11/10/2001
by Andrew Moore

Early October saw the Old Masters season kick off in Vienna, Geneva, Munich and New York. Neumeister auctioneers in Munich were first off, on the 26^th of September with a mixed sale of objets d’art, furniture, 19^th century paintings as well as Old Masters. The two most important lots in their sale made well over their estimates: Marco Bello’s Sacra Conversazione, an oil on wood panel, measuring 45 x 50 cm, sold for $ 11,230 (€ 12,210) against a top-end estimate of $ 8,425 (€ 9,200), while The Square in front of St. Bavo’s Kerk, Haarlem, an oil on canvas measuring 66 x 87 cm by the 17^th century Dutch architectural painter, Gerrit Adrianensz. Berckheyde (1638-1698), went for $ 19,700 (€ 21,500), nearly twice its pre-sale quote. On the 2^nd of October in Vienna, Dorotheum auctioneers held its Old Master drawings and prints auction. A Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606–1669) etching, Beggars outside the Door fetched $ 10,700 (€ 11,640) against an estimate of $ 4,700-7,900 (€ 5,100-8,700) while later in the sale, an unattributed Italian watercolour, Washerwomen by a river, sold for $ 7,300 (€ 7,990) against an estimate of$ 1,190-1,326 (€ 1,300-1,450).

Dorotheum’s Old Master paintings sale was held the following day with strong international bidding and a noticeably vocal Italian attendance. The sale accolades went to Moses at the Rock of Horeb, by the 17^th century Austrian painter Johann Michael Rottmayr (1654-1730). With an undisclosed pre-sale estimate, this painting was bought for $ 156,125 (€ 171,510) by the Prince of Liechtenstein Collection, a fitting purchase considering that the same artist designed the garden palais of the Princes of Liechtenstein in Vienna. A Japanese buyer fell for a copy of Velasquez’s famous portrait of the five year-old Infanta Margarita Teresa snapping it up for $ 90,740 (€ 98,830) and Hans Jordaens the III’s (1595-1643) Susanna and the Elders, an oil on canvas measuring 52 x 41 cm, sold for a spectacular $ 186,400 (€ 203,480) against an estimate of $ 13,280-20,150 (€ 14,500-22,000).

On the same day, Christie’s, New York held their sale of Old Master paintings, raising a total sum of $ 9.3 million (€ 10.1 million) and an admirable sale total of 69% of lots hammered. As expected the multiple lot of the Five senses by Jan Brueghel, the Younger (1601-1678) was the star of the day, fetching $ 3.85 million (€ 4.2 million) against an estimate of $ 1.8-2.2 million (€ 1.9-2.4 million). Other Dutch works also sold well. Frans Post’s (1612-1680) Extensive Brazilian landscape with natives made a surprisingly high $ 1.87 million (€ 2.03 million) against an estimate of $ 500,000-700,000 (€ 545,000-762,440) while Portrait of Lord Charles, Earl Strange, at the age of 10 by the Flemish-born but London-patronaged, Sir Anthony van Dyck, fetched $ 611,000 (€ 665,500), ten times its pre-auction quote.

Lower estimated lots also fetched very good prices, with A trompe l'oeil of hunting equipment by the Swiss artist Christoffel Pierson (1631-1714) going for $ 143,500 (€ 156,300) against an estimate of $ 20,000-30,000 (€ 21,780-32,680), a remarkable result considering that Pierson is not seen often on the auction circuit (three appearances in the Gabrius Data Bank in ten years). The same applies to the obscure still-life Spanish painter Antonio Ponce (1608-1662) whose Glass bowl, a pewter plate, a cup and wicker baskets made $ 160,000 (€ 174,300) against an estimate of $ 60,000-80,000 (€ 65,360-87,150). Another good result was posted by A wedding dance, painted by Marten van Cleve I (1527-1581) a circular oil on panel measuring 33 cm which made $ 160,000 (€ 174,300) against an estimate of $ 30,000-50,000 (€ 32,680-54,500).

Two days later in Geneva, Koller auctioneers offered Nicholas Poussin’s The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist, an oil on canvas measuring 80 x 63 cm, which prior to the sale had been authenticated by Pierre Rosenberg (président-directeur of the Louvre) and Poussin-expert Sir Denis Mahon. The painting, with a wide ranging estimate of $ 942,890-1.8 million (€ 1.02-2.05 million), sold for $ 1.5 million (€ 1.6 million). It was an excellent week for Old Master auctions, especially in the light of the recent turmoil in New York. The whole of the art market, whether it be contemporary or 19^th century paintings, will be giving a collective sigh of relief with the news that Dorotheum posted its best-ever Old Master results on the 3^rd of October.