a price in its release, but the Telegraph of Nov. 2 indicates that experts believe it could fetch £ 10 million.
POST SALE COMMENTS
An outstanding result for the most exciting lot of the year.
The Wittelsbach diamond was sold £ 16.4 million including buyer's premium.
Christie's announced that it is the highest recorded auction price for a jewel.
My opinion is that this changes nothing in my previous remarks on the new challenge, at the end of the year, for selling color diamonds. Those that are both unique and prestigious continue to make excellent performance.
Unlike my usual practice, I put a link to the catalog page of this historic lot.
Question raised by a WORLDAUCTION member :
I wonder how the value was assigned based on weight, size, clarity, color, etc. I am also interested if a breakdown is possible with the art and skill that went into finishing. It would seem this diamond with it's history would be valued even higher. A terrific gift to a special person.
Do you think timing in the offer so near the holidays may have driven up the price for the diamond? Or was this essentially assured without much competition?
Proposed answer :
I have no doubt that the royal history made the price. The fact that only one other diamond of same colour and size is known in the world helped much.
I do not think that the cut and clarity had a role in this result.
It is a historic piece, contemporary to the Koh-I-Noor. I am sure that the price was not affected by the auction date, excepted the fact that top jewelry auctions in London and New York come generally in December (after Geneva and Hong Kong sales).
Christie's had not published their estimate, but the market had told about 10 M£. For sure, reaching 16.4 M£ (including fees) was the result of much competition.
(later)
We have some additional information through the press today.
Christie's spokeswoman said the price nearly doubled its pre-sale estimate (Christie's had not published that estimate).
The previous top price for a diamond at auction was $16.5 million for a 100-carat diamond in 1995 in Switzerland. Converted into US currency, the price of the Wittelsbach diamond is 24.3 M$.
Christie's provided the buyer's name in a press release : Graff Diamonds.
Its image before being recut by Graff is shared by Wikimedia :
This Indian greyish-blue diamond weighing 35.56 carat of VS2 clarity is chosen in 1664 by King Philip IV of Spain to enter the dowry of his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. The princess is well known for being in 1656 the main character of the Meninas of Velazquez. So this diamond is a contemporary of the royal glory of the Koh-I-Noor, the Regent and the Orlov. Entered in the Bavarian royal family by a marriage in 1722, it was then known as Blaue Wittelsbacher.
It is found twice at Christie's: in 1931 at the sale of the crown jewellery of Bavaria, and now in preparation for the sale of December 10 in London.
Christie's does not give a price in its release, but the Telegraph of Nov. 2 indicates that experts believe it could fetch £ 10 million.
POST SALE COMMENTS
An outstanding result for the most exciting lot of the year.
The Wittelsbach diamond was sold £ 16.4 million including buyer's premium.
Christie's announced that it is the highest recorded auction price for a jewel.
My opinion is that this changes nothing in my previous remarks on the new challenge, at the end of the year, for selling color diamonds. Those that are both unique and prestigious continue to make excellent performance.
Unlike my usual practice, I put a link to the catalog page of this historic lot.
Question raised by a WORLDAUCTION member :
I wonder how the value was assigned based on weight, size, clarity, color, etc. I am also interested if a breakdown is possible with the art and skill that went into finishing. It would seem this diamond with it's history would be valued even higher. A terrific gift to a special person.
Do you think timing in the offer so near the holidays may have driven up the price for the diamond? Or was this essentially assured without much competition?
Proposed answer :
I have no doubt that the royal history made the price. The fact that only one other diamond of same colour and size is known in the world helped much.
I do not think that the cut and clarity had a role in this result.
It is a historic piece, contemporary to the Koh-I-Noor. I am sure that the price was not affected by the auction date, excepted the fact that top jewelry auctions in London and New York come generally in December (after Geneva and Hong Kong sales).
Christie's had not published their estimate, but the market had told about 10 M£. For sure, reaching 16.4 M£ (including fees) was the result of much competition.
(later)
We have some additional information through the press today.
Christie's spokeswoman said the price nearly doubled its pre-sale estimate (Christie's had not published that estimate).
The previous top price for a diamond at auction was $16.5 million for a 100-carat diamond in 1995 in Switzerland. Converted into US currency, the price of the Wittelsbach diamond is 24.3 M$.
Christie's provided the buyer's name in a press release : Graff Diamonds.
Its image before being recut by Graff is shared by Wikimedia :
1665-1675 The Italian Influence at the Gobelins
2009 SOLD 4.5 M£ including premium
The creation of the Gobelins in Paris is included in a highly political context in which art is important.
The minister of Louis XIV was Mazarin, the Italian, a great lover of art. The Superintendent of Finance was Fouquet, patron of artists including Le Brun. In 1661, Mazarin dies. His close associate, the very active Colbert, excites the rage of the king against the luxurious château de Vaux, Fouquet's personal property.
Now, Colbert's hands are free. In 1662 he creates the Manufacture des Meubles de la Couronne in the then suburbs of the Gobelins. The idea is to provide the king with luxurious furniture by protecting the best cabinetmakers and tapestry makers so that their art is reserved for royal commissions. The management of the Manufacture is entrusted to Le Brun.
Having come from Italy, Domenico Cucci made several luxury furniture at the Gobelins, including a pair of large cabinets for Versailles in 1664. The similarity of design allows Christie's to date between 1665 and 1675 another cabinet, for sale in London on December 10, which was probably done on an order of the Queen of Sweden.
This high furniture of Flemish style is perched on a stand of stone caryatids, and adorned with gilded bronze and with Pietre Dure from Florence. The caryatids may be the work of another Italian, Philippe Caffieri, husband of the sister of Le Brun and cousin of Cucci. A family business that would have pleased Mazarin!
Christie's estimates the piece of furniture around 4 million pounds.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result meets the expectations and expertise of the auction house: £ 4.5 million including premium.
Here is the image of this lot shared post sale by AuctionPublicity.
The minister of Louis XIV was Mazarin, the Italian, a great lover of art. The Superintendent of Finance was Fouquet, patron of artists including Le Brun. In 1661, Mazarin dies. His close associate, the very active Colbert, excites the rage of the king against the luxurious château de Vaux, Fouquet's personal property.
Now, Colbert's hands are free. In 1662 he creates the Manufacture des Meubles de la Couronne in the then suburbs of the Gobelins. The idea is to provide the king with luxurious furniture by protecting the best cabinetmakers and tapestry makers so that their art is reserved for royal commissions. The management of the Manufacture is entrusted to Le Brun.
Having come from Italy, Domenico Cucci made several luxury furniture at the Gobelins, including a pair of large cabinets for Versailles in 1664. The similarity of design allows Christie's to date between 1665 and 1675 another cabinet, for sale in London on December 10, which was probably done on an order of the Queen of Sweden.
This high furniture of Flemish style is perched on a stand of stone caryatids, and adorned with gilded bronze and with Pietre Dure from Florence. The caryatids may be the work of another Italian, Philippe Caffieri, husband of the sister of Le Brun and cousin of Cucci. A family business that would have pleased Mazarin!
Christie's estimates the piece of furniture around 4 million pounds.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result meets the expectations and expertise of the auction house: £ 4.5 million including premium.
Here is the image of this lot shared post sale by AuctionPublicity.
1666 The Parrot in Dutch Genre Painting
2014 SOLD 5.1 M$ including premium
In the best period of Dutch genre painting, a new character altogether friendly and mysterious drew the attention of the fijnschilders in search for new symbols: the parrot.
The bird who talks like a human represents the ability to learn, promising a bright future. Rare because it is exotic, it contributes to the luxury of the upper classes. Released from its cage, it comes with confidence to be fed by young women or children.
The fijnschilders improve their scenes with sumptuous clothes and carpets whose meticulous pictorial representation is a technical feat. On 3 December 2008, Sotheby's sold £ 3.6 million including premium the gentle portrait of a young woman feeding a parrot, an oil on panel 22 x 18 cm painted in 1663 by Frans van Mieris which is a prototype of this new theme.
On June 4 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on panel 46 x 37 cm painted by Caspar Netscher in 1666, estimated $ 2M.
The woman is very young. Her mischievous gaze expresses her new knowledge of life by the loss of her virginity, which releases her from ignorance like herself has freed the bird by opening the cage.
This composition is viewed through a trompe-l'oeil window in the taste of Gerrit Dou. In the dark, the boy page who brings food for the bird is probably a symbol of innocence that offsets the too seductive attitude of the woman.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 5.1 million including premium, far exceeds the expectation.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's :
The bird who talks like a human represents the ability to learn, promising a bright future. Rare because it is exotic, it contributes to the luxury of the upper classes. Released from its cage, it comes with confidence to be fed by young women or children.
The fijnschilders improve their scenes with sumptuous clothes and carpets whose meticulous pictorial representation is a technical feat. On 3 December 2008, Sotheby's sold £ 3.6 million including premium the gentle portrait of a young woman feeding a parrot, an oil on panel 22 x 18 cm painted in 1663 by Frans van Mieris which is a prototype of this new theme.
On June 4 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on panel 46 x 37 cm painted by Caspar Netscher in 1666, estimated $ 2M.
The woman is very young. Her mischievous gaze expresses her new knowledge of life by the loss of her virginity, which releases her from ignorance like herself has freed the bird by opening the cage.
This composition is viewed through a trompe-l'oeil window in the taste of Gerrit Dou. In the dark, the boy page who brings food for the bird is probably a symbol of innocence that offsets the too seductive attitude of the woman.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, $ 5.1 million including premium, far exceeds the expectation.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's :
1670 Young Woman seated at the Virginals by Vermeer
2004 SOLD 16.2 M£ including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
The Young woman seated at the virginals is an oil on canvas 25 x 20 cm showing a peaceful interior scene. It has in its colors and in its theme many characteristics of an autograph Vermeer. This attribution was challenged in the context of the Van Meegeren case. Scientific expertise has rehabilitated it. It was sold for £ 16.2M including premium by Sotheby's on July 7, 2004, lot 8. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
It can form a pendant with The Lacemaker. The two works have the same format, one of the smallest used by the artist, and may have been painted on pieces of canvas from the same cloth, too raw to be intended for commercial purpose. It is possible that each of them is the portrait of one of the artist's daughters, Maria and Elizabeth.
Both girls have a bright yellow shawl. That of the Young woman seated at the virginals was not convincing. Analysis has shown that this color was painted in two overlapping layers, probably several years apart, perhaps to repair a degradation. The removal of the upper layer gives this picture the three-dimensional intimacy of a real Vermeer.
The ultramarine blue was the most expensive pigment of its time, made from lapis lazuli. Vermeer appears to be the only artist who has made an intensive use of it, not only for the visible blue in his compositions but also to contribute subliminally to the hue of the background wall.
Present in these two functions in the Young woman seated at the virginals, this blue is also one of the arguments to authenticate the Saint Praxedis painted by Vermeer at the very beginning of his career. The fact that Vermeer never declared an apprentice to the Delft guild undoubtedly facilitates such considerations. Saint Praxedis, oil on canvas 102 x 82 cm, was sold for £ 6.2M including premium by Christie's on July 8, 2014.
Each year brought its fashion changes. The date of 1670 is plausible for both The Lacemaker and the Young woman seated at the virginals, with the curls falling on both sides of the bun.
It can form a pendant with The Lacemaker. The two works have the same format, one of the smallest used by the artist, and may have been painted on pieces of canvas from the same cloth, too raw to be intended for commercial purpose. It is possible that each of them is the portrait of one of the artist's daughters, Maria and Elizabeth.
Both girls have a bright yellow shawl. That of the Young woman seated at the virginals was not convincing. Analysis has shown that this color was painted in two overlapping layers, probably several years apart, perhaps to repair a degradation. The removal of the upper layer gives this picture the three-dimensional intimacy of a real Vermeer.
The ultramarine blue was the most expensive pigment of its time, made from lapis lazuli. Vermeer appears to be the only artist who has made an intensive use of it, not only for the visible blue in his compositions but also to contribute subliminally to the hue of the background wall.
Present in these two functions in the Young woman seated at the virginals, this blue is also one of the arguments to authenticate the Saint Praxedis painted by Vermeer at the very beginning of his career. The fact that Vermeer never declared an apprentice to the Delft guild undoubtedly facilitates such considerations. Saint Praxedis, oil on canvas 102 x 82 cm, was sold for £ 6.2M including premium by Christie's on July 8, 2014.
Each year brought its fashion changes. The date of 1670 is plausible for both The Lacemaker and the Young woman seated at the virginals, with the curls falling on both sides of the bun.
1670 The Man of Sorrows
2017 SOLD for £ 2.75M including premium
In Sevilla where he spends his entire career, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo is away from the academics. Deeply original in his humanistic approach to religious themes, he promotes piety by showing that Christ and saints were human beings, thus reinforcing the simple idea that Gospels and hagiographies are examples to be imitated.
On July 5 in London, Sotheby's sells an Ecce Homo, oil on canvas 64 x 53 cm painted by Murillo around 1670 or a little earlier, lot 32 estimated £ 2M. This artwork had been sold for £ 2,47M including premium by Christie's on December 8, 2005.
Christ is seen half-length on a black background, in a composition very close to the Ecco Homo of similar dimensions painted by Titian in 1547, now at the Museo del Prado. He is alone with no narrative surrounding to face his physical and moral pains with the attributes of mockery : the rope binding his hands, the red robe that does not cover the body, the crown of thorns and the scepter of reed.
The feeling is however completely different. The head of the man of sorrows by Titian is turned almost in profile with a too thick beard. On the contrary the attitude shown by Murillo is facing. His lowered eyes and his meditating mouth reveal that this man is strong enough in his mind to overcome all sufferings and challenges.
On July 5 in London, Sotheby's sells an Ecce Homo, oil on canvas 64 x 53 cm painted by Murillo around 1670 or a little earlier, lot 32 estimated £ 2M. This artwork had been sold for £ 2,47M including premium by Christie's on December 8, 2005.
Christ is seen half-length on a black background, in a composition very close to the Ecco Homo of similar dimensions painted by Titian in 1547, now at the Museo del Prado. He is alone with no narrative surrounding to face his physical and moral pains with the attributes of mockery : the rope binding his hands, the red robe that does not cover the body, the crown of thorns and the scepter of reed.
The feeling is however completely different. The head of the man of sorrows by Titian is turned almost in profile with a too thick beard. On the contrary the attitude shown by Murillo is facing. His lowered eyes and his meditating mouth reveal that this man is strong enough in his mind to overcome all sufferings and challenges.
St Joseph becoming younger
1998 SOLD for $ 2.5M by Sotheby's
2016 UNSOLD
PRE 2016 SALE DISCUSSION
Murillo spent his entire career in Sevilla during the baroque period. Before him Ribera had revised the iconography of the saints by imagining their everyday passion. Murillo further humanizes the saints by showing them in ordinary occupations. His honest and unwealthy characters invite the faithful to sympathy and charity.
St Joseph is an ideal character in this new hagiography. His role in Christian theology was ill-defined. Thomas Aquinas had rightly observed that his existence was indispensable to Mary's side in order to prevent this unmarried mother from being persecuted by the Jews. In return he does not have the right to a sexual life and is necessarily very old.
The counter-reform alters this vision. The sensitivity to the mysteries diminishes in favor of a more intimate and less narrative representation. Joseph has now an increased role. He is the nutritoris domini, meaning the well-intentioned educator. He is not a threat to Mary and can become young again.
On December 7 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 222 x 165 cm by Murillo on the theme of St Joseph taking the hand of the Christ Child, lot 50 estimated £ 3M. This painting had been sold for $ 2.5M by Sotheby's on January 30, 1998.
Joseph is a young man, similar to the traditional iconography of Christ himself. The boy a little sulky or ill-awake is in the period before his first teachings and his first miracles. The mystical dimension is assured by the very discreet halos and by a background with angels.
This painting is not dated. It was made in neutral colors with only a more vivid light on the child's face. This simplicity in execution could relate to the latter part of the artist's career. Murillo died in 1682 at the age of 64 as a result of an accident at work.
Murillo spent his entire career in Sevilla during the baroque period. Before him Ribera had revised the iconography of the saints by imagining their everyday passion. Murillo further humanizes the saints by showing them in ordinary occupations. His honest and unwealthy characters invite the faithful to sympathy and charity.
St Joseph is an ideal character in this new hagiography. His role in Christian theology was ill-defined. Thomas Aquinas had rightly observed that his existence was indispensable to Mary's side in order to prevent this unmarried mother from being persecuted by the Jews. In return he does not have the right to a sexual life and is necessarily very old.
The counter-reform alters this vision. The sensitivity to the mysteries diminishes in favor of a more intimate and less narrative representation. Joseph has now an increased role. He is the nutritoris domini, meaning the well-intentioned educator. He is not a threat to Mary and can become young again.
On December 7 in London, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 222 x 165 cm by Murillo on the theme of St Joseph taking the hand of the Christ Child, lot 50 estimated £ 3M. This painting had been sold for $ 2.5M by Sotheby's on January 30, 1998.
Joseph is a young man, similar to the traditional iconography of Christ himself. The boy a little sulky or ill-awake is in the period before his first teachings and his first miracles. The mystical dimension is assured by the very discreet halos and by a background with angels.
This painting is not dated. It was made in neutral colors with only a more vivid light on the child's face. This simplicity in execution could relate to the latter part of the artist's career. Murillo died in 1682 at the age of 64 as a result of an accident at work.
