ArtCult - Les nouvelles du marché de l'art.-CHRISTIE'S SALE OF OLD MASTERS AND BRITISH PAINTINGS YIE

Christie's evening auction of Old Master and British Paintings held in London on July 3, 2012 totalled £85,057,100 / $133,454,590/ €105,725,975, the highest ever total for the category. The sale was 84% sold by lot and 96% by value.

The top price was paid for “The Lock”, a masterpiece by British artist John Constable (1776 -1837) which sold for £22,441,250/ $35,210,321/ €27,894,474, a world record price for that painter at auction.

A series of world records was set during the sale, notably for “Christ between Saints Paul and Peter” by Pietro Lorenzetti (Active Siena circa 1306-1345) sold for 5,081, 250 GBP against a high estimate of 1,5 millon, for “Mars and Venus surprised by Vulcan” a 1610 painting by Joachim Wtewael (Utrecht 1566-1638) which went for 4,633,250 GBP, for a “View of Assendelft”, a 1634 painting by Pieter Jansz Saenredam (Assendelft 1597-1665 Haarlem) which reached 3,737,250 GBP against a high estimate of 600,000, for “Apples in a wicker basket, an opened pomegranate on a silver plate and roses, irises and other flower in a glass vase on a stone ledge” by Juan de Zurbarran (llerena 1620-1649 Seville) which found a buyer for 2,729,250 GBP and for “Flowers, shells and insects on a stone ledge” by Balthasar van der Ast (Middelburg ?1593-1594/ 1657 Delft) which culminated at 2,617,250 GBP against a high estimate of 1,2 million.

Other good results included “A Man in a gorget and cap” by Rembrandt Harmensz Van Rijn which sold for 8,441,250 GBP just under its low estimate, for “A Calm, a smallship and kaag at anchor with an English man-o'-war beyond” by Willem van de Velde 5Leiden 1633-1707 London) which went for 4,073,250 GBP against a high estimate of 3,5 million, for “Flowers in a glass vase on a draped table with a silver tazza, fruit, insects and birds” by Jan Davidsz de Heem (Utrech 1606-1684 Antwerp) which reached 3,009,250 GBP against a high estimate of 1,8 million and for “Summer, the Harvesters, 1623”, a painting by Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/1565/ 1637-1638 Antwerp) which sold for 2,393,250 GBP just under its low estimate.

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