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The unmissable appointments dedicated to the Old Masters in London are getting closer. During the first days of July Christie’s and Sotheby’s will “challenge” each other in this sector proposing to the audience works realised by very important artists from the 15th-18th century. Previsions are very positive for the intakes considering that, even in a moment when the art market is influenced by the economic crisis, the results of ancient art have always been better than the contemporary or modern sector. The various sales dedicated to the Old Masters have always launched positive signals. as for some time now the experts of the economy of art have been illustrating, in this case work quotations are supported by the very high quality of the canvases auctioned. Indeed, a masterpiece always remains such and it can face the critical moments of the market, remaining more or less intact.
Christie’s will start off the “duel” between the two International leaders next 7th July in London’s King Street venue. The “Old Master and 19th Century Art Evening Sale” is auctioning 66 lots among which paintings of great historical-artistic prestige, drawings and watercolours. An auction which, according to Christie’s previsions could total 15 million pounds.
Star of the sale will be The Madonna and Child in a landscape with Saint Elizabeth and the infant Saint John the Baptist, an oil on panel executed by Baccio della Porta called Friar Bartolomeo in 1516, estimated between 2 and 3 million pounds. A beautiful work which shows the great mastery of the artist, known for being one of the main exponents of the Florentine school of chromatic composition and for his majestic style which recalls the works of Michelangelo and Raffaello.
Not less important an oil on canvas by Michele Giovanni Marieschi entitled The Courtyard of the Doge’s Palace, Venice, with the scala dei Giganti, Saint Mark’s Basilica beyond estimated between 2 and 3 million pounds. A very large painting (118,5 x 180,7 cm.), compared to the ones usually produced by the Venetian artist, which was commissioned by earl Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, a great 18th century patron of arts, and bought by him on 20th November 1736 for fifty gold coins, and then displayed in his residence near Canaletto’s Riva degli Schiavoni.
Among the 66 pieces featured in the “Old Master and 19th Century Art Evening Sale” catalogue, one that stands out is The Preaching of Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Pieter Brueghel II, an oil on panel estimated at 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 pounds. It is worth keeping an eye on Portrait of Mrs. Oliver St. John by Sir Anthony van Dyck, a canvas by the Flemish artist shown to the public for the first time in 1929 and estimated at 800,000 – 1,200,000 pounds.
On the other hand, the appointment at Sotheby’s dedicated to ancient art is on 8th July during the “Old Master Paintings Evening Sale”. The London auction is proposing a more reduced catalogue compared to its competitor Christie’s: only 48 lots, but with great names and especially magnificent paintings realised by the greatest names of the history of art. The piece that will definitely attract the audience’s attention will be A Flemish Village in Winter with the Massacre of the Innocent by Pieter Brueghel the Young, Flemish painter active between the 16th and 17th century, also known as Hell Brueghel for his predilection to paint scenes of fires or scenes set in underworld spaces. This work will be put up for auction with an estimate of 2,500,000 – 3,500,000 pounds. With the same estimate Sotheby’s is proposing two other works: Equestrian Portrait of Don Manuel Godoy, Duke of Alcudia by the talented Spanish artist Francisco Josè De Goya Y Lucientes and two cameos by Jean-Honoré Fragonard which come from the Rothschild collection: A young Blonde Woman with a Garland of Roses around her Neck and A Young Woman Adorning her Powdered Coiffure with a Spray of Roses.
Among the lots worthy of being mentioned there are definitely: A Woman selling Game from a Stall by Gabriel Metsu (estimate 1,200,000 – 1,800,000 pounds); Portrait of Endymion Porter by Sir Anthony Van Dyck (estimate 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 pounds) and Venice, The Ridotto at Palazzo Dandolo, with Masked Figures Dancing and Consersing by Francesco Guardi (estimate: 800.000 – 1.200.000 pounds)
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