17/09/2001
by Andrew Moore

After the horrific events experienced on the 11^th September in New York, with the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan, the coming weeks will indicate if New York can bounce back from this catastrophy, with Christie’s and Sotheby’s offering sales in Old Master paintings in the city on the 3^rd and 5^th of October, respectively. Christie’s have opted for a sale strong in Flemish works, in line with successful results in this field back in May and July at their London and New York salerooms, but Sotheby’s have a comparatively poor sale. Any optimism on the part of Christie’s, however will be tempered by recent events, raising fears of high bought-in rates for the auction houses.

Top works in the Christie’s sale include Jan Brueghel’s (1601-1678) five oil on panels: The Five senses estimated at $ 1.8-2.2 million (€ 1.98-2.48 million). Devoting several pages of detailed text and enlarged images to these intricately painted works, Christie’s are hoping such marketing will secure a good sale. Chief amongst this five-part-lot is An allegory of Sight which shows a winged cupid presenting a female figure (Venus) with a painting. Around her is a "wunderkamera" cluttered with classical busts, metalwork, scientific instruments, paintings and books, all meticulously rendered by the artist on a wood panel measuring 70 x 113 cm. The lot previous to this, a pair of rotunda landscapes (oil on panels) are signed by Jan Josef van Goyen (1596-1665), with each measuring 18.5 cm in diametre. Christie’s have been so bold to give this pair a $ 100,000-150,000 (€ 110,440-165,650) estimate, with one of the landscapes including a well painted cottage dovecote, silhouetted against a lightly painted cloud.

The Christie’s sale includes several good quality Dutch genre interiors, with boers making merry in country inns: an oil on panel measuring 39.4 x 57.2 cm attributed to David Teniers II (1610-1690) at $ 30,000-40,000 (€ 33,130-44,180), and a 26 x 36.2 cm oil on panel (confirmed by the RKD, the Dutch Art History centre in den Haag) as being by Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685). Estimate $ 25,000-35,000 (€ 27,600-38,660). Also worth noting is a pair of coastal landscapes by the Dutch painter, Pieter Mulier, (alias "Il Cavaliere Tempesta") (1637-1701) quoted at $ 15,000-20,000 (€ 16,570-22,100) and set in period giltwood frames.

The best of the Italian works comprise of Pietro Rotari’s (1707-1762) The meeting of Alexander the Great and Roxana, behind a trompe l’oeil curtain, an oil on canvas measuring 83.1 x 68 cm and estimated at $ 100,000-150,000. The painting at first has an ambiguous quality, with most of the canvas covered by a delicately rendered gauze sheet, decorated with a flower design, contrasting with half visible figures. However whether this justifies such a high estimate is questionable – as the bodily parts which are uncovered are not painted with great skill. The art market is more critical than it once was and the work will struggle to sell. More deserving of this high money is David with the Head of Goliath, with a confirmed attribution to Ottavio Vannini (1585-1644). The oil on canvas, measuring 131.4 x 101.2 cm is estimated at $ 60,000-80,000 (€ 66,290-88,390), a recommended buy considering the current interest in this period. Vannini worked in Rome from 1602, but returned to his hometown of Florence, enjoying commissions from the Medici family, where his work was influenced by Andrea del Sarto. Successful sales in this area and the current show in London, at the Matthiesen Gallery "2001: An Art Odyssey: Classicism, Mannerism, Caravaggism and the Baroque" have shown that the market is keen to buy into 17^th Italian paintings with heavy chiaroscuro.

The Sotheby’s sale of Old Master paintings which follows two days later in New York, pales in significance to the Christie’s sale, with a proliferation of second rate names, studio copies and vaguely attributed works. A chubby Mona Lisa by a "follower of Leonardo da Vinci", for example, is estimated at $ 10,000-15,000 (€ 11,050-16,570). Few of the Sotheby’s offerings can be regarded as outstanding, although mention can be reserved for a sprightly painted marinescape (oil on panel, 53.3 x 68.6 cm) by Jan Beerstraten (1622-1666) estimated at $ 40,000-60,000 (€ 44,200-66,300). Another seascape is Claude-Joseph Vernet’s Storm with figures by a tower. However being only 54 x 80 cm and thinly painted, it is over estimated at $ 30,000-40,000 (€ 33,150-44,200). A more interesting work, ironically available at a far more conservative estimate is Meleager presenting Atalanta with the head of a Calydonian boar, a 26.7 x 38.7 cm oil on panel, signed with the initials of Dirck van der Lisse (active 1639-1669), at a bargain price of $ 8,000-12,000 (€ 8,840-13,260), whilst elsewhere a 29.2 x 40.6 cm oil on panel signed by Pieter Neefs (1578-1656) showing an interior of a Flemish church is available at $ 35,000-55,000 (€ 38,680-60,780).