A Celebration of Old Masters - Great Successes at the Dorotheum Old Masters Tercentenary Auction
Gillis van Valckenborch
Attributed to Frans Verbeeck
Circle of Antoni Goubau
Lucas Cranach the Younger
The gods may well have smiled upon the "Old Masters" auction held at the Vienna Dorotheum on 16th October 2007, on the occasion of the third part of this year's tercentenary auctions. After all, the Feast of the Sea gods by Gillis van Valckenborch became one of the top lots of the evening, selling for 203.000 Euro or eight times the original estimate. The opulent, dramatically lit painting eventually went to a British bidder personally taking part in the auction, and against the heavy competition of numerous telephone bidders (Cat. No. 3, see ill.).
Several other stars of this auction likewise featured dramatic, many-figured scenarios, as in the masterly painting A mockery of human follies attributed to Frans Verbeeck and combining scenes of rusticity with ghostly images in the manner of Hieronymus Bosch. At 190.000 Euro the painting succeeded in tripling its estimated sales price (Cat. No. 38).
The everyday life of Rome among the Eternal City's famous monument unfolds in front of our eyes in a Roman fair from the circle of Antoni Goubau. Starting at 70.000 Euro, bidding for this painting finally reached the remarkable sum of 225.000 Euro (Cat. No. 40). A second Italian theme proved almost equally successful: a View of Tivoli and the cascades by the hand of Gaspard Dughuet, known as Poussin, went to an Italian bidder for 157.000 Euro (Cat. No. 54).
Occasioning a level of interest quite disproportionate to its size, the small format painting Christ Crucified by Lucas Cranach the Younger has Christ's suffering take place against the background of a blood red sky darkened by black clouds. Perfect down to the tiniest detail, the painting far exceeded expectations when it sold to a Swiss bidder for 180.000 Euro (Cat. No. 71).
In sum, this highly successful old masters auction was distinguished by heated bidding, significant price increases, and a high percentage of sold lots.
Press Office: Mag. Doris Krumpl, Tel +43 1/515 60-406, doris.krumpl@dorotheum.at
 | Gillis van Valckenborch |
| Attributed to Frans Verbeeck |
| Circle of Antoni Goubau |
| Lucas Cranach the Younger |
 | Press Information |
