A sale of Old Master paintings staged by Christie's on December 2, 2008 in London fared quite well despite the world economic crisis with a turnover of 14,7 million pounds
-Rediscovered Tiepolo masterpiece
- previously hidden in the attic of a château in France - sells for £2,841,250
/ $4,227,780 / €3,341,310
Tiepolo: Portrait of a woman as Flora
-A master view of
Venice by Canaletto sells for £3,849,250 / $5,727,684 / €4,526,718
Christie's auction of Important Old Master and British Pictures realised £14,665,750 / $21,822,636 / €17,246,922,
selling 80% by lot and 71% by value. A master view of Venice by Canaletto, The Grand Canal, Venice, set the highest
price of the evening selling for £3,849,250 / $5,727,684 / €4,526,718. A
rediscovered masterpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo, which was found in the attic
of a French château where it had been hidden by the grandparents of the vendors
due to the semi-naked subject realised £2,841,250 / $4,227,780 / €3,341,310,
exceeding its pre-sale estimate of £700,000 to £900,000.
Richard Knight,
International Director of Christie's Old Master Department and Paul Raison,
Director and Head of Old Master Pictures at Christie's, London said: “We
are pleased with the results of this evening's auction which attracted strong
and committed bidding for rare and exceptional pictures, and which illustrated
a continuing demand for works of art which are privately sourced and fresh to
the market. The pre-sale exhibition welcomed thousands of people in the days
leading up to the auction. Tiepolo's rediscovered masterpiece drew significant
international interest from collectors and admirers alike, and attracted
determined bidding this evening before selling to a client in the room for £2.84
million, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate. We are also pleased with the
result of Canaletto's view of the Grand Canal which was offered for sale for
the first time having passed by family descent since it was commissioned in
1738, and which realised £3.85 million.”
The auction was
led by a master view of
Venice by Canaletto (1697-1768). Believed to have been commissioned in 1738
through the artist's agent Consul Smith, whose own collection of the artist's
works was sold to King George III, the painting had since passed by family
descent and was offered for sale for the first time. The Grand Canal, Venice, looking north-west from the Ca' Corner to the
Ca' Contarini degli Scrigni, with the campanile of Santa Maria della Carità realised
£3,849,250 / $5,727,684 / €4,526,718 against a pre-sale estimate of £3 million
to £5 million; this view of the Grand Canal looking north-west was engraved for
Antonio Visentini's Prospectus Magni
Canalis Ventianum, a collection of engravings and etchings of Canaletto's
paintings that was commissioned by Consul Smith, and which included a large
number of his own works which were to be later sold to George III and enter The
Royal Collection.
Portrait of a lady as Flora, a rediscovered masterpiece by the great
Italian artist Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), sold for £2,841,250 /
$4,227,780 / €3,341,310 against a pre-sale estimate of £700,000-£900,000. One
of the most exciting and extraordinary discoveries of recent years, the
painting was found in the attic of a French château where it had been hidden by
the grandparents of the vendors due to the semi-naked subject. The painting was
previously unpublished and is probably from a series of pictures commissioned
by Empress Elizabeth of Russia (1709-1762), likely to have been destined for
the Winter Palace.
Further highlights included
Portrait of Conradus Viëtor by Frans
Hals (1581/5-1666) which sold for £1,161,250 / $1,727,940 / €1,365,630; an
extraordinary and rarely seen early 14th century depiction of the
Madonna and Child by Siennese artist Segna di Bunaventura (active between circa 1298-1331) which realised £937,250
/ $1,394,628 / €1,102,206; and The
Adoration of the Magi by Pieter Brueghel II (1564/5-1637/8) realised
£802,850 / $1,194,641 / €944,152, against a pre-sale estimate of
£500,000-£700,000.
Segna di Bonaventura
Old
Master and British Pictures Evening Sale
London – Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Sale no: 7632 – Top Ten
[All
sold prices include buyer's premium]
Sold:
£14,665,750
$21,822,636
€17,246,922
Lots Sold: 35
Lots Offered: 44
Sold by Lot: 80%
Sold by £: 71%
Exchange
Rate£:= $1.488 / €1.176
Lot
Description
Estimate (£)
Purchase Price
Buyer
46
Giovanni
Antonio Canal, il Canaletto (Venice 1697-1768), The Grand Canal, Venice,
looking north-west from the Ca' Corner to the Ca' Contarini degliScrigni,
with the campanile of Santa Maria della
Carità
3,000,000-5,000,000
£3,849,250
$5,727,684
€4,526,718
European Private
40
Giambattista
Tiepolo (Venice 1696-1770 Madrid), Portrait of a lady as Flora
700,000-900,000
£2,841,250
$4,227,780
€3,341,310
Anonymous
19
Frans
Hals (Antwerp 1581/5-1666 Haarlem), Portrait of Conradus Viëtor
(1588-1657), aged 56, half-length, in a black doublet, cloak and hat, with a
white ruff, and holding a book, 1644
1,200,000-1,800,000
£1,161,250
$1,727,940
€1,365,630
UK Trade
31
Segna
di Bonaventura (active Siena c. 1298 (?)-before 1331), The Madonna and
Child enthroned with Saints Bartholomew and Ansanus and a donor
800,000-1,200,000
£937,250
$1,394,628
€1,102,206
Anonymous
7
Pieter
Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp), The Adoration of the Magi
500,000-700,000
£802,850
$1,194,641
€944,152
UK Trade
15
Barthel
Bruyn I (Wesel 1493-1555 Cologne), Portrait of Gerhard von Westerburg
(1486-after 1539), half-length, in a fur-trimmed mantle and a black hat,
1524
300,000-500,000
£469,250
$698,244
€551,838
Anonymous
41
Gaetano
Gandolfi (San Matteo della Decima 1734-1802 Bologna), Diana and Endymion
500,000-800,000
£469,250
$698,244
€551,838
Anonymous
34
Studio
of Alessandro Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli (Florence 1445?-1510), The
Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist
100,000-150,000
£373,250
$555,396
€438,942
European Private
5
Jan
van Kessel I (Antwerp 1626-1679), Tulips, peonies, cornflowers, roses and
other flowers in a glass vase with cherries and orange segments on a wooden
ledge and butterflies, grasshoppers, spiders and dragonflies, 1652
150,000-250,000
£361,250
$537,540
€424,830
Pivate
22
Simon
Vouet (Paris 1590-1649), The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
120,000-180,000
£349,250
$519,684
€410,718
European Private
A sale of Old Master paintings staged by Christie's on December 2, 2008 in London fared quite well despite the world economic crisis with a turnover of 14,7 million pounds
-Rediscovered Tiepolo masterpiece
- previously hidden in the attic of a château in France - sells for £2,841,250
/ $4,227,780 / €3,341,310
Tiepolo: Portrait of a woman as Flora
-A master view of
Venice by Canaletto sells for £3,849,250 / $5,727,684 / €4,526,718
Christie's auction of Important Old Master and British Pictures realised £14,665,750 / $21,822,636 / €17,246,922,
selling 80% by lot and 71% by value. A master view of Venice by Canaletto, The Grand Canal, Venice, set the highest
price of the evening selling for £3,849,250 / $5,727,684 / €4,526,718. A
rediscovered masterpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo, which was found in the attic
of a French château where it had been hidden by the grandparents of the vendors
due to the semi-naked subject realised £2,841,250 / $4,227,780 / €3,341,310,
exceeding its pre-sale estimate of £700,000 to £900,000.
Richard Knight,
International Director of Christie's Old Master Department and Paul Raison,
Director and Head of Old Master Pictures at Christie's, London said: “We
are pleased with the results of this evening's auction which attracted strong
and committed bidding for rare and exceptional pictures, and which illustrated
a continuing demand for works of art which are privately sourced and fresh to
the market. The pre-sale exhibition welcomed thousands of people in the days
leading up to the auction. Tiepolo's rediscovered masterpiece drew significant
international interest from collectors and admirers alike, and attracted
determined bidding this evening before selling to a client in the room for £2.84
million, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate. We are also pleased with the
result of Canaletto's view of the Grand Canal which was offered for sale for
the first time having passed by family descent since it was commissioned in
1738, and which realised £3.85 million.”
The auction was
led by a master view of
Venice by Canaletto (1697-1768). Believed to have been commissioned in 1738
through the artist's agent Consul Smith, whose own collection of the artist's
works was sold to King George III, the painting had since passed by family
descent and was offered for sale for the first time. The Grand Canal, Venice, looking north-west from the Ca' Corner to the
Ca' Contarini degli Scrigni, with the campanile of Santa Maria della Carità realised
£3,849,250 / $5,727,684 / €4,526,718 against a pre-sale estimate of £3 million
to £5 million; this view of the Grand Canal looking north-west was engraved for
Antonio Visentini's Prospectus Magni
Canalis Ventianum, a collection of engravings and etchings of Canaletto's
paintings that was commissioned by Consul Smith, and which included a large
number of his own works which were to be later sold to George III and enter The
Royal Collection.
Portrait of a lady as Flora, a rediscovered masterpiece by the great
Italian artist Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), sold for £2,841,250 /
$4,227,780 / €3,341,310 against a pre-sale estimate of £700,000-£900,000. One
of the most exciting and extraordinary discoveries of recent years, the
painting was found in the attic of a French château where it had been hidden by
the grandparents of the vendors due to the semi-naked subject. The painting was
previously unpublished and is probably from a series of pictures commissioned
by Empress Elizabeth of Russia (1709-1762), likely to have been destined for
the Winter Palace.
Further highlights included
Portrait of Conradus Viëtor by Frans
Hals (1581/5-1666) which sold for £1,161,250 / $1,727,940 / €1,365,630; an
extraordinary and rarely seen early 14th century depiction of the
Madonna and Child by Siennese artist Segna di Bunaventura (active between circa 1298-1331) which realised £937,250
/ $1,394,628 / €1,102,206; and The
Adoration of the Magi by Pieter Brueghel II (1564/5-1637/8) realised
£802,850 / $1,194,641 / €944,152, against a pre-sale estimate of
£500,000-£700,000.
Segna di Bonaventura
Old
Master and British Pictures Evening Sale
London – Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Sale no: 7632 – Top Ten
[All
sold prices include buyer's premium]
Sold:
£14,665,750
$21,822,636
€17,246,922
Lots Sold: 35
Lots Offered: 44
Sold by Lot: 80%
Sold by £: 71%
Exchange
Rate£:= $1.488 / €1.176
Lot
Description
Estimate (£)
Purchase Price
Buyer
46
Giovanni
Antonio Canal, il Canaletto (Venice 1697-1768), The Grand Canal, Venice,
looking north-west from the Ca' Corner to the Ca' Contarini degliScrigni,
with the campanile of Santa Maria della
Carità
3,000,000-5,000,000
£3,849,250
$5,727,684
€4,526,718
European Private
40
Giambattista
Tiepolo (Venice 1696-1770 Madrid), Portrait of a lady as Flora
700,000-900,000
£2,841,250
$4,227,780
€3,341,310
Anonymous
19
Frans
Hals (Antwerp 1581/5-1666 Haarlem), Portrait of Conradus Viëtor
(1588-1657), aged 56, half-length, in a black doublet, cloak and hat, with a
white ruff, and holding a book, 1644
1,200,000-1,800,000
£1,161,250
$1,727,940
€1,365,630
UK Trade
31
Segna
di Bonaventura (active Siena c. 1298 (?)-before 1331), The Madonna and
Child enthroned with Saints Bartholomew and Ansanus and a donor
800,000-1,200,000
£937,250
$1,394,628
€1,102,206
Anonymous
7
Pieter
Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp), The Adoration of the Magi
500,000-700,000
£802,850
$1,194,641
€944,152
UK Trade
15
Barthel
Bruyn I (Wesel 1493-1555 Cologne), Portrait of Gerhard von Westerburg
(1486-after 1539), half-length, in a fur-trimmed mantle and a black hat,
1524
300,000-500,000
£469,250
$698,244
€551,838
Anonymous
41
Gaetano
Gandolfi (San Matteo della Decima 1734-1802 Bologna), Diana and Endymion
500,000-800,000
£469,250
$698,244
€551,838
Anonymous
34
Studio
of Alessandro Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli (Florence 1445?-1510), The
Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist
100,000-150,000
£373,250
$555,396
€438,942
European Private
5
Jan
van Kessel I (Antwerp 1626-1679), Tulips, peonies, cornflowers, roses and
other flowers in a glass vase with cherries and orange segments on a wooden
ledge and butterflies, grasshoppers, spiders and dragonflies, 1652
150,000-250,000
£361,250
$537,540
€424,830
Pivate
22
Simon
Vouet (Paris 1590-1649), The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
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