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Old Master Preview: Gandolfi's Lost Masterpiece

January 26, 2010 by Marion Maneker

Gandolfini, Diana and Callisto ($800k-$1.2m)

The art market often surprises with true stories that seem scarcely believable like this Gandolfi that rose and fell in value in the 19th Century until it eventually found its way to South Carolina where it say in a nursing home without anyone understanding what the work was or why it might be important. Eventually, a photograph was sent to a Christie’s expert and the specialists identified it as one of two works made for a Moscow client on a classical theme:

Gaetano’s painting illustrates the tragic story of the chaste and vengeful goddess of the hunt, Diana, as she expels from her grotto the nymph, Callisto, daughter of King Lycaon of Arcadia and one of her most devoted companions, after having discovered the nymph’s secret pregnancy. As in Ovid’s recounting of the tale in the Metamorphoses (2: 442-453), Callisto had been ravished by Jupiter and, deeply ashamed, had tried to conceal her defilement from the goddess. Following the day’s hunting, and reluctant to disrobe and bathe, Callisto had her garments torn from her body by her companions, and at the sight of the nymph’s swollen belly, Diana, in a fury, punished her with exile.

Old Master Preview: Cranach

January 23, 2010 by Marion Maneker

Lucas Cranach, Bacchus at the Wine Vat ($2.5-3.5m)Christie’s experts are a little stumped by this Lucas Cranach the Elder painting of Bacchus and the Wine Vat. The work is estimated at $2.5-3.5m reflecting the success of recent Cranach images of novelty and power (though there have been a few Cranach misses in the last year or so.) This work is being sold by a Bay Area wine importer which only adds to the novelty. However, the consignor does little to pierce the mystery of the composition. The convention is to portray Bacchus as a youthful deity. Here he is a less appealing character which leads the house’s specialists to conclude:

the facial features of Bacchus appear to be individual and it therefore seems likely that is it is an actual portrait, perhaps of a patron, friend or some then-recognizable public figure. […] Cranach’s composition, however, takes the antics of the inebriated putti a stage further as they engage in fighting, imbibe wine and generally show the physical effects of drink. The artist also introduces into the scene a recumbent young female nude in the foreground and an ugly old woman who appears to enable and encourage the behavior of the children. It is unclear what the precise relevance or role of these figures is, but together they evoke the theme of the Ages of Man.Continue Reading

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