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Category :Art Market |
Written by: Elena Lanzanova
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Old Masters In New York: Christie’s Vs Sotheby’s
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Tuesday 26 January 2010
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The unmissable appointments dedicated to the Old Masters in New York are getting closer. In the last days of January – precisely on 27th and 28th – Christie’s and Sotheby’s will “challenge” each other at auction, proposing to the audience old masterpieces realised by very important artists.
New York, the world capital of the economy of art, is getting ready to host the first significant sales of the year, with promising forecasts for takings considering that, although the market is still influenced by the economic crisis, the results for old masters have always been better than those for the contemporary and modern sector. The various auctions dedicated to Old Masters always sent out positive signals during 2009, a year that was profoundly marked by the financial “disaster”. As for some time now experts of the economy of art have been pointing out, quotations of works are in this case supported by the very high quality of the paintings put up for auction. Indeed, a masterpiece always remains such and it can face the critical moments of the market, resulting almost unaffected. In other words, even in the darkest periods of the art market, the Old Masters sector is always an excellent asset for collectors who have plenty of cash to invest.
Christie’s will start off the “duel” between the two international leaders on 27th January in the New York venue of Rockefeller Plaza. The “Old Master & 19th century paintings, drawings & watercolor” sale will be auctioning 331 lots including paintings of great historical-artistic prestige, drawings and watercolours.
The star of this sale will be The entrance to the Turkish Garden Cafè, an oil on canvas realised by Louis Lèopold Boilly, estimated between 3 and 5 million dollars. A sublime work which gives evidence of the great mastery of this author, who was one of the most important French painters at the turn of the 18th century.
An equally prestigious work is Bacchus at the Wine Vat by Lucas Cranach The Elder, an oil on panel valued between 2.5 and 3.5 million dollars, but also two works by Jan Brueghel II: The Four Elements: fire, water, earth and air (estimate 2-3 million dollars) and The Entry of the animals into Noah’s Ark (estimate 2.5-3.5 million dollars).
Another masterpiece proposed at Christie’s auction is The Sleeping Shepherd by Samuel Palmer, a work which comes from a private collection and is proposed in the catalogue with an estimate of 2.5 -3.5 million dollars. Other works to watch out for are a piece by Hubert Robert, entitled Le pont sur le torrent, valued between 2 and 3 million dollars and Wooded Rocky Landscape with Mounted Peasant, Drover and Cattle, and Distant Building, an oil on canvas executed by Thomas Gainsborough and estimated between 3 and 5 million dollars.
The appointment at Sotheby’s dedicated to Old Masters is on 28th January with “Important Old Master Paintings, including European Works”. The New York auction is proposing a more reduced catalogue compared to the one of its competitor Christie’s: only 203 lots, but with extraordinary paintings realised by the greatest names of the history of art.
The piece that will definitely attract collectors more than others will be Jupiter and Antiope by Hendrick Goltzius, offered with an estimate between 8 and 12 million dollars. It is a large work (122×178 cm) characterised by obvious eroticism.
Realised in 1612, Jupiter and Antiope is the most important work by this artist, who has been appearing at auctions for twenty-five years. In this mythological scene Goltzius seizes the moment just before the seduction of the girl, Antiope, by Jupiter turned into a satyr. The girl is portrayed abandoned on her bed, while on the right of the painting, Jupiter under false pretences, is portrayed in the act of giving the girl some fruits (symbol of fertility).
A 17th-century masterpiece which is extremely rare for various reasons. Firstly, the Dutch artist only started to paint in 1600 and died seventeen years later, leaving a limited number of important paintings. Furthermore this lot, presented by Sotheby’s, has a very interesting background: it belonged to Abraham Adelsberger, a German Jew who, to guarantee the safety of his family, was forced to give it to the Nazi Hermann Göring. The painting was retrieved only in 1945 by the allied forces and was handed over to the Dutch government. Only in March 2009, the painting was given back to the Adelsberger heirs.
An enchanting work is Portrait of a Young Woman with a black cap by Rembrandt (estimate 8-12 million dollars), but it is worth mentioning also two works by Sir Anthony Van Dyck: Two Studies of Bearded Man (estimate 5-7 million dollars) and Holy Family with an angel, perhaps the rest on the flight into Egypt (estimate 1.5 – 2 million dollars).
The most relevant works include Saint Dorothy, full-length, holding a basket of apples and roses by Francisco de Zurbaràn (estimate 3-4 million dollars), Madonna and Child by Andrea del Sarto (estimate 2-3 million dollars) and two paintings, presented as a single lot, by Canaletto (estimate 1.5 – 2 million dollars).
Arcadja Auctions Skim here through the auction at Christie’s – New York, January 27th 2010 Arcadja Auctions Skim here through the auction at Sotheby’s – New York, January 28 th 2010 |
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