OMNP takes a look at Christie’s upcoming sales of Old Master paintings and British pictures, this Wednesday and Friday in London.

Christie’s sale of Old Master Paintings and British this week provides an accurate barometer of the OMP market today. It’s hard to find anything of real quality or an established name for under $50,000 USD. That said, once a buyer starts to climb into the six figure range, spectacular names and signature pieces abound for relatively modest prices. Take lot 35, A lady nursing a child in an interior, by Pieter de Hooch. De Hooch is considered one of the foremost painters of the Dutch Golden Age, whose interior scenes are second only to those of Vermeer. The interplay between foreground and background scenes that takes in this painting is the hallmark of his style. Yet this piece carries an estimate that does not even reach $1M.

A similar scenario can be found with Lot 27, Saint Paul the Hermit, by Jusepe de Ribera. When it comes to 17th Century Spanish painting, Ribera is held in similar esteem to painters like Zurbarán, Murillo and Velazquez. These were the great painters of that period. Ribera was especially known for his dramatic scenes of religious portraiture, which is exactly what this lot is.

The painting exhibits Ribera’s Carravagist influences: employing high contrast between light and dark, depicting a holy figure as an unadorned mortal, and capturing the figure in a frenetic moment with his muscles clenched in prayer, as his gaze turns towards the heavens. Such a work should be a fixture in a museum’s collection, yet according to Christie’s estimate, it can be yours for around $200,000-$300,000. Again, these aren’t cheap paintings, they are relative bargains.

Guido Reni’s The Penitent Magdalen (lot 25)is another steal, at around $500,000-700,000. This lot has the potential to perform well because of its potential to appeal to untraditional buyers of Old Masters. The Magdalen’s flowing hair, deep drapery, and garish attire could certainly connects with images of the modern woman today, which may appeal to collectors in the Contemporary circles.

A few lower priced works did, however, capture OMNP’s attention. Lot 186, Portrait of King Charles IV of Spain, by a follower of Francisco Goya, is perhaps an accidental success. King Charles looks frozen, like a mannequin, which usually would not be a good thing for traditional standards of portraiture. Yet this rigid handling of the subject’s pose, whether intentional or not, captures the plasticity of Goya’s demystified treatment of the royal family.

LOW END ($10,000 USD and below)

LOT 167

French School, c.1810
Portrait of a boy, bust-length, in a black coat with a white cravat
oil on canvas
19¾ x 17 in. (50.2 x 43.2 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£3,000 – £5,000

($5,900 – $9,800)

LOT 186

Follower of Francisco de Goya
Portrait of King Charles IV of Spain (1788-1808), half-length, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece
oil on canvas, oval
40 x 31 in. (101.6 x 78.8 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£3,000 – £5,000

($5,900 – $9,800)

MIDDLE END ($10,000-$99,000 USD)

LOT 72

Circle of Giovanni Bellini ((?1431/6-1516 Venice)
The Madonna and Child
oil on panel
26¾ x 21¼ in. (68 x 54 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£8,000 – £12,000

($16,000 – $23,000)

LOT 3

Attributed to Hendrick van Cleve III (Antwerp c.1525-1590/1595)
The Tower of Babel
oil on panel
19¾ x 28 1/8 in. (50.2 x 71.4 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£6,000 – £8,000

($12,000 – $16,000)

LOT 1

Circle of Jan Breughel II (Antwerp 1601-1678)
The Bird Trap
oil on panel, stamped on the reverse with the coat-of-arms of the city of Antwerp and the maker’s mark of Guilliam Gabron (active Antwerp 1609-1662)
17¾ x 25 in. (45.2 x 63.5 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£10,000 – £15,000

($20,000 – $29,000)

HIGH END ($100,000 USD and up)

LOT 7

Lavinia Fontana (Bologna 1552-1614 Rome)
Portrait of a lady, half-length, in an embroidered gown and white collar, with a dog
oil on canvas, unframed
35¼ x 24 3/8 in. (89.5 x 61.9 cm.)

UPDATE FINAL PRICE: £157,250 ($310,254)

LOT 35

Pieter de Hooch (Rotterdam 1629-1684 Amsterdam)
A lady nursing a child in an interior
oil on canvas, shaped
20 3/8 x 23 7/8 in (51.8 x 60.7 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£200,000 – £300,000

($394,600 – $591,900)

LOT 27

Jusepe de Ribera, lo Spagnoletto (Játiva, Valencia 1591-1652 Naples)
Saint Paul the Hermit
oil on canvas
44¼ x 37 7/8 in. (102.4 x 96.3 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£100,000 – £150,000

($197,300 – $295,950)

LOT 34

Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (Haarlem 1610-1685)
An interior with two boors and a woman conversing, smoking and drinking at a table
oil on panel
17½ x 14½ in. (45 x 36.9 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£100,000 – £150,000

($197,300 – $295,950)

LOT 15

Jan Josefsz. van Goyen (Leiden 1596-1656 The Hague)
A winter landscape with figures desporting on the ice by Schloss Montfoort
signed and dated ‘VGOYEN 1634′ (lower left)
oil on panel
22 x 36 in. (55.9 x 91.5 cm.)

UPDATE FINAL PRICE: £217,250 ($428,635)

LOT 25

Guido Reni (Bologna 1575-1642)
The Penitent Magdalen
oil on canvas
33¼ x 28¾ in. (84.5 x 73 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£250,000 – £350,000

($493,250 – $690,550)

LOT 47

Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. (Bristol 1769-1830 London)
Portrait of Frederick William Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry, K.P., M.P. (1805-1872), when a boy, half-length, in a red coat, in a feigned oval
oil on canvas
30 x 24½ in. (76.2 x 62.2 cm.)

UPDATE FINAL PRICE: £657,250 ($1,296,755)

LOT 37

Attributed to Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp)
The wedding procession
oil on canvas
61 x 100¾ in. (155 x 256 cm.)

ESTIMATE:

£200,000 – £300,000

($394,600 – $591,900)

LOT 45

George Stubbs, A.R.A. (Liverpool 1724-1806 London)
Antinoüs, a chestnut racehorse, in a landscape
signed ‘Geo: Stubbs pinxit’ (lower right) and inscribed ‘Antinous’ (lower right, below the horse)
oil on canvas
24 x 27 5/8 in. (61 x 70.2 cm.)

UPDATE FINAL PRICE: £337,250 ($665,395)