Auction 1266 on Saturday 17th May 2025 - Old Masters and 19th Century

From the fair in Schellebelle by Jacob Savery the Elder through the depths of hell with the Visions of Tondalus by a successor to Hieronymus Bosch, and then back again to a world worth living in, the selection of Old Masters on offer at Lempertz takes you on a journey. Highlights include two newly rediscovered Dutch still lifes by Jan Davidsz. de Heem and Willem Kalf, and a copper panel in cabinet format by Francesco Albani which is a highlight of the Italian Baroque.

Jan Davidsz. de Heem was one of the most influential Dutch still life painters of the ‘Golden Age’, and his works are among the most important of their kind. They are correspondingly well catalogued and represented in the great museums. Only very rarely are rediscovered works added to his oeuvre.

This special case occurred with the ‘Still Life with Flowers and Fruit on a Stone Ledge’: The painting had been in family ownership for three generations; it only became accessible to scholars when it was consigned to the Lempertz auction. Fred G. Meijer, one of the most important experts on 17th century Dutch still lifes, was therefore able to include it in his recently published monograph and catalogue raisonné on Jan Davidsz. de Heem.

In his expertise, he calls it an ‘exciting and very important addition to the well-known oeuvre of Jan Davidsz. de Heem’ and considers it ‘one of the best’ still lifes by the painter, writing further: ‘As in all his paintings, de Heem observed and executed every detail with the greatest possible precision, which makes the painting equally fascinating for lovers of fine art, botanists and entomologists. It effortlessly builds a bridge between the connoisseurs of the seventeenth century and those of the twenty-first century.’ Last year, the work was featured as part of the exhibition ‘Opulence Distilled. Masterpieces from the oeuvre of Jan Davidsz. de Heem (Utrecht, 1606 - Antwerp, 1684)’ at Snijders & Rockoxhuis in Antwerp.

This newly discovered museum-quality piece marks a highlight of Dutch still life painting and of the auction on 17th May, in which it will be called with an estimate of € 1,000,000 to 1,500,000.

It is not only opulent flower bouquets that celebrate a festival of life. Jacob Savery the Elder takes a more literal approach to the theme. His ‘Fair at Schellebelle’ depicts a folk festival that is still a highlight in the calendar of the eastern Flemish town. The 17th century, which the Fleming paints in his realistic style, was not always kind to his contemporaries, but it was precisely in times like these that the joys of a town fair formed an important ray of hope. The inhabitants of the town on the Scheldt celebrate exuberantly, enjoy dancing and perusing the offerings of the various stalls. Jacob Savery also gives the viewer a glimpse into the peaceful village life that surrounds the fair. This painting was part of the 1963 exhibition ‘Modernen van Toen 1570 - 1630. Vlaamse Schilderkunst en Haar invlied (Modernity from 1570 - 1630. Flemish Painting and its Influence)’ at the Singer Museum in Laren and comes from a family estate. It has an estimated price of € 200,000 to 240,000. 

The fact that life is ultimately temporary is the theme of vanitas still lifes. One of the greatest masters of this genre was Willem Kalf. In the painting that will be auctioned on 17th May, he depicts transience in a subtle, quiet way. A candle has been extinguished in the background, the glasses are empty and the sliced lemon makes it immediately clear that it will not keep much longer. This restraint fits the character of Willem Kalf as we know him today. Born the son of a wealthy cloth merchant and internationally successful as a painter, he worked in The Hague, Paris and Amsterdam, among other places, but seems to have led a frugal life.

The sumptuous materials used to make the jug and bowl in his painting are a further warning against the seductive power of earthly possessions. Here, however, the painter can also perfectly utilise his ability to guide the light through his painting and thus give it soul. The large vanitas still life was in private ownership for many years and is now being auctioned. It is signed ‘WKALF’ and has an estimated price of € 300,000 to 400,000.

Those who heed the calls for moderation expressed in a vanitas still life will probably be spared what Tondalus saw: According to the tale of a 12th-century Irish monk, the knight Tondalus, notorious for his lax lifestyle, fell into a death-like sleep, during which an angel led him to hell and showed him what might await him after death if he did not purify himself and warn other people of the consequences of an immoral life. What better way to depict what the knight had to see and experience than with the imagery of Hieronymus Bosch? The painting ‘Vision of Tondalus’ was therefore created in his wake. It will be auctioned in Cologne on 17th May at an estimated price of € 50,000 to 70,000.

Hans Hoffmann depicts the suffering of Jesus in a particularly striking way in his ‘Ecce Homo’. Rarely has Jesus been closer to the viewer than in this composition, both in terms of perspective and through the strong individuality and personality with which Christ looks out at us here. A major work by the Nuremberg Mannerist Hoffmann, this composition demonstrates his proximity to Jan Mostaert, Quentin Massys and Albrecht Dürer. Hoffmann's ‘Ecce Homo’ is estimated at between € 200,000 and 220,000.

Francesco Albani depicts the encounter between Christ and the Samaritan woman in this copper panel measuring just 39 x 29 cm. In the piece, this great representative of the Bolognese school shows himself to be a master of this format, which was particularly popular in the Roman Baroque period. His works were included in the most important collections of the time - the painting, which will go up for auction on 17th June and was created between 1510 and 1517 - was part of the collection of the Dukes of Orleans in the Palais Royal in Paris until the French Revolution.

Among the works of the 19th century, a landscape on the Donets in south-east Ukraine stands out. Sergei Ivanovich Svetoslavsky, who was born in Kiev in 1858 and died there in 1931, found the motifs for his realist landscapes in his native Ukraine, including this expansive panorama. ‘Pilgrims in Sviatohirsk’ is estimated at € 45,000 to 50,000.

Wilhelm Kuhnert travelled much further afield for his paintings. He repeatedly travelled to Africa, becoming the first European painter ever to observe the animals of the savannah in their natural habitat. His paintings captured them so well that they were used to illustrate scientific works such as Brehm's ‘Animal Life’ and are still popular collector's items today. His ‘Resting Lion (Lion in the Green)’ will be auctioned in Cologne with an estimate of € 38,000 to 42,000.

The famous duck paintings of Alexander Köster were and are also still extremely popular. No fewer than 17 ducks have gathered in his painting 'Ducks at the Village Pond', estimated at € 45,000 to 70,000.

Jan Bykowski
Press and Public Relations
info@lempertz.com
Tel. 0221 925729 -57