OLD MASTERS

GALERIE ARCIMBOLDO EXTENDS A CORDIAL INVITATION TO ITS UPCOMING AUCTION OF OLD MASTERS  

On Sunday November 18, 2018 at 3:00 pm, Galerie Arcimboldo will hold its 16th auction, OLD MASTERS, featuring 60 lots for sale.

The auction offers works of art created during the 14th to the 18th centuries, which come mostly from private collections. The vast majority are paintings, but several sculptural works are also on offer. Their themes are mainly religious and mythological, but some of the exhibited works are landscapes, still lifes and portraits.

Of particular interest is the abundant work of Italian painters, whether from the Sienese school of the Trecento period, the Renaissance Venetian school, or by such renowned Baroque artists such as Bernardo Strozzi and Sebastiano Ricci, or Francesco Guardi of the 18th century Venetian art “incubator”.

Although the artistic culture of the Italians is most prevalent here in terms of sheer numbers, there are also healthy doses of Flemish and Dutch masterpieces, bearing such illustrious names as Mannerist Karel van Mander, also known as “the Nordic Vasari”, biographer of his artistic contemporaries, as well as Jan Bruegel the Elder, specialist in floral still lifes. Among the works on display are paintings created within the circles of Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt van Rijn. There is also a leading representative of genre painting, who was extremely popular in the Netherlands, Jan Steen, whose work is characterized by ironic morality that addresses human weakness and wickedness.

Lovers of the French tradition will find examples of Neoclassical painting, characteristic of this European region, whether in the form of a traditional narrative story or decoration in the form of a supraport (overdoor).

The collection also includes German production – Renaissance works, for example from the circle of Albrecht Dürer, as well as Baroque works. When referencing the stylistic origins of the works on offer, one cannot overlook those that reflect the acclaimed Rudolfine tradition of the seventeenth century.

The collection of works is an excellent sample of the rich artistic traditions and diversity in the development of European culture.

Doc. PhDr. Jiří Vaněk, CSc.