Titian masterpiece fetches a record $16.9 million
The work, painted in about 1560, had not been seen on the market in some 30 years. It went to a private European collector bidding by phone, selling within the $15-20 million pre-sale estimate.
黑料不打烊
Jan 27, 2011
Titian鈥檚 monumental Sacra Conversazione fetched $16.9 million at Sotheby鈥檚 New York on Thursday, breaking a 20-year-old auction record of $13.6 million for the Renaissance master. The work, painted in about 1560, had not been seen on the market in some 30 years. It went to a private European collector bidding by phone, selling within the $15-20 million pre-sale estimate.
The well preserved painting, displaying the characteristic free and dynamic brushstrokes of Titian鈥檚 late style, was once in the collection of Lucien Bonaparte (Napoleon Bonaparte鈥檚 brother) and has since been in the possession of only a handful of private owners.
The two-part sale of Important Old Masters Paintings and Sculpture achieved impressive results but left some star-lots unsold. The sale achieved a total of $ 90,626,875 million, almost exactly the pre-sale high estimate of $90.5 million.
Some lots achieved exceptional results, fetching far more than their estimates. Most notably, Claude Vernet鈥檚 Grand View of the Seashore Enriched with Buildings, Shipping, and Figures shot to over $7 million, leaving its estimate of $1.5-2 million far behind. The painting鈥檚 virtual pristine condition must have contributed to its sweeping success.
Gerrit Dou鈥檚 finely painted Elderly Woman Sitting at a Window at a Spinning Wheel, Eating Porridge sold for $4.5 million, against an estimate of $2-3 million; van der Vliet鈥檚 mysterious A Scholar in his Study with Figures with Masks, possibly an Allegory, thought to sell for $1.2-1.8 million, realized $2.9 million; and the lovely Virgin and Child by A Window (or Madonna of the Cherries) by Giampetrino, one of Leonardo鈥檚 most accomplished followers, tripled its high estimate of $900,000 with a remarkable $2.7 million.
There were, however, some disappointments: the second-highest estimated lot in the sale, the striking Portrait of a Lady by Lucas Cranach the Younger (expected to realise up to $4 million) surprisingly went unsold; another highlight, Peter Paul Rubens鈥� oil sketch of The martyrdom of Saint Paul, executed by the artist as a study for a large altarpiece, was estimated at $1.5-2 million yet failed to find a buyer.
On Wednesday, Christie鈥檚 opened Old Masters week in New York with a two-part auction totaling $36.5 million. The first part of the sale achieved just over $28 million, while the afternoon session reached $8.5 million, both falling short of the respective $39.8 and $12 million pre-sale high estimates. Sotheby鈥檚 Important Old Master and 19th Century Paintings from the Collection of J. E. Safra amassed just above $12 million, roughly half of its $25 million predicted high.
The star lot at Christie鈥檚 Old Master & 19th Century Paintings, Drawings & Watercolors Part I was the magnificent View of the Molo, Venice, looking West by Luca Carlevarijs (pictured below), one of the leading exponents of 18th century Venetian view painting. The work (estimated at $3.5 to $4.5 million) sold for just over $4 million.
Venus Caressing Cupid, an exquisite mythological picture by Pompeo Batoni, fetched $1.76 million -- three times its high estimate. Batoni was a household name in the 18th century, widely known in Italy as well as England and France for his impeccably-executed portraits of European nobility.
Other highlights from Wednesday鈥檚 sales at Christie鈥檚 included Master of the Hounds by the 19th-Century French painter Jean Leon Gerome, a diminutive yet powerful portrayal of a soldier of the Ottoman Empire with his hunting dogs. The picture realized $1.65 million against a pre-sale high estimate of $1 million. The success of this small picture (13 x 9戮 inches) confirms once again the collectors鈥� growing interest in the Orientalist genre.
Drawings fared better than paintings in the afternoon session of the sale: Rembrandt's A strolling couple, a black chalk sketch of two elderly beggars, sold for $458,000 while Rubens鈥� compelling anatomical study An 茅corch茅 study of the legs of a male nude fetched $254,000, and Flemish master Jacob Jordaens' astounding three-dimensional Study of a man seen from behind nearly quadrupled its high estimate with a price of $290,000.
Sotheby's Important Old Master and 19th Century Paintings from the Collection of J. E. Safra sale also took place on Wednesday, with similarly lackluster results. With a total of just above $12 million, this sale only achieved half of its $25 million high estimate. Perhaps this can be attributed to the disappointing performance of the three highest-estimated works: Only Hendrik Martensz Sorgh鈥檚 Musical Company was sold (though at $1.7 million it did not reach its low estimate of $2 million), while two superb 18th-century Italian pictures, Jacopo Amigoni鈥檚 Venus and Adonis (estimate range $1.5 million to $2.5 million) and Giovanni Paolo Panini鈥檚 Capriccio of Classical Ruins (expected to fetch $1 million to $1.5 million) failed to draw buyers.
Hendrik Martensz Sorgh
Musical Company, 1661
26 3/4 by 32 1/4 in.; 68 by 82 cm.
Oil on canvas
Artwork is signed
The same day, Sotheby鈥檚 devoted a sale exclusively to Old Master drawings. The sale achieved mixed results, realizing a total of $4.5 million against a $7.2 million estimate. As expected, its two winners were Pierino del Vaga鈥檚 spectacular tapestry design of Jupiter and Juno reclining in an Alcove attended by Amorini, fetching $782,500, and Rembrandt's small compositional study for his early masterpiece Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of Silver, selling for $722,500.
Other positive results included Guercino鈥檚 beautiful Study of a Youth Holding a Swag of Drapery that sold for $218,500 and Antoine Coypel鈥檚 exuberant Study for the Funeral of Pallas which, with its $128,500 price, more than doubled its high estimate.
Surprisingly, Rubens鈥� newly discovered Venus Nursing Cupid and Rembrandt鈥檚 intimate chalk drawing of The Street Musician - two star lots predicted to achieve up to $800,000 and $500,000 respectively - went unsold. So did Gainsborough鈥檚 Wooded Landscape with Herdsman, Cows and Cottage, expected to fetch up to $200,000 and Isaac Oliver鈥檚 Madonna and Child in Glory, which was given an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.
Written by Simona Di Nepi
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