The Getty’s beautiful garden vista overlooking the Pacific will have some competition, after the museum’s acquisition of this sweeping view of Rome by J.M.W Turner, for £29 million GBP

The biggest news coming out of London earlier this month was, without a doubt, the new record at auction for J.M.W. Turner. His “Modern Rome–Campo Vaccino” is off to Los Angeles, having been bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum (bidding at Sotheby’s through the London dealers Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox) for £29 million GBP.

There has been some speculation that it could have gone for more if there had been a worthy rival in the bidding. (see sales comments by  the Art Market Monitor below) One would have thought that there would have been several, as Sotheby’s not only bestowed great anticipation for the work, putting it as the final lot in their sale, but also gave it a relatively conservative estimate of £12-18 million. It takes a lot for such a figure to be considered temperate, but “Campo..” was touted as a scintillating collecting opportunity: only five or six works of such magnitude and quality by Turner remain in private hands.
Souren Melikian, always incisive in his auction commentary for the New York Times, saw the sale as evidence of a declining market, saying that “Dealers fought tooth and nail over the very few paintings that deserved serious consideration” because it lacked works of quality and was padded out with drawings and the inclusion of 19th century British art.

It is true that the sale saw a few pieces soaring past their highest estimates, while a majority failed to perform above or even within expectations. We’d beg to differ, however, on Melikian’s overall evaluation of mediocrity on the block. Our previous reviews covered some of the bigger draws from Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Aside from the Turner, Rubens’ “Portrait of a Commander” (see image #2 ) and Guercino’s “King David”, there were also some fantastic works by well knowns like Giovanni Bellini (see image #4), Claude Lorraine (see image #5),  and Theodore Gericault (see  image #6); the latter a possible link to the monumental “Raft of the Medusa”.

Furthermore, a slew of wonderful works by more minor artists went unsold. This included Samuel van Hoogstraten’s “Portrait of Count Ferdinand von Werdenberg” (see image #9), a Giuseppe Rocco still life (see image #7), and a surreal family portrait by the Dutch Golden Ager Pieter Codde (see image #8).

On the drawings side, the majority of our observations from  the week came by way of  Sotheby’s alone, where a featured work by Francisco Goya, “The Eagle Hunter,” (see image #10) sold within its estimate, for  £881,250 GBP, a Veronese study that we likened to an early rock-star demo shot past its high estimate at £67,250, a Pontormo lookalike by Domenico Puglio failed to entice any prospectors, and “Diana and Acteon”, a lively watercolour by Cavalieri D’Arpino reminiscent of Titian’s renowned version of late, sold for £151,250.

The dealer’s side of the spectrum was marked by the second annual Master Paintings week. The show continued the momentum of its inaugural undertaking, as an astute collaboration of renowned galleries showcasing their wares to the droves of collectors in town for the sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Within the relatively small area of St. James’ and Mayfair, a series of special displays in 28 galleries, including the big auction houses, showcased hundreds of works acquired in the capital. As it has for centuries, London looked like the centre of the Old Master market.

This was less an exercise in gallery hopping, and more a descension upon one treasure trove to the next. According to Colin Gleadell of the Telegraph, the highlight of Master Paintings Week amongst the dealer galleries was a rare outburst of painterly brilliance by art historic lightweight Frans Francken II. Known largely as a jack-of all trades during his time, whose studio produced a multitude of different types of pictures for patrons, Francken’s art reputation remains widely ignored- his best works sell in the six figure range today.

This particular canvas, however, has been touted as an exception, purchased by Old Master mogul Johnny Van Haeften for a record breaking price of   €7,022,300 EUR at Dorotheum auction this past Spring. The work is now being offered by the dealer for a princely £9.5 million GBP.

While that amount may have been excessive, it’s easy to see what spurned it, as the quality of the work truly constitutes what makes an Old Master so enchanting today.  It is a  fantastical depiction of a timeless aspect of the human condition: our choice between right and wrong. Centuries removed from today it is both beautiful, mysterious, and complex. The mythical allusions here may be somewhat indecipherable to the contemporary viewer. Yet in the age that we live in, where morality can seem relative, if not compromised; it’s refreshing to see our struggle between good and evil laid out in such stark and clarified terms.

We were also a fan of Philip Mould’s offerings, especially a magnificent full length portrait of Mary Sidney (wife of the Sixteenth century poet Philip Sidney). Dressed in black mourning dress with elaborate ornamentation, Mary was also a poet – one of the most important female writers of the period – and the painting is striking both in its handling, (attributed to Paul van Somer) and historical presence, which towers over us due to its enormous size.

The gallery describes the painting as “a wonderful depiction of passing time and beauty” adding yet another layer to a work that rewarded lengthy examination. Mould was also showing a significant Van Dyck self-portrait, and a beautiful “Study for the head of St Joseph” by the same artist.

Richard Green brought out a collection that echoed the variety of the Sotheby’s day sale – including portraits by Cornelius Johnson featured in the window display. This could be seen as a mark of connoisseurship, for while they were featured by Green, similar works by Johnson did not sell at Sotheby’s. If one’s looking for an explanation behind this disparity, the devil has to be in the details.

Other pieces of note to us from Master Paintings week: Van Haeften’s “The Card Players,” (image #15) by Gerard Ter Borch, one of the most important pieces from the career of an important Dutch painter, and Colnaghi’s whimsical “Oyster Eater,” (image #16) by the little known Henri Stresor, a portrait virtuoso who in this work, may have been poking a little fun at his subject/patron: an ignoble youth besot with gastronomic excess.

Other galleries offered exhibitions organized around themes, including Deborah Gage’s “The Real and Idealised: A selection of European Religious Paintings from the 16^th to the 19^th Centuries,” Rafael Valls’ “The Trompe L’Oeil in European Art,” and at William Thuillier- “Classical Vistas and Noble Sitters: Landscapes and Portraits of the 17^th and 18^th Century.”  By the titles alone, one can imagine the sweeping breadth of material that was on display.

FURTHER:

Christie’s OM Highlights  [Marion Maneker, Art Market Monitor]

Sotheby’s OM Highlights  [Marion Maneker, Art Market Monitor]

In Old Masters Dealers Beat Auction House  [Marion Maneker, Art Market Monitor]

For Old Master’s It’s Dealer’s Choice  [Souren Melikian, NY Times]

In Turner’s Record-Breaking Sale, Further Signs of a Shrinking Market [Souren Melikian, NY Times]

£120 million of Old Master paintings and drawings go under the hammer [Colin Gleadall, Telegraph UK]

Popularity: 16% [?]