22/01/2002
by Matilde Marzotto

On the 23rd of January Christie’s will kick off the series of sales in New York dedicated to old master paintings and drawings with the auction of Old Master and 19^th Century Drawings. As well as The Risen Christ, an important drawing by Bartolomeo Cincani, called il Montagna, presented with an estimate of $ 500,000-700,000 (€ 566,200-792,700), the sale will include a series of drawings from the Martin Bodmer Foundation. The Council of the Foundation, set up in 1971, decided to sell the lager portion of the drawings assembled by the Swiss collector in order to fund the acquisition of books and manuscripts for the library, which represents the nucleus of the collection. Among the drawings on offer, a Woman wearing a plumed hat by Urs Graf (1485-1527) stands out, estimated at $ 300,000-500,000 (€ 339,700-566,200). The sale is a rare occasion, as only two other drawings by the Swiss master have come up for sale on the art market since the Second World War.

The following day, Sotheby’s presents its old master auction with a rich catalogue containing over 230 lots, ranging from the Renaissance to the end of the 19^th century. The auction will begin with a themed sale, Revolution in Art: 1770 – 1830, that includes works from a historical period of great changes on both sides of the Ocean: sixty years of social and political revolutions that profoundly influenced the history of art. As well as the 80 satirical etchings by Francisco Goya y Lucientes inspired by Los Caprichos ($ 100,000–150,000, € 113,000-169,000), worthy of note is a series of five landscapes, with a price tag of $ 800,000–1,200,000 (€ 904,000-1,360,000), by Hubert Robert (1733–1808), the Parisian painter of ruins and capricci, who miraculously escaped the guillotine in the midst of the French Revolution. Among the major works on offer is the Empire style portrait of Cathérine Worlée ($ 1.4–1.8 million, € 1,6-2 million), the Parisian noblewoman for whom the French politician Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (Napoleon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs) almost lost his career, by François Gérard (1770-1837). The inclusion of the painting in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist by Alain Latreille sponsored by the Wildenstein Institute (Paris), will give the work a greater standing and could influence how it will be met by the market.

The auction continues in the afternoon with a traditional catalogue. Italia 15th century painting opens the session, with prices ranging between $ 10,000 (€ 11,300) for works of uncertain attribution, and $ 200,000–300,000 (€ 226,000-339,000) for the Death of Saint Catherine of Siena, painted by Giovanni di Paolo (circa 1417–1482). The history of this painting is well documented: it was commissioned for the church of the Spedale di Santa Chiara in Siena (1447) and was then part of the collection of the Belgian banker and engineer Adolphe Stoclet (1871–1949), one of the most important collections of old masters assembled in the Twentieth century. A small panel depicting a Madonna and Child seated on a windowsill by Francesco Pesellino (1422–1457), a painter of the early Tuscan Renaissance, will also be offered. It was probably a private devotional image, typical of the production of the artist and it is presented in the catalogue with an estimate of $ 300,000–400,000 (€ 339,000-452,000). The sale continues with a canvas by Jean Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779), a good example of the ability of the artist, considered the father of the modern still life, in the rendering of the form, light and colour of objects of daily use. The valuation of $ 1,250,000–1,750,000 (€ 1.4-1.9 million) may appear excessive, considering that another version of the same subject was hammered by Christie’s London two years ago "merely" for $ 101,000 (€ 114,400). Also among the top lots are two early panels by Anthony van Dyck, depicting Saint Peter and Saint Thomas, estimated at $ 600,000–800,000 each (€ 678,000-904,000), and The gallery of paintings by David Teniers the Younger, which reproduces the canvases in the collection of a patron of the artist, the archduke Leopold William of Austria. Pieter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), also present with a Nativity ($ 800,000–1,200,000, € 904,000-1,360,000), has the task of closing the sale with a Cupido and Psyche of strong visual impact ($ 2–3 million, € 2.2-3.4 million).

On the 25^th of January Christie’s and Sotheby’s contend the market for old masters. Christie’s sale of Old Master Paintings presents a smaller catalogue that contains however notable works. The most prestigious lots in the sale do not fear rivals: Sheerness as seen from the Nore by Joseph Mallord William Turner, considered by contemporaries as the most beautiful English marine painting (estimated $ 6–8 million, € 6.7-9 million), and the two le due Venetian vedute ($ 4–6 million, € 4.5-6.8 million) by Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto (1697–1768), appreciated by collectors all over the world, but particularly by Anglo-Saxons. The "Golden Age" of Flemish painting is well represented by artists of the calibre of Hendrick and Barent Avercamp, Jan van Goyen and Jacob van Ruisdel, with estimates ranging between $ 100,000-500,000 (€ 113,000-565,000). Also of interest is Mars (estimated $ 600,000–800,000, € 678,500-904,000) by the Mannerist Bartholomeus Spranger (1546–1611), who was engaged at the court of the Emperor Rudolf II, a painter whose autograph works are rarely to be found at auction, and Sultane lisant by Jean- Étienne Liotard (1702–1789) estimated € 791,600-1,018,000 ($ 700,000–900,000). While Sotheby’s sale of Old Master Drawings that will be held at the same time will offer a work from 1650 by Rembrandt, Buildings by the Diemerdijk (Amsterdam), with a quote of $ 1.8-2.4 million (€ 2-2.7 million). The drawing belongs to a series of sketches made by the artist on location and has an illustrious provenance, having been in the collection of Nicolaes Flinck, Director of the Dutch East India Company and son of Rembrandt’s pupil, Govaert Flinck, until 1723 when it was bought by William Cavendish, second Duke of Devonshire, having remained at Chatsworth, England, until 1984.

Top quality works and high figures seem to be the characteristics of the first old master sales of 2002. The outcome of the auctions will give an insight into the future orientation of the art market in the United States following the September terrorist attacks. As Dr. Dietrich von Frank, CEO of AXA Art Insurance Corporation in New York observes, "Generally, high quality art has been selling well since the attacks. Paintings by old masters and impressionist artists, for instance, are comforting and enduring, like classical music," a trend that finds confirmation in the London sales held before Christmas.