old masters

Are Old Masters really dead and 7 useful tips for collecting drawings

Are Old Masters really dead and 7 useful tips for collecting drawings

“Long winter for Old Masters” headlined the Financial Times’ Collecting section this past weekend, referring to the bad performances of London Old Master auctions the previous week. Although Georgina Adam is right in making this statement, what isn’t mentioned is the serious lack of good quality paintings on offer, the ridiculously high estimates given by auction house experts, and a headline lot failing to sell because of authenticity concerns.

Rembrandt Discovered in New Jersey?

Rembrandt Discovered in New Jersey?

After a calm August, the art world frenzy is starting to pick up and this week's auction at Nye & Co in New Jersey caused great excitement among the Old Master dealers. This small work on board catalogued as Continental School, 19th century with an estimate of $500-800 sold for $870,000 believed to be a lost-panel by a teenage Rembrandt.

Superb Rembrandt Show in London - last days on

Superb Rembrandt Show in London - last days on

London has two great Old Master exhibitions closing this week, the Moroni exhibition at the Royal Academy and the Rembrandt late works at the National Gallery. With Moroni we have the great portraitist of the Renaissance anticipating the realistic style of Caravaggio and later Manet; and Rembrandt, the undisputed star of the 17th century Dutch art scene. 

Sotheby's to Offer Rare Botticelli Drawing this Summer

Sotheby's to Offer Rare Botticelli Drawing this Summer

Sotheby's secures an impressive group of works for their July Old Master Paintings sale in London; one that was put together by Barbara Piasecka Johnson (1937-2013) wife of the late John Seward Johnson, co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson firm. 

Impressive Price at Auction for Portrait by Greuze

Impressive Price at Auction for Portrait by Greuze

This portrait of a man by Jean-Baptiste Greuze fetched 620,000 Euro at auction this week - what an incredible price for a work by this French romantic painter of the 18th century. The auction house Rieunier & Associes in Paris put an estimate of 120,000 - 150,000 Euro.

Exhibitions to See this Weekend in London

Exhibitions to See this Weekend in London

There has been a frenzy of cultural activities in London this past few weeks with Fashion Week, BAFTA and Brit Awards making the city a buzzing hot spot for creative industries. But my eyes stay focused on art and after being away for several weeks, I am ready to catch up with the exhibitions in London.

Tales from the London Old Master Sales: from 17,000 to 3.2 million!

Following the low energy at Christie's and Bonhams Old Master sales in London, there was more buzz and  excitement at Sotheby’s evening last night and the sale did quite well. Although some of our favourite works are reserved for the New York sales in January, there were still some works that we loved in the mix. Such as the delicate tiny "Lucretia" by Lucas Cranach the Elder which sold for just over £1million, and the Rogier van der Weyden of the Pieta - although by a follower, it is a strong work and it’s not like you can buy the original from the Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. One of the highlights of the evening was the Portrait of a Gentleman by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, a very fine, Velazquez-like work by the master. This portrait was sold for £3.2million, well above its estimate £400,000-600,000.  What makes the story interesting is that this painting was purchased at Christie’s Paris in 2003 as Circle of Rubens for a mere € 17,000!! Christie’s must be upset for getting this one wrong, so is the owner who consigned it to them. This is where one clearly sees the importance of expertise and talent for spotting good quality paintings.

Old Masters Boom in Singapore

It seems like there is an Old Master paintings boom in Singapore! First it was the announcement that highlights from the world famous Princely Collection of Liechtenstein, normally housed in the Liechtenstein Palaces, are going on exhibit at the National Museum of Singapore, which opened on 26th of June. Singapore is already the fourth stop for the collections' Asia tour, which have included Tokyo, Kochi and Kyoto. Further exhibitions in Beijing’s National Museum and the China Art Museum in Shanghai are planned to starting in the autumn.

Dr Johann Kraftner during the press preview of the Liechtenstein exhibition at the National Museum of Art, Singapore

Although these loan exhibitions are to promote the LGT Bank (owned by the princely House of Liechtenstein) in Asia, it certainly serves a great cultural purpose. The show is curated by Dr. Johann Kraftner, the family's art advisor and director of its two museums in Vienna, and brings together by masterworks including Raphael, Rubens, Canaletto and Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

Canaletto, "Venice: The Piazza San Marco, Looking West from the North End of the Piazzetta" Oil on canvas 65 x 95 cm Princely Collection of Liechtenstein, Vienna

The Canaletto on view was sold to the coll ection through the London-based Old Master dealer Derek Johns, who recently started a new venture in Singapore as well. Together with his Singapore-based partner Chng Hock Huat, and joining forces with Monaco-based dealer Marietta Vinci-Corsini (widow of the famous dealer Piero Corsini who passed away in 2001) Derek Johns has set up Emperor Fine Art in Singapore, giving the opportunity to see European Old Master paintings within the Asian region.

Chng Hock Huat and Derek Johns in front of "Holy Family" by Andrea del Sarto

Johns and Corsini selected a group of paintings from their gallery stock to send to Singapore and held their first official week of events which cleverly corresponded with the opening of the Liechtenstein exhibition on 26th of June.

Add all this information on to the fact that just a month ago, the Singaporean government announced that the Pinacothèque de Paris is to bring Old Masters and Modern art in a pop-up space from September during the renovations to its main building in Paris. Owned and run by the Modigliani scholar Marc Restellini, the Pinacothèque first opened in 2007, and since 2011 has been displaying a collection of masterpieces from Van Dyck, Monet and Modigliani to Picasso and Pollock; all works on loan from private or public collections.

Singaporeans are getting a series of events and exhibitions highlighting Old Masters! Exhibitions are a great way to educate and expose audiences to such works, which is even better news for the dealers as they hope that after viewing and admiring the Old Master treasures on display, the Asian audience will be more inclined to start collecting them too.