PRESS RELEASE
Autumn Heat
14th – 17th October 2008: Third Auction Week with Old Master
Paintings, 19th Century Paintings, Works of Art and Jewellery
Autumnal motifs will be a recurring theme at the Dorotheum Vienna's third auction week of
2008. Taking place from 14th to 17th of October, it celebrates the beginning of the autumn
auction season with a wide selection of old master paintings, 19th century paintings, works of art
(sculptures, glass and porcelain, silver), and jewellery.
Bountiful Harvest
Still lifes are especially suited for the
presentation of fruit and table decoration while
at the same time allowing the painter to display
the verisimilitude and sophistication of their
artistic methods. The old masters auction, to
be held at the Vienna Dorotheum on 14th of
October 2008, features one of the finest such
paintings by Willem Kalf, considered by many
experts to be the foremost painter of still lifes
during the Dutch 'golden age'. His Still Life with
ginger pot and small porcelain bowl
demonstrates his mastery of "breathtaking
compositions defined by chiaroscuro effects
and the inventive use of light reflections on
metal and glass…", to quote the description in
Willem Kalf (Rotterdam 1619 - 1693) Still Life with ginger pot
the catalogue of last year's exhibition
and small porcelain bowl, € 400.000 - 500.000
„Gemaltes Licht“ (Painted Light) at Aachen. A
Dorotheum expert's report goes on to state that still lifes by Kalf of such stupendous museum
quality are a true rarity in today's art market. One version of this painting is currently in the
collection of the Louvre (valuation € 400.000 - 500.000).
Although the title of another major painting is associated with summer, the image itself with its
abundant fruit may as easily remind one of autumn. Bartolomeo Bimbi (Settignano, Florence
1648 - 1729 Florence), and his studio, created the two 'month' still lifes with pears, representing
July and August. The two paintings are representative of the still lifes of fruit by Bimbi, who was
particularly highly thought of at the Medici court; his most important commissions came from
Cosimo III. Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (€ 250.000 - 350.000).
Bountiful splendour can also be found in Abraham Brueghel's (Antwerp 1631 - 1690 Naples) two
monumental still lifes with fruit and flowers (€ 260.000 - 320.000). Abraham Brueghel, one of the
most distinguished Roman painters of the second half of the 17th century, had the rare ability to
anticipate the new Baroque tastes of the emerging generation. No end of fruit: among the old
master drawings, Giovanna Garzoni's (Ascoli Piceno 1600 - 1670 Rome) Still Life with apples
and nuts, tempera on vellum, simply stands out (€ 20.000 - 24.000); comparable works by this
artist have reached sensational sales prices at past Dorotheum auctions.
DOROTHEUM GmbH & Co KG, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17
www.dorotheum.com. Telefax + 43 1/515 60-379
Luca Giordano (1634 - 1705), himself a figure of considerable stature, adds another course to
the auction's visual feast: His painting shows a scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses, depicting
Cecrop's curious daughters breaking their promise and opening a hamper containing Erechteus,
Athena's disfigured child, who was born with serpentine legs (€ 120.000 - 160.000). Additional
famous names at this old masters auction include Bernardo Canal, Gian Paolo Panini, Annibale
Carracci, and Giovanni di Tano.
Paintings for all seasons
The auction of 19th century paintings on 15th of October 2008 is
headed by an icon of the Biedermeier Period, Friedrich von
Amerling's famous Girl with Straw Hat („Mädchen mit Strohhut“,
1835), since 1939 at to the Austrian Galleries at the Belvedere and
now entrusted to the Dorotheum for auction purposes by the heirs
of Ernst Gotthilf. The architect Ernst von Gotthilf designed several
well-known Viennese buildings, such as the Bankverein Building
(Creditanstalt) on Schottenring, or the Palais Fanto (see also the
attached detailed catalogue text; the six-figure valuation will be
announced at the time of publication of the catalogue). A second
painting likewise comes from the Belvedere Collection, Moritz
Michael Daffinger's Portrait of the actor Joseph Koberwein in the
role of Duke Alfons in Goethe's Torquato Tasso (€ 30.000 45.000).
Friedrich von Amerling (Wien 1803 1887) "Mädchen mit Strohhut"
The auction, in fact, features several important Austrian paintings of the 19th century – such as
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller's Sandling Mountain near Altaussee („Der Sandling bei
Altaussee“ € 80.000 - 120.000), or Emil Jakob Schindler's enchanting View of the San Giacomo
Monastery near Ragusa („Blick auf das Kloster San Giacomo bei Ragusa“ € 30.000 - 40.000) –
as well as examples of Russian painting, Orientalist paintings, and views of Venice. It also
presents Oswald Achenbach's romantic Evening Mood descending over the Roman Campagna
(„Abendstimmung über der römischen Campagna“ (€ 80.000 - 120.000), and several masterly
drawings by Giovanni Boldini.
Radiating warmth
Beyond ensuring the comforts of a warm room during the cold season,
the tiled stoves offered at the Dorotheum's antique auction on 16th
October 2008 are also exceptionally decorative in style. For example a
tin-white original Biedermeier stove and another with tempietto,
decorated with moulded scenes depicting the four seasons (each €
16.000 - 25.000). Once used to serve hot soup, a lidded tureen from
the Du Paquier manufactory (ca. 1725) today serves to warm the
cockles of a collector's heart (€ 20.000 - 35.000). Lighting up the
shortening daylight hours of the season will be a glass salon chandelier
(Vienna ca. 1800, € 12.000 - 20.000); for those more romantically
inclined, the silver category offers a Victorian six-flame gilt silver
centrepiece from London (€ 20.000 - 30.000).
Josephinian tiled stove,
€ 16.000 - 25.000
DOROTHEUM GmbH & Co KG, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17
www.dorotheum.com. Telefax + 43 1/515 60-379
Worthy of any museum, the sculpture category presents a terracotta Holy Couple, attributed to
Giovanni della Robbia. Created around 1510, the 125 cm tall figures of SS Clara and Francis are
distinguished by their exceptionally fine lines and perfect state of preservation (€ 240.000 260.000). Similarly, a carved limewood figure of St Barbara, Franconia circa 1480 - 1500, will
quicken many a collector's heart (€ 120.000 - 140.000). The furniture selection on this occasion
offers a wide range of objects from the Bellini Collection at Villa Marignolle (Florence) and Monte
Carlo.
Diamonds are forever
Diamond classically know no season and seem impervious to trends.
Two rings presented at the jewellery auction on 17th October 2008
deserve particular mention: a white-gold ring set with brilliants, the
main stone weighing in at over 10 carat (€ 60.000 - 90.000), and a
white-gold ring set with emerald-cut diamonds (€ 55.000 - 80.000). The
bridges of Venice provided the inspiration for an unusual yellow-gold
bangle, „Ponte“, crowned by an aquamarine and created for an
exhibition held in Venice in 1993 (€ 8.000 - 12.000).
18-carat white-gold ring with
brilliant ca. 10,60 ct ,
€ 60.000 - 90.000
Finally, the jewellery auction also has to offer an emotionally charged
sensation: The gold charm bracelet of Romy Schneider, later sold to the lady director of
Vienna's Sacher Hotel, when Romy Schneider moved to Paris in the late nineteen-fifties. The
bracelet comes with charms in the form of a carriage or a 'Sisi' dedication – the movie part that
catapulted the actress to fame at the early age of seventeen (€ 2.500 - 3.500).
3rd Auction Week:
Public Viewing:
Venue:
Press Office:
Online-Catalogue:
Old Master Paintings, 14th October 2008
19th Century Paintings, 15th October 2008
Works of Art (Sculpture, Silver, Glass, Porcelain, Furniture),
16th October 2008
Jewellery,17th October 2008
from 4th October 2008
PALAIS DOROTHEUM, Wien 1, Dorotheergasse 17
Mag. Doris Krumpl, Tel. + 43 1/515 60-406
doris.krumpl@dorotheum.at
www.dorotheum.com
DOROTHEUM GmbH & Co KG, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17
www.dorotheum.com. Telefax + 43 1/515 60-379