OLD MASTERS

Central European School

Portrait of a Figure in Armour with a Skeleton Head

The figure is based on the painting dated 1588 and attributed to the circle of Anthonis Mor, today in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

oil on canvas
approx 1900's
unframed: 79.2 x 57.5 cm.; 31 1/4 x 22 5/8 in.
framed: 112.5 x 92.5 cm.; 44 1/4 x 36 3/8 in.
frame included in the price.

Provenance:
Sale L20037, Sotheby's Old Master Day Sale, lot 183

Francesco Guardi (Venice 1712-1793) Attributed to

Shipping in stormy waters

oil on canvas
canvas dimensions 20 x 23 ½ in. (50.8 x 59.7 cm.)
frame 25.7 x 29 inches (65.5 x 74 cm.)

Provenance:
Christie's London, 2 November 2016, lot 180 (as Attributed to Francesco Guardi), sold for GBP 102.500;
Private collection France;
Sotheby’s Paris, 17 June 2021, lot 165 (as Attributed to Francesco Guardi)

Literature:
A. Bonfand, Francesco Guardi, una burrasca, étude inédite, 2017, cat. 15 as by Francesco Guardi, fig. 1.

J. Byam Shaw, The Drawings of Francesco Guardi, London, 1951, p. 78, no. 73, illustrated.
A preparatory sketch for this composition is recorded by Byam Shaw. In several respects this drawing is closer to this painting than to the two versions of this composition by Guardi in the Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal and the Bortolotto collection. The design of the stern of the ship far right is different than in the Montreal picture, the crows nests are depicted at sharper angles and the cliffs along the right edge are more prominently displayed in the drawing and this lot. In the drawing the man standing on the rock has his arms outstretched and is trying to catch the rigging: in this picture he has already caught this.

 

The splendour of the tragic sea

Francesco Guardi and maritime painting in Venetian art

No Venetian painter was a stranger to the sea. After all, Venice was not only one of the most prominent ports of the Mediterranean, but indeed a city literally submerged in the ocean from time to time. Curiously however, the famous Venetian school of painting showed little interest in maritime motifs, favouring scenes from the iconic architecture of the city rather than seascapes. That is why this painting is a particularly interesting window into not only the painter Francesco Guardi himself – but to the significance of the element of water in art history, in absence as well as in the centre of attention.

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David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) Follower of

A Peasant Removing a Plaster: The Sense of Touch

signed T on the table
oil on panel
panel size 7,20 x 5,55 inches (18,3 x 14,4 cm)
frame 11,22 x 9,84 inches (28,5 x 25 cm)
oak frame professionally handmade 2021

Provenance:
Old Christie's stamp on the back;
Private collection Poland;
Desa Auction Poland, 6 October 2020, Lot 55.

CIRCLE OF PIETER SNYERS (1681-1752) 

HUNTING STILL LIFE WITH HARE AND BIRDS

oil on panel
49.5 x 37 cm.

PROVENANCE:
Antique dealer JP Willborg Stockholm 

Alessandro Gherardini (Italy 1655‑1726) Studio of

Ascension of the Virgin

oil on relined canvas
canvas size 33.66 x 26.96 inches (85.5 x 68.5 cm)
frame 38.97 x 31.88 inches (99 x 81 cm)

Expertise:
Professor Federico Berti attributes this painting to the Studio of Alessandro Gherardini.
According to Mr Berti, there are at least two other versions of the composition known.

Condition:
Fully restored by professional art conservator 2021.
Some small retouches in some places, please contact us for UV/IRR images.
The frame has a fine patina, need renovation to be in perfect condition.

Adriaen van Ostade (follower of)

A Woman Dancing to the Music from a Violin

 

oil on oak panel
panel size 10.23 x 15.35 inches (26 x 39 cm)
frame 15.74 x 21.25 inches (40 x 54 cm)
frame included in the price.

After Robert Campin (Flandern, 1375-1444)

Portrait of Heinrich von Werl and Saint John the Baptist

oil on oak panel
panel 15.35 x 8.46 inches (39 x 21.5 cm)
hand made oak frame by Christer Björkman
frame 18.50 x 11.81 inches (47 x 30 cm)
most likely painted in the 1600s

Provenance: 
A Swedish private collection;
Bukowskis Auctions, Important Winter Sale 645, lot 1436788, as After Robert Campin from the 1500s

Here we have a copy after Robert Campins famous triptych altarpiece, "The Werl Triptych", from 1438, today in the Prado Museum in Madrid.
One of the three panels, the centrepiece, is unfortunately lost.
Depicted is the donor, Heinrich von Werl, who kneels in prayer in the company of Saint John the Baptist.
Von Werl was a member of the Minorites order (today known as the Franciscan order) in Osnabrück. He moved to Cologne in 1430 to study at the university, where he received a magister degree in 1435, having earlier been appointed provincial of Cologne province.
He probably commissioned the original triptych work for the Minorite church in Cologne.
The triptych further introduces the idea of the intermediary saint, a Jan van Eyck influence; here, represented by John the Baptist seen holding a lamb in the same panel as von Werl, increasing the significance of the area occupied by the donor.
Many artists admired these 15th-century Netherlandish masterpieces, and a lot of copies were made in the 1500s and 1600s. Today many of them are lost, and our painting is a rare find. Our painting is not from the 1500s; it's more likely from the 1600s after examination of the panel and painting technic.
One of the most striking details is the convex mirror, a detail that also can be seen in the famous Arnolfini portrait by Jan van Eyck.

 

Flemish School, 17th Century

Mary Magdalene 

oil on copper
17th century
plate dimensions 23 x 17 cm 
frame 27 x 22 cm

Restored by professional art conservator 2022. 

Provenance: 
From a Swedish private collection

Flemish School, 1600s

Landscape With Pan and Syrinx

painted around the 1600s
oil on copper
19 x 23.5 cm
frame 29 x 34 cm
Hand-made oak frame by Swedish frame maker Christer Björkman.

Provenance:
A private collection France;
Art Dealer Antiquario Dipinti Antichi, 2022, France

David Teniers the Younger (Attributed to)

Title: Peasants in a Cornfield (Boer in het veld)

canvas size 9.84 x 7.08 inches (25 x 18 cm)
frame 12.59 x 10.03 inches (32 x 25,5 cm)
signed with monogram lower right: DT F

Provenance:
Stockholms Auktionsverk, 1996-06-03, lotnr. 234, as Attributed to David Teniers II;
Private Collection Sweden;
Uppsala Auktionskammare (Uppsala) 2016-06-14, lot 21, as By David Teniers II (Expertise Marina Aarts);
A Stockholm Collection;
Uppsala Auktionskammare 2021-06, as Attributed to David Teniers II (Expertise Marina Aarts)

RKD Archive:
Nr 19489, as Attributed to David Teniers II - Peasants in a cornfield (Boer in het veld)
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Exhibited:
TEFAF March 2017

Comparable Sales:
Hampel, Germany, Junger Landmann mit Spaten, 25 mar 2021, Price including buyer's premium: € 31,000

 

Remembering the magic of everyday
life moments in the art of David Teniers

The art of David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690) coincided with the heyday of the Flemish Baroque and captured a great variety of motifs of his time. In this painting of a seemingly simple peasant scene lies keys to understanding both the imaginative mind of Teniers as well as why this time period produced some of the most iconic works in all of art history. 

As indicated by the name, Teniers was more or less born into his profession. As the son of David Teniers the elder, himself a painter who studied under Rubens, the younger David received training in art from a very young age and had no less than three brothers who also became painters. Because of his father’s frequent financial failures that even at times saw him imprisoned, David the younger helped to rescue the family from ruin through painting copies of old masters. Essentially, the young Teniers was confronted with painting as both a passion and creative expression as well as a necessity during difficult times, an experience that would shape much of his capacity and sensitivity in his coming life.

Teniers portayed by his colleague Philip Fruytiers in 1655, at the height of his career and dressed in typical Baroque fashion. 

Despite the hardships, the talent and determination of Teniers was recognized and quickly expanded his possibilities. He had already spent time in France and possibly also England when he was hired by his father’s former teacher Rubens to help with a prestigious commission with mythological paintings, now considered lost, for Philip IV the king Spain. In 1644–54 Teniers was appointed dean of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, manifesting his esteemed position within the artistic community. A few years afterwards he took an important step when relocating to Brussels, where Teniers yet again found new career opportunities that would prove to be very successful.

As the keeper of the collections of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, a role similar to what we now refer to as an art advisor, Teniers purchased hundreds of important artworks that manifested the prominent status of the Archduke’s collection while at the same time providing an unusual access to inspiration and knowledge for Teniers himself. Since he kept on painting during the same time, his creative scope must have seemed almost bewildering in the great variety of images and stories that he surrounded himself with. 

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels, painted by Teniers around 1650. His role as keeper of collections assured him both the budget and permission to create an extraordinary collection of art. 

Regardless of how glamorous and culturally stimulating the career of Teniers was, he was as open to the charm and existential importance of everyday life as he was to works of great masters and luxurious collectibles. In his impressive repertoire of genres with everything from exquisite royal portraits, interiors, landscapes and history paintings he always added something new and inventive, highlighting the possibilities of art and importance of an experimental and intuitive mind. It is difficult to single out one aspect or genre to summarize his legacy, since it lies much more in the broad virtuosity across many motifs, although he is particularly remembered for farm scenes and meticulously depicted interiors where other paintings and artworks are captured with an astonishing precision. However, the fact that he is still today one of the most known and celebrated names of the Dutch Golden Age is a proof to the magic of his work, which continues to spark dialogue and wonder in the contemporary viewer of his works.

Detail with church in the background.

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Jacob Ochtervelt (Workshop)

The Grape Seller

oil on canvas
unframed: 80.7 x 61 cm.; 31 ¾ x 24 in.
framed: 109.5 x 89 cm.; 43 1/8 x 35 in.

There are two known versions of this subject.
This is a reduced variant of Ochtervelt's signed and dated canvas from 1669, today in the Hermitage museum.

Provenance:
Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (1868-1940) (Daily Mail founder), London, 1932;
His posthumous sale, London, Christie's, 19 December 1941, lot 89 (as Ochtervelt);
With Dr. F. Drey, London, before 1946;
Gösta Stenman, Stockholm, 1947 (as Ochtervelt);
Thence by descent until sold, Stockholm, Stockholms Auktionsverk, 10 December 2019, lot 2476 (as
Attributed to Ochtervelt by Cabinet Turquin);
Sotheby's London, Sale L20037, Old Master Day Sale, lot 155, (as Workshop of Jacob Ochtervelt)

Literature:
P.G. Konody, Works of Art in the Collection of the Viscount Rothermere, London 1932, cat. no. 53,
reproduced pl. 53 (as Ochtervelt) (see attached image with text by Wilhelm Bode);
G. Stenman, Gamla Tiders Mästare, Stockholm 1947, p. 22, cat. no. 48, reproduced pl. 26 (as Ochtervelt);
S.D. Kuretsky, The Paintings of Jacob Ochtervelt (1634-1682), Oxford 1979, p. 76, cat. no. 54-A, reproduced fig. 131.

Please contact us for more information.

Mannerist School, 1600s

Title: St Paul With Sword and Book

oil on copper
plate size 6.29 x 5.11 inches (16 x 13cm)
frame 10.62 x 9.05 inches (27 x 23 cm)

Provenance:
From a Swedish Private Collection.

 

Mannerism derived from the Italian maneria, meaning simply ”style”, the mannerism movement emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520 and continued into the early 17th century.
Mannerism is sometimes defined as the “stylish style” for its emphasis on self-conscious artifice over realistic depiction; historians differ as to whether Mannerism is a style, a movement, or a period.
Rather than adopting the harmonious ideals associated with Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci the mannerist painters went a step further to create almost bizarre compositions, with a new fresh color scheme, elongated proportions and exaggerated anatomy of figures in convoluted serpentine poses who showed off their techniques and skills to create a sense of sophisticated elegance.
To name a few mannerism painters, some of the most famous are Jacopo da Pontormo, Bronzino, Lavinia Fontana and Joachim Wtewael.
In this painting depicting St Paul With Sword and Book, we can see how the artist follows the mannerist style, such as the colours of his clothes, the position of the hands, and the exquisitely painted face.
Art historians have not yet been able to determine the artist. Based on digital images, Suzanne Laemers at RKD thinks it is a Mannerist artist from the 1600 and Maria Teresa Cantaro thinks it is nice and precious and perhaps from the Lombard or Emilian environment due to the naturalness of the figure.

Condition:
Restored 2021. : Very good condition, small retouches. Bright and beautiful colours.
The oak frame is made by Swedish frame maker Christer Björkman 2021.

 

Netherlandish School, 17th Century

Southern Landscape with Riders

oil on copper
plate size 12 x 17 cm
frame included

Provenance: Lempertz Germany, auction 1180, lot nr 59, 17th century Netherlandish School

Adriaen van Stalbemt (Stalbempt) 1580-1662

Abraham and the Sacrifice of His Son Isaac “Das Opfer des Abraham”

According to the Old Testament, God put Abraham’s faith to the test by commanding him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Just in the nick of time, an angel of the Lord appeared, forestalling the terrible deed and delivering Abraham from his despair.

Certificate: Dr. Klaus Ertz, signed and dated Lingen 22 December 2020.
The certificate is written in German, below we have published part of the text translated into English:
Is known to me in the original. After thorough examination of this painting, I am convinced that it was painted by the Flemish painter Adriaen van Stalbemt.
The state of preservation of this painting can be described as very good.
Adriaen van Stalbemt, next to Jan Brueghel the Younger probably the most important successor of Jan Brueghel the Elder, took up many of Brueghel's themes and developed them further. Like many of his contemporaries, Stalbemt followed the example of this great role model. At the age of 29 he converted to the Catholic faith. It goes without saying that a painter in Antwerp had to be familiar with the themes of the Christian religion, since it was necessary to fulfill the wishes of his customers. The design of the spatial composition, reminiscent of the early David Vinckboons, which features juxtaposed landscape sections - on the left the dark foreground, on the right the background illuminated by the sun - indicates that this is an early painting, painted during the period from 1605 to 1610. In this painting, Stalbemt reveals himself to be a great artist who was able to skillfully combine different landscape formations such as forest, river and mountains at an early stage of his career. In interlacing all of these landscape parts into one perspective, this composition is very typical of Adriaen van Stalbemt's work.

Literature: Ertz/Nitze-Ertz, Adriaen van Stalbemt, Kritischer Katalog der Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik Lingen 2018.

oil on copper
picture size 8.07 x 9.96 inches (20.5 x 25.3 cm)
frame 14.17 x 15.94 inches (36 x 40.5 cm)
note: Important changes in the composition have been found with an IR camera, please contact us if you want to see the result from those images.

Provenance: Private collection Bavaria (Germany)

Jan Frans Soolmaker (Flanders 1635‑1685)

Shepherd with Sheep, Cows and a Goat in a Landscape

oil on relined canvas
canvas size 56 x 53 cm
frame included

Compare with the signed painting by Soolmaker sold at Sotheby’s London, 7 July 1999, lot 453.

Provenance:
The collection of Swedish Prince Fredrik Adolf (1750-1803);
The collection of Pär Ulmgren (1767-1846), no. 32;
The collection of Gösta Stenman (1888-1947), inv. no. 885;
Engineer and politician Gustaf Henry Hansson (1894‑1976), probably acquired from the above;
Thence by descent until 2021

Justus Juncker (1703-1763, Germany) Attributed to

Scholar Sharpening His Quill Penn

 

Expertise: We would like to thank Dr. Fred G Meijer for his valuable knowledge in researching this painting. His conclusion as follows: The painting of an old scholar sharpening his pen, in my opinion, is a characteristic work of Justus Juncker (Mainz 1703 – 1767 Frankfurt am Main).
Scholars in their study were a favourite subject of the artist, for instance "Alchemist in his study, sold at Lempertz) and (Dorotheum lot 310, 2020-11). Obviously, Juncker was much inspired by Dutch paintings from the seventeenth century.

oil on oak panel (18th century)
signed with monogram FVM ....?
panel size 11.81 x 9.44 inches (30 x 24 cm)
frame 18.11 x 15.74 inches (46 x 40 cm)
beautiful handcrafted frame included


Provenance: A Swedish Private Collection

CIRCLE OF OTTO VAN VEEN (1556-1629)

DANCING PUTTI

57 x 94,5 cm (22.55 x 37.20 inches)
oil on oak panel

Dancing Putti painted in the circle of Otto van Veen.  A group of fourteen putti dancing together, surrounded by beautiful flowers.  An old master painting with notable high quality and also in good condition.  We believe it can adorn both classic interiors and modern ones.  Another smaller version with the same motif was sold at Christie's  in 1997 for $ 29,000 (20¼ x 24in. 51.4 x 61cm.). According to art historians, there are several known versions,   attributed to both Flemish and Italian artists.

Otto van Veen, also known by his Latin name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius, was born in Leiden around 1556. In 1574, he traveled to Rome for further study. Around 1580, he returned north. In 1592, van Veen settled in Antwerp. His presence there is verified from commissions he received for church altarpieces. He also oversaw a productive and vibrant studio with numerous students. His most famous pupil was Peter Paul Rubens who trained with van Veen from 1594 to 1600. He finally left Antwerp in 1615 and moved to Brussels, where he remained until his death in 1629.

Provenance:  

Private Collection Ireland;
Art market UK;
Private Collection Malmö Sweden;
Bukowskis, Important Winter Sale 629, lot 406, As Circle of Otto van Veen

Possibly painted by the young Jusepe de Ribera c. 1620-30

A Holy Monstrance Surrounded by Putti

We would like to thank Mr David M. Stone and Nicola Spinosa for examining the painting via high-resolution images.

Mr Stone thinks the painting looks Genoese and was painted around 1620-the 1630s.
A specialist friend of Mr Stone, who is an expert on Genoa, suggests it could be an early work of Giovanni Andrea De Ferrari.

Mr Spinosa can see stylistic influences with the Sicilian painter Giovan Bernardino Azzolino, active in Naples at the beginning of the seventeenth century and known in particular for being the son-in-law of Jusepe de Ribera, who at the end of 1616 had married his daughter Caterina and from whom Azzolino himself was
also influenced after 1620. For Mr Spinosa, The quality of the painting seems even higher from the photos, and it is not unlikely that it could be the work of the young Ribera himself around 1630.

Much remains to be discovered about this exciting painting.
Apart from being a wonderful work of art in itself; future research may well prove this to be another important work, possibly by the young Ribera himself.

Monstrance, also called ostensorium, in the Roman Catholic church and some other churches, a vessel in which the eucharistic host is carried in processions and is exposed during certain devotional ceremonies.
(Source: britannica)

oil on canvas
circa 1620-1630s
canvas dimensions 64 x 51 cm
frame 78 x 64 cm

Provenance:
Hermann Historica, a87p, Castle Auction, lot 73, as "Naples School, Probably from the workshop of Jusepe di Ribera"

NICOLAES MAES (1634-1693)

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG DUTCH GENTLEMAN

signed N Maes (lower right) 
oil on panel
45.1 x 37.4 cm; 17¾ x 14¾ in.

PROVENANCE
With Agnews, London;
Seymour Berry (2nd Viscount Camrose);
Christie's,Hackwood Park, 20-22 April 1998, lot 771, Sold for 78.100€; 
Christie's London, 27 April 2007, lot 58

LITERATURE:
Krempel, Nicholas Maes, Petersberg, 2000, p. 367, mentioned under F5 (Fruit still life in a landscape, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), and dated to around 1670.

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