Highlights of the Old Masters Sales at Sotheby's London

Mon Jul 01 2019

The upcoming Old Masters Sales at Sotheby’s London presents a wide selection of outstanding artworks, ranging from the 14th to the 19th century and featuring excellent examples from major schools of painting in Western Europe. 

The Old Masters Evening Sale, to be held on 03rd July at 7:00 PM BST, includes masterpieces by iconic painters, such as Pieter Bruegel, Joachim Anthonisz, Antonio Joli and Francesco Guardi.

On 04th July 2019 at 10:30 AM, the Old Masters Day Sale will offer high quality pantings, from the devotional images of the early Italian Renaissance to the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age.


Selected Lots from the Old Masters Evening Sale:


Left:
Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, Madonna and Child, seated before a classical window Right: Joachim Anthonisz. Wtewael, Diana and Actaeon

Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli and Studio, Madonna and Child, seated before a classical window 
oil on panel, 76.9 x 49.1 cm.
An outstanding highlight of the Old Masters Evening sale is a work by the iconic Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. The Professor Laurence Kanter has inspected this painting in the original and considers it to be entirely by the hand of the Italian master. 
In the present artwork, the delicacy of the female head is emphasized by the soft continual contours and pastel colors. Portrayed as the so-called Madonna lactans, the Virgin is baring her breast in order to feed her child; in the background there is a sumptous arched window overlooking a distant landscape. 
This piece refers to the Bardi Altarpiece, executed by Botticelli in 1485 for the Bardi chapel in the church of Santo Spirito in Florence, showing the Virgin and Child Enthroned between St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. See Price Estimate...

Joachim Anthonisz. Wtewael, Diana and Actaeon
signed and dated lower right: Joachim./ wten.wael fecit/ 1608, oil on copper, 15.9 x 21.3 cm
This work by Joachim Anthonisz. Wtewael is among the most interesting highlights of the Old Masters Evening sale. He was one of the leading Netherlandish Mannerists of the late 16th century, particularly known for his mythological cabinet pieces painted on copper. He was capable of working across mediums on any scale, though it is his small paintings that are his most prized.
The subject of the present artwork is the famous story of Diana and Actaeon recounted by Ovid in his Metamorphoses (III, 181–304), which tells of a man who happened by chance upon a goddess bathing; the outraged goddess ensures that Actaeon can never tell what he has seen by changing him into a deer to be killed by his own hounds.The twisting poses, the brillant colors, the high finish and the obsession with detail in the rendering of the muscles reflect the artist’s mannerist obsession with virtuosity and complexity. See Price Estimate...


 
Left: Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap; Right: Jusepe de Ribera, called lo Spagnoletto, A Girl with a Tambourine (The Sense of Hearing)

Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap
signed and indistinctly dated lower right: P.BREVGHEL 1622, oil on oak panel, 38.6 x 56 cm.
The winter landscapes are among the most well-known subjects of the Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Younger. In fact one of the most frequently copied works of his father Pieter Brueghel the Elder was the Winter Landscape with Skaters and a Bird-trap. This work was reproduced by him and his workshop at least 60 times. 
Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s work differs from the paternal model through the use of his own particular technique. With his use of colour to create subtle nuances, the artist stands out as a remarkable colourist.
Because of the traps in the foreground, this painting undoubtedly alludes to the precariousness of life and this echo effect may lead the viewer to draw a comparison between the trap and the political situation in the Netherlands at the time, for instance the oppression of the Spanish regime. See Price Estimate...

Jusepe de Ribera, called lo Spagnoletto, A Girl with a Tambourine (The Sense of Hearing)
signed and dated centre right: Jusepe de Ribera/ español F. 1637, oil on canvas, 59.5 x 45.5 cm.
This work by the Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera represents a girl singing a tune while tapping her fingers on a tambourine. The "young Spaniard working in the manner of Caravaggio" became well known for the realism of his treatment of genre subjects. After working in Rome and Parma in 1616, Ribera settled in Naples, where he spent his career. Ribera's art combined knowledge of the Carracci and Caravaggio with Spanish realism and vigorous, scratchy brushwork.
This masterfully executed portrait reflects the unique expressive and vivid realism typical of the artist’s unconventional and spirited mind. By transforming an everyday subject into a personification of hearing, Ribera, like no artist before him, adopts a direct, naturalistic approach to create an ingenious representation of sound. See Price Estimate...



Left: Andrea Sacchi, An Allegory of Rome; Right: Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Fountain of Love

Andrea Sacchi, An Allegory of Rome
oil on canvas, 245 x 193.5 cm.

This work is an important addition to the ouvres of Andrea Sacchi, one of the leading artists of the classical strand of the Roman Baroque. It was commissioned by Francesco Maria del Monte, the Italian Cardinal and diplomat best known as an early patron of Caravaggio.
This monumental painting shows the personification of Rome as a female warrior, holding a a golden statue of a Nike, the winged female figure who represents Victory. Behind this figure is the river god of the Tiber, with his back turned towards the viewer.
The personification of Rome reminds to the classical god of war, Mars, who was the father of Romulus and Remus represented as two infants at lower right, and it is thanks to his bellicose bloodline that Rome's military success was achieved.
In the present work Sacchi has bathed his figures in a spotlight, referencing the familiar Baroque chiaroscuro which was first popularized by Caravaggio and continued by other artists. The composition elegantly combines the pure form of classicism with the theatre and sensuality of the Baroque style. See Price Estimate...

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Fountain of Love
oil on canvas, 47 x 37.5 cm.
This lot is a preliminary oil study for the Fragonard's painting representing the Fountain of Love, which was part of a series of four allegorical portrayals of love. Two finished versions are known of this artwork: one is at the Wallace Collection in London, and another is at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Fragonard’s lighting techniques are prominently seen in this piece of work: the graceful and airy figures are defined with a great lightness of touch, conveying a sense of mystery to the atmosphere. The medieval theme of the Fountain of Love is here turned into a flamboyant composition in reference to the rococo tradition. The fountain brings forth the water, into which Cupid dips his arrows or from which lovers drink and fall in love. See Price Estimate...


Left: Francesco Guardi, Venice, A View of the Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo; Right: Antonio Joli, Rome, Looking Towards the Castel Sant' Angelo, with Saint Peter's Basilica Beyond

Francesco Guardi, Venice, A View of the Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo
signed centre left: Franco./ Guardi, oil on canvas ;65.3 x 79.5 cm.; 25 3/4  by 31 3/8  in
Only very recently brought to light for the first time, this beautiful depiction of the Grand Canal is a mature work by Francesco Guardi, most probably painted in the 1770s. The far north-western stretch of the Grand Canal, dominated by the neoclassical church of San Simeone Piccolo and its great dome, though not the most famous of Venetian views, was often chosen by Guardi as a subject for his paintings. This canvas is one of a small group of closely related vedute, probably also painted in the same decade and taken from the same viewpoint; it is moreover the only signed example known, and certainly the finest to remain in private hands. Its subtle colour harmonies of creams, pinks, blues and greys, and its wonderful capture of the atmospheric qualities of Venetian light, attest to Guardi’s mastery of his subject, but equally noteworthy are his closely observed details of everyday life upon the canal. In the right foreground, for example, floats a traghetto or longboat, with its passengers standing patiently as they are ferried across the famous waterway from the nearby crossing point beside the church of the Scalzi. See Price Estimate...

Antonio Joli, Rome, Looking Towards the Castel Sant' Angelo, with Saint Peter's Basilica Beyond
oil on canvas, 88.1 x 124.4 cm.; 34 5/8  x 50 in
Two of Rome's most famous and remarkable structures tower over the rest of the Eternal City, as figures gently go about their day, both on the gently flowing river and along the bridge. Decorated with Bernini's marble statues, the beautifully rendered stone structure bisects the composition. Wrapped in the warm glow of Rome's light, the painting would have appealed as much to eighteenth-century grand tourists as it does to a contemporary viewer. 
Toledano dates this view of Rome to 1744–49, during the artist's English sojourn. He lists five versions of the present design, which differs from other treatments of the same view by including the pine tree at the left. The present painting appears to be the finest of the known versions (some of which show some studio participation), thanks to its chromatic brilliance and luminosity. Joli paid particular attention to the gentle reflection of the bridge in the rippling water, which in the other versions is not nearly as successful. See Price Estimate...


Selected Lots from the Old Master Day Sale:

Left: Adam van Breen, An Elegant Company Banqueting on a Terrace; Right: Maarten van Heemskerck, The Virgin and Child

Adam van Breen, An Elegant Company Banqueting on a Terrace
signed and dated lower left: .A. v. breen 1614, oil on oak panel, 34.7 x 61.4 cm.
Adam Van Breen was a Dutch Golden Age painter specialized in paintings filled with figures enjoying wintry landscapes, occasionally depicting views from specific locations in Amsterdam or The Hague. 
Although he was a landscape artist above all, van Breen was undoubtedly influenced by the official context of The Hague, which was the seat of the court and the government on several occasions. A remarkable school of portrait painters developed here, in fact dignitaries in luxurious clothing can be noticed in Van Breen’s paintings, as in the present work. It shows a “buitenpartij” (literally “outside party”) which was a subject that was taken up by artists such as David Vinckboons and Esaias van de Velde shortly after the present painting. See Price Estimate...

Maarten van Heemskerck, The Virgin and Child
bears date on the cartellino, upper left: ao 1532, oil on oak panel, 94 x 80.8 cm. 

This is one of the earliest known works by Maarten van Heemskerck, prior to his departure for Italy in 1532. The painting refers to the style of his teacher, Jan van Scorel, who lived in Haarlem between 1527 and 1530 and who was deeply influenced by the Italian artists.
Heemskerck was widely respected in his own lifetime and was a strong influence on the painters of Haarlem in particular. He is specially known for his introduction of Italian art to the Northern Netherlands. In the present painting the Virgin gazing the grapes with melancholy alludes to Christ’s future sacrifice, and since they are a symbol of the eucharistic wine – the blood of Christ – can be interpreted as the counterpart to the body of Christ, boldly expressed in the Child’s muscular figure. See Price Estimate...



Left: Anthonie van Borssom, A Moonlit River Landscape with Fishermen Near a Windmill; Right: Rachel Ruysch, Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Marble Ledge
 
Anthonie van Borssom, A Moonlit River Landscape with Fishermen Near a Windmill
signed lower left: A V Borssom. fet, oil on canvas, 55.9 x 50.2 cm.

The Dutch Golden Age painter Anthonie van Borssom was known for his Italianate landscapes and pastoral scenes, but was also an engraver and draftsman. He was probably a pupil of Rembrandt in the years 1645-1650.
This painting owe much to one of the artists most associated with moonlight scenes, Aert van der Neer, for whose works Borssom's have often been mistaken. It shows a nocturnal composition with a river illuminated by moonlight; a windmill to the left stands out against a gloaming sky that gradually and masterfully fades to the moon at the center of the painting. See Price Estimate...

Rachel Ruysch, Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Marble Ledge
signed, dated and inscribed lower right: R Ruysch 1745 81 Jaren, oil on canvas, 38.2 x 32.2 cm.

Art historians consider Ruysch to be one of the most talented still life artists of either sex. She was a painter from the Northern Netherlands specialized in flowers.
This exquisite still life, dated 1745, is depicted with an outstanding accuracy on every detail, displaying a great variety of flowers. Every petal is created painstakingly with delicate brushwork. The background is dark like in most of Ruysch's paintings, which was the fashion for flower painting in the second half of the 17th century. See Price Estimate...


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