by Angelica Poggi

A major monographic exhibition of the work of Giovanni Lanfranco (Parma 1582-Rome 1647), will open until the 2^nd of December at the Palazzo ducale di Colorno in Parma, Italy. Curated by Erich Schleier, a leading expert in 17^th century Italian and Spanish art, the exhibition brings together over 150 paintings and drawings. A number of these works have passed through the art market in recent years and are thus valid pointers to the painter’s market popularity.

The auction market for the works of Lanfranco can be analysed by looking at the sales records of works exhibited in the Parma show: at an auction held by Finarte at Lugano, Switzerland on May the 16^th, 1992 The Flight into Egypt (112 x 94 cm) sold for the then hammer price of $ 178,500 (€ 194,540); a depiction of St. Ursula, an oil on canvas measuring 209 x 138 cm, which was lent for the Parma show from Rome’s Palazzo Barberini museum was bought by the Italian State at Sotheby’s, New York on January the 30^th, 1997 for $ 95,000 (€ 103,500); following this Young Man Lying on a Bed with a Cat (113 x 160 cm), sold at Christie’s, London on April the 19^th, 1985 for the then equivalent of $ 68,280 (€ 74,400), a very respectable figure given that the painting was in less than perfect condition at the time.

Lanfranco’s Samson and the Lion (142 x 110.5 cm) also fetched an excellent price when it was sold at Christie’s, New York on January the 16^th, 1992 for $ 30,000 (€ 32,700). This had changed hands on a number of occasions before finally being bought by the Italian State and then given to the Bologna National Gallery. Also of note was the Christie’s, London sale of March the 29^th, 1968, when Moses and the Messengers returning from Canaan (218 x 246 cm), went for $ 20,690 (€ 22,550). Bearing in mind currency changes over the last thirty years and the current feverish interest in 17^th century Italian painting, the value of this particular piece has increased more than tenfold under current market conditions.

Certain small works by Lanfranco executed on copper, a technique the artist employed on a number of occasions with consistently fine results have met with considerable results. The best price on the Italian market came with Christ and the Samaritan at the Well (35.7 x 48.5 cm), which sold at Sotheby’s, Milan on December the 2^nd 1999 for $ 66,350 (€ 72,300), while Madonna and Child, St. John and St. Joseph in a Landscape (42 x 31.5 cm) went for $ 43,900 (€ 47,840) at Christie’s, London on December the 8^th, 1995 tripling the catalogue estimate.

The Lanfranco exhibition in Parma also features a drawing sold at Christie’s, London on July the 2^nd 1991 for an equivalent of $ 52,700 (€ 57,420), a record hammer price for a work on paper by the artist. Entitled Study of St. Luke painting the Virgin Mary (25 x 20 cm) it can now be seen at the British Museum, London. Finally, among the more recent sales, Polyphemus and Galatea (43 x 70.5 cm) was offered at Sotheby’s, New York on May the 25^th, 2000 and sold for $ 25,000 (€ 27,270). Despite Schleier’s confirmation to Lanfranco in the auction catalogue, this painting went for a below average price, probably because of its decidedly precarious condition. The painting can however be seen in the show.

Analysis of the above data suggests that Lanfranco is not only an artist of particular interest to scholars, but also highly sought after on the art market. Bearing these factors in mind it is hoped that his prices will continue to rise.