PARIS.- Christie’s presents Maîtres Anciens : Peintures-Sculptures, two sales that will be held in Paris in June. A total of over 200 works will come to auction, of which 150 will be offered online. An impressive group of paintings by the Flemish and Dutch masters will lead the sale on the 11th June. Paris. This includes a previously unknown masterpiece by Adriaen Isenbrandt (1480-1551), which is being offered for the first time at auction (€1,200,000-1,800,000) and a Standard Bearer– an impressively large, rediscovered work by Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638), which comes from the collection of the sculptor Carlo Marochetti (1806-1867) (€500,000-800,000). French female artists are also well represented in the sale, namely by Louyse Moillon (1610- 1696), a leading still life painter in the 17th century, with the Fruit Seller (€500,000-700,000). Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), best known as an actress but also a skilled painter and a sculptor, whose works are held in the Musée d’Orsay is also represented by a marble sculpture, Le Chant (€60,000-100,000). Additional highlights in the sculpture section include a profile of Christ from the entourage of Simone Bianco (€50,000-80,000) and terracotta Head of Pluto attributed to François Girardon (1628-1715), sculptor to King Louis XIV (€150,000-250,000). In addition, eight works from the famed Schloss collection will be offered for sale online. Though modest in estimate, these paintings are emblematic of the long and tireless task of restitution, and demonstrate Christie’s unwavering dedication to this field and belief in its founding principles.


🇳🇱 Journey to the Dutch Golden Age! Explore the dramatic and influential art of Cornelis van Haarlem. Discover his monographs and studies on Amazon.


UNMISSABLE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SALES

Discovery of Un Porte-Étendard by Cornelis van Haarlem

Acquired by the sculptor Carlo Marochetti in the 19th century for the Château de Vaux-sur-Seine, Un Porte-étendard [‘Portrait of A Standard-Bearer’] by Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638) remained in the family until its recent rediscovery. Dated 1592, this important painting by one of the great masters of the Northern Mannerist school is the second earliest dated portrait of a standard bearer that is known . Its theatrical composition and panache are inspired by the engravings of van Haarlem’s great friend Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617). The work bears witness to his pioneering role, and many of his works can be found in the Rijksmuseum and the Frans Hals Museum.

Adriaen Isenbrandt, the great master of Bruges painting

The exceptional triptych of the Vierge à l'Enfant assise sur un trône richement sculpté by Adriaen Isenbrandt (1480-1551) which has never previously be seen in public, is without doubt the finest still in private hands (€1,200,000-1,800,000). It is a masterly illustration of the continuity of the works of Hans Memling (1430-1494) in the art of Bruges in the early 16th century by the new generation of painters, of whom Gerard David (1460-1523) and Isenbrandt are the finest representatives. Indeed, the central panel is based on a painting by Memling in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. .

Louis-Léopold Boilly, the man of 4,000 portraits

Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761-1845) began his career as a portrait artist in Douai, before moving to Paris in 1785, where he was a huge success. A connoisseur of his time, he appealed to a newly emerging social class. Although not as privileged as the aristocracy of the Ancien Régime, Boilly’s new clientele consisted of the bourgeoisie, with comfortable incomes, who quickly came to appreciate his unique new idea for a form of standardized portraiture, which always painted showed the sitter face on against a plain background. The more than 4,000 portraits now credited to him make Boilly one of the most valuable chroniclers of Parisian life during a pivotal period in French history, from the end of the Revolution to the middle of the 19th century. This is undoubtedly the reason why he features in such collections as the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Twenty-one portraits are available for sale online at an estimate of €1,000 to €2,000 each.

Works from the Schloss collection

Adolphe Schloss (1842-1910) amassed one of the most significant private collections of Old Masters in France, numbering over 330 works, which passed on to his widow Mathilde and their six children unchanged. Hidden in the French countryside during the Second World War, in 1943, the Schloss paintings were seized by German and Vichy agents with the majority intended for Hitler’s planned Linz museum. Much of the collection was stolen for a second time in Munich at the end of the war. Rose Valland, the famed curator and WWII heroine, featured the plunder of the Schloss collection in her book Le Front de l’art. Many paintings remain missing and Christie’s is delighted to have facilitated the restitution of artworks by Arie de Vois, Karel de Moor, Willem Kalf and Joost van Geel, and to reunite them with a further three recently restituted paintings by Dominique van Tol and the Master of Griselda. Further information on the Schloss collection can be seen on Christie’s Lost Paris project.

The Payer collection: a unique cabinet of curiosities

The online sale features the personal collection of Fritz and Sabine Payer – a renowned couple of Zurich merchants specializing in 16th- and 17th-century German, Prussian and Swiss silverwork. This unique collection of 35 lots, acquired over the last 40 years, traces the entire history of German Renaissance and Baroque silverwork, with works by the greatest silversmiths, such as Esias zur Linden and Christoph Ritter and coming from the major production centers of Augsburg, Nuremberg, Basel and Breslau. The centerpiece of this ensemble is a majestic silver-gilt mounted ostrich egg cup and cover by Sylvester Eberlin, dated 1580-1590 and made in Augsburg, whose decoration is dominated by the ostriches adorning the stem and the cover’s handle (€100,000-150,000). Also of note are the two büttenmann or grape-picker’s cups, one of which, made in Breslau around 1580 by Joachim Hiller, is partially cold glazed, as well as the various drinking cups and tankards of all shapes and sizes that complete the ensemble in a perfect kunstkammer.



Artdaily participates in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn commissions by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help us continue curating and sharing the art world’s latest news, stories, and resources with our readers.