Gallant company: Old Masters and 19th-century paintings in Lempertz's autumn auction on 22nd November 2025

Masters from the Netherlands are represented in Lempertz's autumn season of Old Masters, as are Italian artists – and a female master also created one of the highlights coming up for auction in Cologne this November.

For the curated auction ‘50 Lots – My Choice’ marking his 50th anniversary as an auctioneer, Henrik Hanstein has selected works of the highest quality by Old Masters and 19th-century painters with his unerring eye. They will be auctioned on 4th December alongside masterpieces of modern and contemporary art as well as special pieces of decorative art. 

However, there is already much to celebrate in the Old Masters and 19th Century Art auction on 22nd November. A noble gathering does just that, bringing to life a major work by Christian Wilhelm Dietrich Ernst, known as Dietricy. The genre of the ‘fête galante’ is masterfully rendered here, with the Medici vase in the background providing further evidence of the high society in which the figures are moving. The art of Dietricy, who was already a celebrated star among his contemporaries and praised by Johann Winckelmann as ‘the Raphael of all times in landscapes’, has become the focus of increased interest in recent decades, not least due to authoritative monographs such as that by Petra Schniewind-Michel, who has also confirmed the authenticity of this ‘Noble Gathering in a Park’ (oil on canvas, 62 x 78 cm. Signed and dated: Dietriecy fecit 1738), estimated price €50,000 to €70,000.

Frans Francken's ‘Feast of Herod’ (oil on panel, 54.4 x 74.5 cm) depicts a distinguished gathering of a rather different kind. The Flemish master of cabinet painting shows the banquet after its final escalation, with St. John's head already placed on a platter. Even in its compact format, the painting captivates with its details, such as Herod's horror at the consequences of his own promise, which overwhelms him as he gazes at the severed head of John the Baptist at the other end of his banquet table. Estimated price for this masterpiece of Flemish painting by Frans Francken the Younger: €60,000 to €80,000.

Fede Galizia, one of the few women among the most famous Old Masters and one who has received much attention from art historians in recent times, also created a masterpiece with a keen eye for detail. In addition to portraiture, it is her still life painting for which she is as famous today as she was during her lifetime. In the peaches and grapes she arranges in a bowl, both genres seem to come together, with each fruit appearing to be an individual portrait. A modern understanding of the subject, created by an artist who was not only socially ahead of her time. The estimated price for this 47 x 55.5 cm canvas is €80,000 to €100,000.

This sale also features a still life by Jan Brueghel the Younger that is a particularly fine example of his floral cartouches. Saint George, patron saint of horsemen among many other things, stands in the centre, framed by blooms. The painting, measuring 74.5 by 52 centimetres, is estimated to fetch between €60,000 and €80,000.

In addition to Flemish masters such as Brueghel, the auction will also feature works by some of the most important Dutch artists. Gerrit Willemsz. Heda is one of the most prominent names when it comes to still lifes. The son and pupil of Willem Claesz. Heda, Gerrit Willemsz. adopted his father's style, developed it further and later influenced painters such as Jan Jansz. Treck. The artist Gerrit Claesz. Heda is represented in the auction with one of his typical monochrome still lifes from his time in Haarlem. The estimated price for this painting with a rummer glass, a pie, a lemon, a silver jug and other objects arranged on a tabletop set with a white cloth (oil on panel, 60 x 79 cm) is €60,000 to €80,000.

Among the works from the 19th century, Michael Neher's view of a fish market in Rome, which he painted in two versions, especially stands out. One of the paintings was acquired by Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse-Kassel and is now in the Museum Schloss Fasanerie – the other version is up for auction in Cologne. Only in the varied selection of figures. The view of the sublime architecture of antiquity is just as fascinating as the artist’s insight into daily life in the 19^th century (oil on canvas, 58 x 48.5 cm, estimated price €30,000 to €40,000).

Works by Russian painter Vladimir Yegorovich Makovsky have often been successfully auctioned at Lempertz. With the painting ‘Four Children in a Landscape’ (oil on cardboard, 27 x 13.5 cm), he takes an unvarnished look at everyday life in Tsarist Russia. It will be offered at the auction on 22nd November with an estimated price of €20,000 to €25,000.

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