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Christian Berg (1893–1976) Sweden

Beneath the Birch

signed Chr. Berg
pencil and watercolor on board
38 x 29.5 cm
frame dimensions 54 x 45 cm
the frame with UV protected glass is included

Essay:
We are proud to present an exquisite drawing by the renowned artist Christian Berg (1893-1976), executed around the 1920s. This captivating artwork portrays a landscape, showcasing the artist's remarkable talent and attention to detail.

The focal point of the composition rests on the left, where a solitary leafless birch tree gracefully extends its branches across the entire expanse of the sky. The artist's meticulous rendering of the intricate branch structure is truly awe-inspiring, displaying an impressive level of detail and precision.

To the right of the birch tree, some water comes into view and behind the birch tree, several spruce trees emerge, their forms delicately captured with green watercolor strokes. The surrounding ground, adorned with a lush green wash, seamlessly integrates with the natural environment of the trees.

In the background, the artist employs the soft hues of watercolor to depict distant, misty mountains. The bluish tones create a sense of depth, enhancing the overall serenity and vastness of the scene.

"My sculptural work is an expression of what captivates and engages me, whether it's a unique flower, a tree's form, a stone, or a seashell fragment on the beach that one desires to turn into poetry, or transforming a figure into a monumental stance, where the interplay of proportions seeks to evoke a sense of gravity and religiosity."
- Christian Berg

Christian Berg, primarily known for his later abstract sculptures, demonstrates his versatility an artist through this exceptional landscape drawing. While his abstract sculptures have gained significant acclaim and are highly sought after by collectors, this earlier work showcases his skillful mastery of capturing the essence of nature with astonishing precision.

The drawing's meticulous details and the artist's profound understanding of the beauty of the natural world make it a true masterpiece. It serves as a testament to Christian Berg's artistic range and his ability to evoke emotion and connection through his diverse body of work.

Unknown Artist, Circle of Julia Beck (1853-1935)

Atelier Interior With Flower Bouquet

oil on tree-panel

Compare with, Julia Becks "Blomsterstilleben" sold at Uppsala Auktionskammare dec 2021:

Anonymous, Cuzco School

A Portrait of Archangel Raphael With Fish

oil on canvas
1800s
canvas dimensions 22.24 x 15.74 inches (56.5 x 40 cm)
frame 26.77 x 20.47 inches (68 x 52 cm)

Provenance: A Swedish private collection

Daniel Saint (1778-1847) France

Portrait of a French Gentleman

large portait miniature on ivory
signed Saint
panel dimensions 27 x 21.4 cm
frame included 

Conditon:
An impressive restoration by Alan Derbyshire 2021-2023.
Still cracks between the ivory parts, there are some retouching, mostly in the background. Beautiful piece. 

Provenance: 
A Swedish private collection

 

Daniel Saint was a prominent French miniaturist who lived between 1778 and 1847. Born in Paris, Saint was the son of a jeweler and initially began his career as an apprentice in his father's workshop. However, he soon discovered his passion for painting and turned his attention to miniatures, which were highly popular in 18th and 19th-century Europe.

Saint was a highly skilled artist and quickly gained a reputation for his miniature portraits, which were characterized by their delicate detail and fine brushwork. His works often featured prominent figures from French society, including members of the royal family and high-ranking officials. He also painted portraits of wealthy patrons, many of whom commissioned him to create highly personalized works.

Saint's style was highly influenced by the neoclassical movement, which emphasized clarity, simplicity, and rationality. He often used a limited color palette, focusing on soft pastels and muted tones, which helped to accentuate the delicate features of his subjects. His compositions were typically centered around the face, with little background or context to distract from the subject.

Despite his success as a miniaturist, Saint was not immune to the changing tastes of the art world. In the mid-19th century, photography began to gain popularity, and many artists who specialized in portraiture found themselves struggling to compete with the speed and accuracy of this new medium. However, Saint continued to work and develop his craft, adapting his style to the changing tastes of his clients and experimenting with new techniques and materials.

In addition to his work as a miniaturist, Saint was also a skilled draftsman and created a number of highly detailed and intricate drawings and sketches. He was also known for his use of unconventional materials, such as hair, which he would incorporate into his miniature portraits to add texture and depth.

Today, Saint's works are highly prized by collectors and are held in museums and private collections around the world. His legacy as a master of miniature portraiture lives on, and his influence can still be seen in the work of contemporary artists who specialize in this unique and challenging medium.

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.

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)
Read more

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.

Continue reading here

 

Dick Beer (b. London 1893 - d. Stockholm 1938) 

oil on canvas
73 x 60.5 cm
stamp signed 
painted 1920

Exhibited:
The Royal Academy Stockholm, 1942;
The Swedish-French Art Gallery, Memorial exhibition, 1942;
Gothenburg Art Gallery, Memorial exhibition, 1944;
Nationalmuseum Stockholm 1944;
Borås Art Gallery, 1952;
Åmells Konsthandel  – En internationell kubist, Stockholm & London, 2008;
Hälsinglands museum, A Cubist 1910s, 2011
Millesgården – Dick Beer – Impressionist & Kubist, 2012

Provenance:
Within the family Beer until today

Cubistic vision

In the period following the First World War, the artist’s painting underwent a fundamental transformation. Dick Beer was influenced by various modernistic expressions. In Paris, the first wave of cubism, led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, was established. It was a controversial artistic style. There was a heated debate about cubism, in which the artist broke up the motif into smaller components, sometimes called facets, in order to rebuild it on the flat surface of the pictorial plane. This manner of painting represented a complete break with preceding pictorial conventions and naturalistic painting.

Cubism was governed by theory, not practice, and critics claimed that the style was too intellectual for the general public and they predicted that it would disappear and that artists would return to a rather more classic expression.

The theories surrounding cubism and its various expressions opened up for a number of reinterpretations in the 1910s. Dick Beer was well aware of the cubist discussions. He embraced the ideas but created a varied, personal and emotive cubism in the years around 1918. His painting was often an explosive discharge with playful characteristics and a futuristic dynamism which accentuated the painting’s inherent speed and movement, as for example his works “Dancer” and “The Toy Box”. He also experimented with geometric compositions of buildings and landscapes, which were reminiscent of Paul Cézanne’s more cubic landscapes. Here, Beer’s colours were often muted, in blue, brown and red hues. He frequently returned to earlier motifs and reworked his canvases into a cubist style, as in “Dancer tying her shoes” and “Seated dancer“.

Contemporary art critics were appalled and Beer had to endure severe criticism. At one point, the artist published a reply in the daily Politiken, 1919, where he described his view on art:

“... because love for and understanding of art, ‘l’art pour l’art’, is not easy to achieve, and neither is it easy to comprehend the different movements’ or schools’ origin, goals, characteristic endeavours, etc. – These international phenomena require not only theoretical and art historical knowledge but (...) the ability to empathise with and feel for art, as its practitioners do”.