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Dorotheum Old Master Paintings, 19th Century Paintings, Antiques, and Jewellery

Many a time it is the background story that lends a work of art its true fascination. This once again proves to be the case with one of the top lots at the auction of 19th century paintings, to be held on 1st April 2009 during the Vienna Dorotheum first auction week of 2009.

Originally painted by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller in 1850 in oils on wood, his painting A Charitable Gift initially belonged to the Bösch Collection, Vienna. In 1868, it was acquired by the Todesco Collection and shortly thereafter, in 1870, by a private collection in Berlin. In 1939, it was extorted from its owners and earmarked to become part of Adolf Hitler’s „Führermuseum“ (Leader’s Museum) in Linz. In 1951, it was restituted to the family and has since been in their collection. Only recently having become available to the art market, this painting has been valued at between 250.000 and 350.000 Euro (Feuchtmüller cat. of works no. 816). Its painter will soon gain even more public exposure with an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, starting on 26th February, and at the Vienna Belvedere Galleries.

The estate of the Viennese painter Otto Barth provides two matching paintings by Anton Romako, charming views of the Rauenstein Ruin near Baden and of the Weilburg near Baden (Blick auf die Ruine Rauenstein bei Baden, Weilburg bei Baden, each € 25.000 – 35.000). Two floral still lifes by Franz Xaver Petter dating to 1822 were discovered in a Munich attic and have both been valued at € 18.000 to 25.000. While Olga Wisinger-Florian’s In the Garden („Im Garten“, € 40.000 – 60.000) anticipates the coming of spring, Frederik Marinus Krusemann’s typically Dutch Summer landscape with resting herdsmen and herd, likewise valued at € 40.000 to 60.000, offers a vista of even sunnier climes. Carlo Bossoli, who in his early years had gained great recognition as Queen Victoria’s court painter, shows off one of Rome’s most handsome squares, the Piazza Navona. Many of Bossoli’s paintings revolve around his native city of Turin, including a number of tempera paintings depicting events from the wars of the Risorgimento (€ 40.000 – 50.000). The Spanish painter Rafael Senet y Perez is one of many artists immortalising the popular View of Venice with the Grand Canal and Santa Maria della Salute (€ 25.000 – 30.000). A particularly splendid example of typical 19th century salon painting is by the Croatian-born painter Paul Joanovitsch who died in Vienna in 1957 and is currently much sought-after by collectors: his Portrait of an elegant Lady measures 1 x 1,5 m and dates to 1903 (€ 30.000 – 40.000).

The 31st March 2009 will be the day for Old Master Paintings. Antonio Joli also carries us away to Rome with a magnificent View of St Peter and the Bernini colonnades which shows St Peter’s square crowded with people and carriages and reveals the influence of the veduta-painter Giovanni Paolo Panini (€ 120.000 – 150.000). Giuseppe Bernardino Bison offers a rather different Italian prospect with his large-scale Winter landscape by the Tagliamento River (Val Canale) which is expected to fetch between 40.000 and 60.000 Euro. Another river landscape, a Mountainous River Landscape by the Roman painter Andrea Locatelli – considered by the expert Giancarlo Sestiere to be the foremost proponent of early 18th century Roman landscape painting – has been valued at 60.000 to 80.000 Euro. A Still life with bucket, cauliflower, figs, onions, and flowers was captured on canvas by Jan Fyt in 1652 (€ 80.000 – 100.000).

Antiques – i.e. sculpture, silver, glass and porcelain, furniture – will be the order of the day on 2nd April 2009. Sculpture features a charming medieval treasure: a sandstone Virgin from Styria depicted standing in graceful contrapposto (ca. 1390, € 80.000 – 90.000). Two masterly Baroque figures by a sculptor from the South German/Tyrolean Region depict the apostles Peter and Paul, both with expressive features and in an animated, dramatic pose (€ 26.000 – 28.000). Coming from the studio of Johann Franz Schwantaler – the father of the famous Rococo master Johann Peter Schwanthaler the Elder – a kneeling figure of St Magdalene was originally part of a Crucifixion group (€ 9.000 – 10.000). The silver category offers two impressive Russian objects by famous artists: a cloisonné bowl from Moscow with two sculpted bear heads by Fedor Rückert (€ 18.000 – 24.000), and a flacon by the St. Petersburg jeweller Karl Hahn (ca. 1900, € 12.000 – 15.000). A massive Tiffany tea- and coffee service of excellent workmanship dates to ca. 1920 and has been valued at 5.000 to 6.000 Euro. Seemingly straight from a chamber of curiosities (“Kunstkammer”) a Historism enamelled drinking horn from Vienna is supported by a sculpted gryphon (€ 2.500 – 3.500). The porcelain and glass category features a splendid Kothgasser beaker as well as another one by Mildner, a Meissen teapot bearing the KPM mark (€ 15.000 – 25.000) and a Russian vase with bronze dorée mount (€ 4.000 – 7.000). Fans of the Dual Monarchy will be happy to discover some porcelain portraits of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth (€ 10.000 – 15.000).

The jewellery auction on 3rd April 2009 concludes the first Dorotheum auction week of 2009. The top lots include a platinum necklace with a 5,23ct diamond tear, also to be worn as a ring (€ 220.000 – 360.000) as well as a coral set dating to 1900 and consisting of a necklace, brooch, tortoiseshell comb, and two ear pendants (€ 5.000 – 7.000). Additional attractions come in the shape of a gold bracelet set with tourmalines, topazes, and peridots with matching gemstone ear-clips (€ 6.500 – 10.000, € 2.700 – 4.500) and an attractive Art Deco platinum wrist-watch with old-cut brilliants, -diamonds, and diamond rhombs (€ 3.000 – 5.000).

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