Among the highlights of the Dorotheum autumn season, the major auction week to be held from 20th to 22nd October 2015 will be old master paintings, 19th century paintings, furniture, glass and porcelain, sculpture and jewellery, demonstrating just how attractive such alternative investments can be.

Brueghel Family
Old master paintings, 20th October 2015
 
The Brueghel family of painters is well represented at the upcoming auction of old master paintings on 20th October 2015. Jan Brueghel I’s (1568 – 1625) “Village Landscape with Canal”, a combination of the river and village landscape genres, will come up for auction with an estimated price of €300,000 to €400,000. Earlier this year, in April, Dorotheum successfully sold “Rest by the Windmill” by the same artist for €523,444. Brueghel expert Klaus Ertz counts “such narrative village landscapes among the most advanced and progressive compositions by this painter in the period after ca. 1605”. The painting also depicts so-called “Hessian” carriages drawn by teams of horses that were used on the trade routes from Antwerp to southern Germany and Italy.
 
Flora and Fauna
 
An ostrich and some monkeys peacefully share the spotlight with feline predators in a painting by Jan Brueghel II which evokes an attractive illusion of paradise, including a ‘bird tree’ as an allegory of hearing (€100,000 – €150,000). His “Basket and Tazza with Roses, Tulips, and Lilies” displays the splendour of flowers (€120,000 – €180,000).
 
An altar piece by Pieter Coecke van Aelst dates to the first half of the 16th century. This Late Gothic triptych, already stylistically verging on the Renaissance, was at one time part of the collection of Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria and is marked by the influence of Italian art. The work is also remarkable for the innovative way in which the scenes on the wings of the altar are contignous with the image at its centre. Coecke van Aelst, known for his passion for detail, took particular care with his architectural scenes – he personally translated treatises by Vitruvius into Flemish (€100,000 – €150,000).

The Huntress and the Hunted
 
Flemish Baroque is at its best in the hands of Jan Fyt, student of Frans Snyders and the leading painter of his period, who combines mythological subject matter and still life treatment in a masterly manner. In his “The Goddess Diana receiving her Quarry” the goddess of hunting and her companions are surrounded by hounds and animals (€150,000 – €200,000).

New Discoveries

The selection of Italian old master paintings includes a work by Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian of Mary Magdalen. Titian and his workshop produced numerous versions of the repentant Mary Magdalen that can be distinguished as belonging to two basic types: The first series from the period between 1530 and 1540 shows Mary Magdalen in the nude, covered by abundant hair. The present painting belongs to the second type with the Magdalen dressed, and probably dates to circa 1550. The present painting differs from other known examples of this type, the book does not rest on a skull, and the painter elongated the vase on the left owing to the constraints of the size of the canvas (€200,000 – €300,000).

An x-ray of a composition of the Ecce Homo by Titian´s workshop, also a recent discovery, has revealed a portrait of a man beneath. This is typical of Titian´s working practice as he and his studio were constantly reusing canvases to produce the many commissions requested from one of art history´s most celebrated artists (€100,000 – €150,000).

Fantasies

Francesco Guardi’s “Abraham and Three Angels, a typical work by Venice’s leading settecento artist, combines clever composition with painterly quality (€120,000 – €150,000). The four matching, small-format “Capricci of Ruins in the Venice Lagoon” from Guardi’s later period, on the other hand, are more in the nature of rapid sketches; they are expected to fetch a total of between €200,000 and €300,000. These fantastic views used to be in collection in France and, together with Marieschi’s “Capricci with ruins by the coast” offer fine examples of works by 18th century Venetian artists working in the painterly style known as pittura di tocco (€100,000 – €150,000).
 
A set of four important still life paintings comes from the first artist around Bologna to specialise in still life painting, Paolo Antonio Barbieri, brother of Giovanni Francesco, il Guercino (each €50,000 – €70,000).

The selection of paintings also include early Italian gold ground paintings such as a triptych by Martino di Bartolomeo da Siena and an elegant painting of Saint John the Baptist from the circle of Paolo Veneziano as well as an exquisitely well preserved early 16th century panel from the workshop of Sandro Botticelli.

Oxen and the Devil
19th century paintings, 22nd October 2015
 
“Wild hunt” by Alexander Koester, who earned the title “Duck Koester” for his duck scenes will provide one of the highlights of the auction of 19th century paintings on 22nd October 2015 (estimated price €120,000 – €150,000).
 
The Austrian selection of paintings includes Olga Wisinger-Florian’s “Violets” dating to 1897 (€20,000 –€25,000), Anton Romako’s highly dramatic “Ox Herders in the Campagna Near Sedia del Diavolo”, as well as a floral still life by Josef Lauer. A self portrait by the Italian painter Fausto Zonaro, who for several years resided at the court of Sultan Abdulhamid II in Constantinople, is expected to sell for €50,000 to €70,000.
 
“Le gioie della buona Mamma”or “A Good Mother’s Joy” were captured on canvas by Giuseppe Sciuti. This painting belongs to the most extensive and important private collection of works by this artist and will be part of the upcoming Dorotheum auction together with a multi-figure composition depicting the history of Sicily. Sciuti’s portraits, genre and history paintings were exhibited internationally and enjoyed considerable popularity. Considered an important painter in his day, he fell out of fashion and was re-discovered two decades ago after a retrospective at an Italian museum.

Hidden Depths
Works of Art, 21st October 2015

The furniture auction on 21st October 2015 promises a true rarity that is bound to please collectors: a neoclassical double secretary desk by David Roentgen, the most renowned and most successful German cabinet maker of the 18th century. The desk features, among other things, a mechanism to raise the lectern and an intricate interior with many nooks and crannies, including a recessed secret drawer. Such technical sophistication made the “Neuwieder Möbelmanufaktur” a most sought-after furniture manufacturer among European royalty. Roentgen supplied the French court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, as well as the court of the Russian Tsars; Catherine II invited him to St Petersburg on several occasions. The provenance of this well-documented piece of furniture item is unusual: it spent the past 30 years on loan from a private collector to the Roentgen Museum, Neuwied. Dorotheum expects this masterpiece dating to circa 1790 to fetch €150,000 - €200,000 at the upcoming auction.

Drinking in Style

Promising to be the toast of the glass and porcelain auction on 21st October 2015 is a nearly 100-year old cup by Anton Kothgasser, decorated with a sun and bearing the New Year’s dedication: “May the smiling morning sun bring you happiness and joy, mirth and contentment of the soul, every day of this year.” A new owner may expect to enjoy the glass’s benefits for €8,000 - €12,000.
 
Potential buyers of the 12-part porcelain service from the Imperial Manufactory in Vienna (1799-1817), decorated with delicate floral painting on a gilt ground are unlikely to mind that it is not dishwasher safe (€17,000 – €24,000).
 

Princess Dream: Press release Jewellery Auction 22nd October 2015

AUCTION WEEK 20th - 22nd October 2015
Old Master Paintings Tuesday, 20th October 2015 5:00 pm
Works of Art (furniture, sculpture, glass, porcelain) Wednesday, 21st October 2015 2:00 pm
19th Century Paintings Thursday, 22nd October 2015 5:00 pm
Jewellery Thursday, 22nd October 2015 2:00 pm
Venue  Palais Dorotheum, Vienna 1, Dorotheergasse 17            
Public Viewing  from Saturday, 10th October 2015