VIENNA, AUSTRIA.- Palais Dorotheum will hold its Old Masters Sale on June 11. An extensive selection of more than 470 old master paintings at highly attractive prices will come up for auction on 11th June 2003, in the course of the summer auction of “Old Masters“ at the Wiener Dorotheum.
The range of portraiture will doubtlessly attract particular interest on this occasion. It proudly features a portrait of „Duke Gaston of Orleans“ (valuation available upon inquiry) by Anthonis van Dyck and his studio (1599-1641) in the excellent company of a portrait of „Philipp le Bon, Duc de Bourgogne“ (€ 9.000 – 12.000) by the school of Rogier van der Weyden (1399/1400-1464), Adam Friedrich Oeser’s (1717-1799) „King August the Strong, Prince Elector of Saxony“ and David Teniers’ (1610-1690) young theriac vendor (€ 25.000 – 35.000). Theriac, a medieval panacea originally developed as an antidote by Nero’s personal physician, contained such ingredients as spices, roots, honey, wine but also opium and viper meat. Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719-1768), court painter of the Landgrave of Hessen in Darmstadt contributes a „Lady with a parrot “ (€ 9.000-14.000).
A rare and little known still life by the Prague painter of animals and still lifes Johann Seitz (d. after 1812) dating to 1812 shows the „Forest floor with a thistle, strawberries, songbirds, butterflies, lizard, dragonfly, and a stag-beetle” (€ 7.000 – 12.000). Landscape painting features Balthasar Beschey’s (1708-1776) „Flemish landscape with a horse-drawn carriage, cows, and peasants” (€ 40.000 – 50.000) as well as Dirk Dalen’s „Expansive wooded landscape with a shepherd playing the shawm” (€ 8.500 – 10.000) Striking a more florid note, Karel van Vogelaer detto Carlo dei Fiori (1653-1695) presents „Two bouquets of flowers in earthenware vases” (€ 6.000 – 8.000).
