The US has gotten its share of Renaissance preeminence, as Michelangelo and Leonardo, and the Venetian trinity have both made rare appearances stateside over the past twelve months.
Following the debut of  rare Leonardo drawings at the Birmingham Museum of Art last winter, the rare and controversial discovery of what many believe to be Michelangelo’s first [...]

Reports from the inaugural “Master Paintings Week” collaboration between London’s Old Master dealers and auction houses have been smashing. For many of the private dealers, business was bountiful. The Antiques Trade Gazette described bustling commerce amidst the distraction of an epic men’s final at Wimbledon, and fortified interest from many of the top [...]

Francisco Goya’s passion for his homeland was both a great strength and weakness. It created an intensity in his work  that carried this once scrappy youth from the barren rural outpost of Aragon to a long and illustrious career as the official court painter to the Royal family in Madrid. His powerful depictions of Spanish [...]

A look back at some of the atmosphere surrounding the bidding room floor during Old Masters week, this past January

OMNP details the recent year that was Old Masters news, sales, and exhibitions.
News Highlights
Christie’s and Sotheby’s Old Master auctions are successes in spite of the art market’s recent struggles
England attempts to save its own “Mona Lisa,” Titian’s “Diana and Acteon,” from being sold on the open market, by raising the funds to meet [...]

Unearthed Masterpieces
Old Masters treasures from sunken Russian ship to be salvaged [Russia IC] [Dutch News.nl]
Lets hope that the paintings from this sunken, 237 year-old ship were WELL packaged
Trove of Raeburn drawings discovered in England [ART INFO]
Lost Caravaggio Goes on Display in Scotland [ART INFO]
Click MORE for a remembrance of a distinguished dealer, and the latest [...]

Digital mockups of paintings from “Ideal (Dis)placements..,” at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis
Pairing Old Masters with contemporary works of art is a concept that has been a focus of OMNP’s. Can Old Masters and their influence be reevaluated against derivatives of them from today? Is this just an intellectual parlor show, [...]

Following up on the previews of Old Master exhibitions in Europe earlier last month, OMNP follows up with comprehensive coverage of some of the major shows, along with a rundown of those recently announced, both in the US and abroad.

Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian, now on view until January 18, at the UK National [...]

OMNP Auction Preview of Skinner Sale 2426, European Furniture & Decorative Arts , Boston, Thursday, October 3rd, 2008

OMNP previews selected lots from today’s sale of Old Master prints at Sotheby’s London. Overall estimates from this sale seem to be much higher in terms of the quality of work being offered, in comparison to Christie’s Below is a listing of lots, organized by price range.

Around £5,000 GBP

Lot 2
ALBRECHT DÜRER
THE HOLY FAMILY WITH [...]

Part two of OMNP’s preview of today’s sale of Old Master prints at Christie’s. Read below for a listing of lots being estimated at around $5,000 or more.
$5,000-10,000 USD

Lot 5
Hans Baldung Grien (1484-1545)
Saint Jerome in the Desert (B. 35; Holl. 118)
woodcut, 1511, watermark Gothic P with Imperial Orb in a Shield above (similar [...]

A bevy of exquisite prints are up for sale this Tuesday at Bonham’s, New Bond Street, including pieces in the style of Hieronymous Bosch, a slew of Rembrandt’s, and a first edition Caprichios print by Goya. In the case of the latter, it amazes OMNP that such an essential work in the career of one [...]

Aside from the Turner and Goya shows mentioned in previous posts, here are some notable OM shows in the US and Europe to check out this Summer. OMNP commentary to be incrementally added later. Click MORE below for the listings.
SIDENOTE: The OMNP travel budget is a tad low at the moment, [...]

Francisco Goya: “Disasters of War” Series at
Peter Blum Gallery, 99 Wooster Street, NYC
Through August 1st
Click MORE for review

Sotheby’s Official Results, Sale L08040/Old Master Drawings
OMNP finds it a bit amusing that while the sale of the Goya drawings being sold over at Christie’s received a fair amount of press coverage, there was no mention of Sotheby’s sale of the Parmigianino drawing, shown above. The estimate on this lot can be chalked up [...]

Goya Boosts Christie’s Drawings Sale [NY Sun}
"Lost" Goya drawings sold for £4m" [BBC]
Goya sketches “lost” for 130 years sold at auction [Reuters]
Goya: 3 Rediscovered Drawings Presumed Lost for Over 130 Years Realise $7.9 Million” [Art Daily]
Mainstream press coverage of major auctions usually centers around the big lots being sold. Such was the case with [...]

“A Watteau sets record at £12.36 million in an uneven Old Masters sale” [Souren Melikian, International Herald Tribune]
“Lost Watteau Fetches Record, Old Masters Languish at Christie’s” [Scott Reyburn, Bloomberg]
“Quick Takes: Art buyers find “lost” works” [LA Times]
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Christie’s official results: Sale 5431/Old Master Pictures
Christie’s official results: Sale 7610/Old Master Pictures Day Sale
Christie’s official results: [...]

OMNP takes a look at Christie’s upcoming sales of Old Master paintings and British pictures, this Wednesday and Friday in London. Click MORE below for a full breakdown and analysis of selected lots in three different price ranges (High End, Middle End, Low End.) Click on each image to be redirected to Christie’s website [...]

OMNP takes an inside look on some of the highlights from Tuesday’s Old Master Drawings sale at Christie’s. Click MORE at the bottom for a full breakdown for select items in three different price ranges.

This Sunday kicks off a busy week for OMNP. Christie’s and Sotheby’s OM drawings and painting sales will be taking place in London, with OMNP providing previews on select items (and possible bargains?) from the sales, as well as the results. A review of the Peter Blum exhibition of Goya’s Disasters of War series should [...]