Press

Munich, March 18th 2008

Pre sale report Spring Auctions at
Hampel Fine Art Auctions in Munich
April 4th, 2008

Hampel Fine Art Auctions will open the 2008 season
with four special auctions. On offer are Furniture and Decoration, Old Master Paintings and Paintings of
the 19th and 20th Century, Russian Art and Fine Arts.
The offer will be published in four catalogues.

Old Master Paintings

Highlights among the Old Master paintings belong to the area of Italian Art of the 16th century. “The Baptism of Jesus” by Titian’s student , the Venetian painter Paris Bordone (1500-1571) is worthy of mention. The painting was shown in the exhibition “Pittura Veneta – prima mostra d´arte antica delle racolte private veneziane” in 1947 and is published in the catalogue of the same title (Estimate 300,000-350,000 euros).

Pope Leo X, born Giovanni de Medici, was the second eldest son of Lorenzo il Magnifico, the important Florentine patron and sponsor of science and art. Giovanni de Medici was elected pope in 1513. The portrait of Leo X in the sale is attributed to the Italian painter Jacopino del Conte (1510-1598), an important representative of Mannerism (Estimate 200,000 – 300,000 euros, shown in the exhibition “Papi in Posa – 500 anni Ritrattistica Papale”, Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington D.C., also published in the catalogue). Also of major importance is the “Sacra Familia” by Benedetto Caliari (1538-1598), who was the younger brother of Paolo Caliari, called Paolo Veronese. Benedetto spent his entire life managing the studio of his famous brother. The studio completed paintings by Paolo Veronese and also repeated several motifs by the artist, among them the “Sacra Familia” (Estimate 90,000 – 100,000).

Other important lots in the Old Master sale are by Paolo di Matteis (1662-1728), who was generally active in Naples, as well as followers of the Roger van der Weyden studio. The drawing “Scena di un sacrificio” (“Scene of a sacrifice”) by Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) was formerly part of a private collection in Milan (ink, sepia, watercolour, bister on paper, Estimate 30,000 – 35,000 euros).

A study for a portrait, entitled “Le casque Prussian” (“The Prussian helmet”) by Eduard Manet (1832 - 1883) leads the range of 19th century paintings. The study in oil on canvas shows Manet´s brother-in-law Rudolph Leenhoff (Expertise by Maurice Malingue/Paris, published in the catalogue raisonné, Estimate 150,000 – 170,000 euros).

Russian Art

The auction of Russian Art is wide-ranging: Paintings from the early avant-garde through to contemporary works are on offer. In addition, silver, porcelain and various works of art round out the program. A collection of paintings by Alexander Grigorievitch Tyshler (1898-1980) constitutes the core of the sale. Tyshler studied in Kiev and worked in the studio of Alexandra Exter. He was one of the so-called “unofficial artists” in the Soviet Union and public showing of his works was forbidden. Tyshler therefore concentrated on his work as a stage designer for a long time. In the meantime, he is seen as an important exponent of Soviet art after 1945. Several top-quality paintings by Tyshler have been acquired for the sale, among them “The Equestrienne” from 1976 (Estimate 300,000 - 350,000 euros), “Young Woman with Flowers” from 1966 (Estimate 270,000 – 300,000 euros), “Circus” (Estimate 60,000 – 80,000 euros) and “Landscape” from 1954 (Estimate 35,000 – 40,000 euros). The second exponent of “unofficial art” in Moscow after World War II is Oleg Tselkov, who was born in 1934 and who left his home country in 1977. Tselkov, now living in Paris, was, like many of his contemporaries, forced to work in the Soviet underground movement. The main motif of his paintings are human faces, realised in a surrealistic manner. The highlight among his paintings on offer is “The Five with the Scissors” from 2002 (Estimate 225,000 -250,000 euros).

Other important lots are those by artists of the early 20th century Russian avant-garde: Jean Pougny (Estimate 130,000 – 150,000 euros), Nikolai Mikhailovitch Suetin (Estimate 60,000 – 80,000 euros) and Natan Isaevich Altman (Estimate 60,000 – 80,000 euros). The highlight among the works is a large imperial candleholder from 1894 by the Fabergé work-master Aleksandr A. Smirnov, which could serve as a table centrepiece (Estimate 600,000 – 800,000 euros.