A very fine Safavid tinned copper bowl (1501–1722), bought in good faith in December 1994 from an Afghan antique dealer in Jeddah, to return to Kabul.

LONDON.- A very fine Safavid tinned copper bowl which had been looted from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul was presented to the Embassy of Afghanistan in London for return to Kabul. The bowl, dating to the early 17th century, was lost during the civil war in Afghanistan in the 1990s. It was bought in good faith in December 1994 from an Afghan antique dealer in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) by Patrick and Paola von Aulock who owned it for twenty years before deciding to sell it when they contacted Christie’s for a valuation. The bowl was identified by Sara Plumbly, Specialist and Head of Christie’s Islamic Art department as being a piece from the museum in Kabul. The bowl had been published in 1974 by Souren Melikian-Chirvani and was included in his catalogue of Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World (Melikian-Chrivani 1982).  

Christie’s gave permission for the bowl to be examined by the British Museum. The Museum confirmed the provenance and negotiations were entered into with the current owners and with the National Museum of Afghanistan to return the bowl to Kabul. This return is all the more significant as much of the Islamic metalware collection of the National Museum of Afghanistan was lost during a devastating fire following a rocket strike on the museum in November 1995. The National Museum of Afghanistan has confirmed the bowl will be put back on public display as soon as possible on its return. 

The bowl dates to the Safavid period (1501–1722), and includes a cartouche which mentions the owner’s name and date: ‘Owned by Mohammad Abū Tāleb 1013 [30 May 1604–18 May 1605]’. Three medallions depict scenes from the famous Persian tragic romance Khosrow and Shirin by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209) and the piece is sufficiently similar to another in the Musée de l’Homme in Paris that the two may come from the same workshop which was probably in the city of Herat. It appears the bowl had been very carefully mutilated in the past by engraving deep lines through each of the faces: this may have been at a moment when the Safavid dynasty was dethroned by the Afghan invasion in 1722 (Melikian-Chirvani 1982: 277). This defacement was not restricted to the human figures but also extended to the animals and was executed so carefully that it amounted to a subtle transformation of design rather than simple iconoclasm. 

This bowl was scientifically analysed at the British Museum with the permission of the owners and the National Museum of Afghanistan. It shows that the bowl was manufactured by casting, with some additional working and use of a lathe for finishing. Analysis using surface X-ray fluorescence spectrometry confirmed that the bowl is largely of copper and the white metal plating is tinning. The decoration was engraved and was finely executed. A black material has been applied to the engraved design, which although it could not be firmly identified, is likely to be related to the organic black inlays seen on many brass bowls.  

Sara Plumbly, Head of the Islamic Department at Christie’s in London, said “Christie’s are delighted to have played a role in facilitating the return of this work to the Kabul museum and we would like to extend our thanks to the previous owners Mr. and Mrs von Aulock for their collaboration. This is a good example of where research, cooperation and a wish to facilitate the right solution has succeeded. Christie’s maintains its on-going commitment in this area and takes matters of cultural property very seriously”. 

St John Simpson, Assistant Keeper in the Department of the Middle East, British Museum said “This is another important step in the rebuilding of the National Museum of Afghanistan and we are delighted to have played a small part in the return of this important object to Kabul”. 

His Excellency Ahmad Zia Siamak, Chargé d’ Affaires at the Embassy of Afghanistan said “On behalf of the people of Afghanistan, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in London would like to express its gratitude to the British Museum, Christie’s and the owners for their role in returning a historic artefact to the National Museum of Afghanistan. During the civil war, the National Museum of Afghanistan was looted and destroyed, and during the last few years, the government of Afghanistan has attempted to revive the museum. The return of this piece, which used to be displayed in a showcase of the National Museum of Afghanistan for many years, has a high historic and intellectual value for the people of Afghanistan. Its forthcoming display in the National Museum will not only please our people, but is a valuable step in the restoration of the museum. We thank the British Museum once again for facilitating the return of this important object and for its invaluable assistance to the National Museum of Afghanistan”. 

Fahim Rahimi, Director of the National Museum of Afghanistan said “I hope returning this bowl will be a start for more artefacts to be recovered, not only those looted from museums as well those looted from archaeological sites in Afghanistan. I ask those collectors who keep artefacts from Afghanistan to help us return it back and encourage the auction houses to always check their collections for looted objects from Afghanistan".

The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I, English school, c. 1590.

LONDON.- Today, Royal Museums Greenwich with the Art Fund, the national charity for art, launched a major fundraising campaign to save the Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (c 1590).  

The portrait commemorates the most famous conflict of Elizabeth’s reign (1558 – 1603), the failed invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in summer 1588. One of the definitive representations of the English Renaissance, encapsulating the creativity, ideals and ambitions of the Elizabethan era, it is amongst the most famous images of British history, a staple in school textbooks and the inspiration for countless portrayals of Elizabeth I in film or on stage.  

The price net of tax will be c. £10 million. The Art Fund has committed a grant of £1m and Royal Museums Greenwich is contributing an unprecedented £400,000. If the fundraising campaign for the remaining £8.6 million is successful, the painting will enter public ownership for the first time in its 425-year history and in the 90th birthday year of our present Queen. As part of the national collection it would hang in the Queen’s House, on the site of the original Greenwich Palace, which was a major political and symbolic centre for the Tudor dynasty and the birthplace of Elizabeth I herself. The Queen’s House sits at the heart of the Greenwich World Heritage Site and is reopening later this year following major restoration. 

Painted when Elizabeth was in her late 50s, the Armada portrait is among the greatest of contemporary eulogies to this celebrated queen. An oil painting on oak panels, it is unusual for its large size and horizontal format. The figure of the queen dominates the picture, shown three-quarter length, in a rich gold-embroidered and jewelled dress, as the epitome of regal magnificence, her right hand resting on a globe showing the Americas, an imperial covered crown on the table behind, a fan made of ostrich feathers in her left hand, and beside her a throne. The two seascapes in the background show on the left the English fleet in calm waters with the approaching Spanish Armada, and on the right the Armada ships wrecked on the Irish coast in a storm. The theme of the painting is the defence of the realm, personified by the queen; in her most famous speech to the troops at Tilbury she declared that while she had ‘the body of a weak and feeble woman’, she had ‘the heart and stomach of a king’. 

The portrait was evidently owned – or may even have been commissioned by – Sir Francis Drake, a sea captain and circumnavigator of the globe who was one of the great heroes of Elizabeth’s court, whose descendants have had it in their possession since at least 1775, passing down through generations of the family. The Royal Museums Greenwich now hope to give a permanent public home to this iconic painting and place it in the rich context of a royal and maritime setting. The museum would make an ideal custodian, with its fine 16th and 17th-century collections and world-renowned conservation expertise. It is planning a nationwide celebration of the portrait in collaboration with other museums and historic locations across the UK. 

With £8.6 million left to raise this makes the Save the Armada campaign one of the Fund’s most ambitious to date - in a sequence that began in 1906 with raising £45,000 to acquire Diego Velasquez’s celebrated Rokeby Venus for the National Gallery, and more recently saw the successful raising of £10 million for Van Dyck’s Self Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery, London, and £15.75 million to save the Wedgwood Collection in 2014. The Art Fund and Royal Museums Greenwich will run a major public appeal as well as seeking donations from a wide range of trusts, funds, foundations and individuals across the UK and beyond. A consortium of supporters has today pledged to match all public donations, pound for pound. The Armada portrait of Elizabeth I will be placed on public display during the campaign, at the National Maritime Museum, London, from 23 May.  

Kevin Fewster, Director of Royal Museums Greenwich, said, “The Art Fund’s very generous grant of £1M is a fabulous kick-start to our campaign. Royal Museums Greenwich has a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire this remarkable portrait of Elizabeth I, so that it can be permanently shown in a public collection for the first time in its history, and safeguard its future. Greenwich is the perfect home for the Armada portrait. Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace in 1533 and the early 17th-century Queen’s House, where we would like to display the painting, is the last remaining part of the palace. If our campaign is successful, it will be the centrepiece of a lively programme of displays, talks, tours, and education initiatives. With 2016 being the 90th birthday year of our present Queen, there could not be a more appropriate way to celebrate the second great Elizabethan era.” 

Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund, said, “This campaign is a huge challenge but we believe in the power of popular support to make great things happen. This picture truly belongs at Greenwich, and having it here forever is tantalisingly within our grasp."

Andy Warhol, Mao, 1973, estimated at £580,000-780,000, will be offered at the Bonhams Post War and Contemporary Art sale on 29 June. Photo: Bonhams.

LONDON.- Bonhams will lead the Post-War and Contemporary Art season with a spectacular Andy Warhol painting of Chairman Mao, estimated at £580,000-780,000, to be offered at New Bond Street on 29 June.  

The stunning, densely-textured painting comes fresh to the market having originally been handled by the artist’s legendary dealer Leo Castelli in the 1970s. The distinctive coloration and clarity of composition makes this arguably the finest of the series ever to appear at auction. Renowned as one of Warhol’s most significant, signature images, the Mao paintings feature in many of the world’s most prestigious public and private collections worldwide.  

Warhol was transfixed by the People’s Republic of China in 1971. ‘I have been reading so much about China,’ he said at the time. ‘The only picture they ever have is of Mao Zedong. It’s great. It looks like a silkscreen.’ Inspired, Warhol made his first picture of the communist leader the following year. The Mao series is based on a photograph taken from the cover of The Thoughts of Chairman Mao – otherwise known as the Little Red Book, of which almost a billion copies were printed in China, leading to an acute paper shortage during the Cultural Revolution. During the early seventies, Warhol used to carry the Little Red Book around in his pocket. Eric Shiner, director of the Andy Warhol museum, describes the artist as ‘smitten with communism - with everyone wearing the same clothes and reading the same books’. 

In the early 1970s, after a decade of screenprinting, Warhol returned to painting. His Maos tend to be more painterly than his earlier pop art, developing from the relentless replication of the 60s into more personalised, one-off works combining silkscreens with gestural painted additions. This particular piece has unusually thick impasto, with expressive brushwork in subtle blue hues and a halo of vivid scarlet interrupting the almost blinding vibrancy of the acid green background.  

‘It is one of the finest - if not the finest - example of Warhol’s small format Maos out there,’ said Ralph Taylor, Senior Director for the Bonhams Post-War & Contemporary Art department. ‘It’s an absolute classic, brilliantly executed, with sterling provenance. Collectors who target the very best will find much to admire with this painting.'

Lot 14. A fine lapis lazuli waterpot, Jiaqing-Daoguang period (1796-1850). Estimate HK$60,000 - 80,000 (€6,900 - 9,200). Photo: Bonhams. 

Finely carved as the Tang poet Li Bai in a recumbent position languidly resting against an empty wine jar, wearing a loose robe revealing the chest, the stone of a sapphire-blue tone with silvery-white inclusions. 10.2cm (4in) wide

Notes: According to the manuscript note affixed to the underside, this object was on the table next to Governor Ye Mingchen (1807-1859) when he was taken prisoner by the British after the second Opium War (1856-1860), also known as the 'Arrow War'. It was acquired circa 1858 by Admiral Arthur William Acland Hood, 1st Baron Hood of Avalon (1824-1901) and thence by family descent.

The present waterpot is inspired by the wine pot of the legendary Tang dynasty poet Li Bai (701-762), who was notorious for his drinking and was often depicted leaning against a wine jar. The subject matter of Li Bai was popular during the Qing dynasty and was created in various materials including porcelain, jade, rhinoceros horn and soapstone. Compare an example of a Qing dynasty jasper water container depicting Li Bai, illustrated inCompendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 9, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2001, pl.78. 

Bonhams. AUCTION 23347: FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 10:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Lot 15. A rare spinach-green jade archaistic vase, fang hu, Qianlong-Jiaqing period (1736-1820). Estimate HK$60,000 - 80,000 (€6,900 - 9,200). Photo: Bonhams. 

The vase of bulbous square section raised on a tall spreading foot, boldly carved on each side of the body with a large taotie mask, below a wide band of pendent leaves, with stylised mask handles suspending loose rings on the neck, the stone of an even deep green tone, carved wood stand. 24.8cm (9 3/4in) high (2).

Provenance: Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, acquired in 1966 by the father of the present owner
A distinguished English private collection

Notes: The present lot with its archaic bronze inspired fang hu form and design of taotie mask on the main border embodies the artistic and historical preoccupations of the Qianlong period, reflecting the emperor's concerns with drawing moral strength and righteousness from the examples of the ancients. 

Compare a related archaistic spinach-green jade hu, Qianlong fang gu mark and of the period, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 10, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2010, pl.6. See also a related spinach-green jade hu vase and cover, Jiaqing fang gu mark and period, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl.150. 

Bonhams. AUCTION 23347: FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 10:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

 Lot 17. A rare white jade archaistic tripod incense burner and cover, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate HK$600,000 - 800,000 (€69,000 - 92,000). Photo: Bonhams. 

The hemispherical bowl raised on three short cabriole legs emerging from mythical-beast masks, each side crisply carved with an archaistic taotie mask, separated by six columns of vertical flanges, the sides flanked by a pair of S-shaped handles curving upward, the domed cover similarly carved, surmounted by a finial decorated with aruyi-head collar. 20.5cm (8in) across the handles (2).

Provenance: Acquired from Spink & Son Ltd., London, on 27 November 1956
A distinguished European private collection, and thence by descent

Notes: The superb carving and elegant shape of the present lot is an exemplary work of art, representing the Qianlong emperor's passion for jade and his fascination with antiquity and archaism rendered by the skilful craftsmen who took inspiration from archaic bronze ritual vessels. 

This gesture to archaism demonstrates the Qianlong emperor's interest in the perceived austerity and morals of ancient times, whilst the great lustre of the white stone as well as the exuberance and complexity of the archaistictaotie design exhibit the extravagant taste of the Qing court at the height of prosperity. For a full discussion about the Qianlong emperor's view of ancient culture, see Chang Li-tuan, The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp.49-50. 

Compare a white jade tripod incense burner, Qianlong period, also carved with taotie motifs with comparable S-scroll ears in the Songzhutang Collection, illustrated by T.Fok, The Splendour of Jade: The Songzhutang Collection of Jade, Hong Kong, 2011, p.125, pl.106; see also a Qianlong period jade incense burner with related finial knob and another example with similar handles, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 10, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pls.67 and 101; and see also a related white jade archaistic tripod incense burner and cover, Qianlong, illustrated in A Romance with Jade: from the De An Tang Collection, Hong Kong, 2004, no.100, later sold as part of a three-piece garniture, at Sotheby's Hong Kong on 10 April 2006, lot 1509. 

A related white jade archaistic tripod incense burner and cover, Qianlong, but carved with bird handles and ram heads on the cover, sold in these rooms on 26 May 2014, lot 100. 

Bonhams. AUCTION 23347: FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 10:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Lot 372. Property of an European noble family. Diamond necklace, early 20th century. Estimate 350,000 — 550,000 GBP (444,779 - 698,939 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

Designed as a graduated line of claw-set cushion-shaped and oval diamonds, the largest six diamonds weighing 14.14, 11.34, 3.14, 8.14, 6.14 and 4.41 carats, length approximately 420mm, detachable pendant.

The current owner’s ancestor wearing lot 372 at an event with the King of Italy (centre) and the countess of Barcelona (to the King’s left).

Sotheby's. Fine Jewels, Londres, 06 juin 2016, 10:30 AM

Lot 191. Pair of diamond ear clips, ‘Winston Cluster’, Harry Winston, circa 1957. Estimate 100,000 — 200,000 GBP (127,080 - 254,160 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

Each set with one marquise- and four pear-shaped diamonds, total diamond weight 24.18 carats, maker’s mark, numbered. 

Accompanied by a letter from Harry Winston.

Lot 338. Diamond brooch, Verdura. Estimate 10,000 — 12,000 GBP (12,708 - 15,250 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's. 

Lot 175. Natural pearl and diamond pendant-brooch, circa 1910 and later. Estimate 22,000 — 32,000 GBP (27,958 - 40,666 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's. 

Accompanied by GIA report no. 5101992546, stating that the largest pearl was found to be natural, freshwater.

Lot 140. A Safavid blue and white ewer, 17th-18th century. Estimation : 8 000 € / 10 000 €. Photo Artcurial

Lot 93. A Samanid Nishapur "splashware" pottery dish with "sgraffiato" design, 10th century. Estimation : 4 000 € / 6 000 €. Photo Artcurial

Lot 109. A Persian Chinese style bronze mirror, 12th century. Estimation : 1 500 € / 2 000 €. Photo Artcurial

Lot 35. Topaz demi-parure, mid 18th century. Estimate 12,000 — 18,000 GBP (15,250 - 22,874 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's. 

Comprising a devant de corsage and a pair of earrings, all of girandole design, suspending three drops, set with variously cut foil-backed topaz, hook fittings. 

Lot 16. An Achaemenid terracotta rhyton in the form of an ibex, circa 4th century B.C. Estimation : 6 000 € / 8 000 €. Photo Artcurial

Pachyrrhynchus absurdus

Pachyrrhynchus regius

Pachyrrhynchus sp.

NEW YORK, NY.- The Frick presents a year-long exhibition exploring the complex history of making, collecting, and displaying porcelain. Included are 130 pieces produced by the renowned Royal Meissen manufactory, which led the ceramic industry in Europe, both scientifically and artistically, during the early to mid-eighteenth century. Most of the works date from 1720 to 1745 and were selected by New York−based sculptor Arlene Shechet from the promised gift of Henry H. Arnhold. Twelve works in the exhibition are Shechet’s own sculptures—exuberant porcelain she made during a series of residencies at the Meissen manufactory in 2012 and 2013. Designed by Shechet, the exhibition avoids the typical chronological or thematic order of most porcelain installations in favor of a personal and imaginative approach that creates an intriguing dialogue between the historical and the contemporary, from then to now. With nature as the dominant theme, the exhibition is being presented in the Frick’s Portico Gallery, which overlooks the museum’s historic Fifth Avenue Garden. Porcelain, No Simple Matter: Arlene Shechet and the Arnhold Collection is organized by Charlotte Vignon, Curator of Decorative Arts, The Frick Collection. 

One of a pair of Meissen porcelain “birdcage” vases, after 1730. The Arnhold Collection. Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Collection / Maggie Nimkin.

MEISSEN PORCELAIN AND THE ARNHOLD COLLECTION 
Long admired for their masterfully modeled shapes and gemlike glazes, Meissen porcelain offers a window into the early years of manufacturing porcelain in the West and celebrates a fascinating chapter in the history of the ceramic medium. Although the formula for manufacturing true porcelain had been developed in China by the sixth century, it remained a consuming mystery in the West until its discovery in 1708 under the patronage of Augustus I (1670–1733), elector of Saxony and king of Poland. In 1710, the king established a royal manufactory outside of Dresden in the town of Meissen, and the porcelain created there has been known by that name ever since. Early Meissen porcelain was at the forefront of the European ceramic industry until the ascendency of the Royal Sèvres Manufactory in France in the 1750s.

Fluted Bowl, Meissen porcelain, c. 1730. The Arnhold Collection. Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Collection / Maggie Nimkin.

The Arnhold Collection, one of the greatest private holdings of Meissen porcelain assembled in the twentieth century, was formed in Dresden between 1926 and 1935 by Lisa (1890–1972) and Heinrich Arnhold (1885–1935), with a focus on tablewares and vases and objects of royal or noteworthy provenance. The Arnhold collection came to America with Lisa Arnhold and her family at the start of World War II. Lisa and Heinrich’s son, Henry, has since extended the size and scope of the collection, sometimes following his parents’ tastes and preferences, sometimes departing from tradition with the acquisition of Meissen with underglaze blue decoration, figures and groups, and mounted objects. 

Brush Handle from the Toilette Service Sent to the Queen of Naples, ca. 1745–47. Meissen porcelain, decorated by Gottlob Siegmung Birckner. D: 5 ¼ inches, Private collection; Photo: Maggie Nimkin.

In 2011, Arnhold promised a gift of 131 objects from the collection to the museum. Meissen porcelain is well known to specialists, but drew appreciation from a much wider public through its presentation at the Frick in two acclaimed exhibitions: White Gold: Highlights from the Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain (2011) and The Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain, 1710–50 (2008). 

Small Two-Handled Bowl With Cover, Meissen porcelain, 1735 or 1738. Modeled by Johann Joachim Kändler and/or Johann Friedrich Eberlin. The Arnhold Collection. Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Collection / Maggie Nimkin.

Small Two-Handled Bowl With Cover, Meissen porcelain, 1735 or 1738. Modeled by Johann Joachim Kändler and/or Johann Friedrich Eberlin. The Arnhold Collection. Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Collection / Maggie Nimkin.

ARLENE SHECHET 
Arlene Shechet is a New York–based sculptor, whose diverse body of work draws on balance, breath, humor, and the creative potential of failure. Corporeal yet transcendent, her work explores the friction when categories start to slip, giving way to subliminal play. A major survey of her work, All at Once, was exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston in 2015, with an accompanying catalogue. Meissen Recast, also published in 2015, is based on Shechet’s solo exhibition at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum, Providence. This project focused on the works that the artist made in 2012–13 at the Meissen porcelain factory in Germany, as well as of her installation of RISD’s porcelain collection. Shechet is the subject of much critical acclaim including a 2012 Art in America cover story, is featured in the season 7 of PBS’s Art 21, as well as season 4 of The Met Artist Project. Shechet is the recipient of many awards, including a John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship Award in 2004, a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2010, and an American Arts and Letters Award in 2011. She is the 2016 recipient of the CAA Artist Award for Distinguished Body of Work. Her work is included in many renowned public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, the Brooklyn Museum, and the National Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Arlene Shechet, Mix and Match, 2012, glazed Meissen porcelain, H: 7 inches, unique, © Arlene Shechet, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; photo: Jason Wyche.

Arlene Shechet, Scallop Bowl, 2012. Glazed Meissen porcelain. Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Collection / © Arlene Shechet, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York.

Arlene Shechet, Dancing Girl With Two Right Feet, 2012. Meissen porcelain with gold. Photo: Courtesy of The Frick Collection / Jason Wyche ; © Arlene Shechet, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York.

Arlene Shechet, Big Dragon, 2012, glazed Meissen porcelain, gold, D: 15 ¼ inches, unique, © Arlene Shechet, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; photo: Jason Wyche.

Arlene Schechet. Photo: Christine A. Butler.

« Van Gogh en Provence : la tradition modernisée ». Affiche.

ARLES - L’exposition « Van Gogh en Provence : la tradition modernisée » réunit 31 tableaux — dont 29 jamais montrés à Arles —, issus des musées Van Gogh à Amsterdam et Kröller-Müller à Otterlo.

Troisième rétrospective consacrée à Van Gogh par la Fondation, elle confirme le rôle majeur de l’institution dans le regard sur l’oeuvre et la pensée du peintre, en les plaçant en constante interaction avec la production artistique contemporaine. Il s’agira en l’occurrence de celle du peintre britannique Glenn Brown, exposée simultanément.

Sélectionnés par l’un des spécialistes les plus renommés, Sjraar van Heugten, les tableaux offrent un panorama des sept années de production intense du peintre, avec l’apogée de son séjour provençal au cours duquel il produisit environ 500 oeuvres.

Au fil des salles, la palette se fait plus « outrée »— selon le terme même employé par Van Gogh —, la touche plus puissante, la composition plus audacieuse, tout en restant dans une remarquable continuité dans le choix des motifs. Van Gogh expérimente sans cesse pour moderniser les genres traditionnels du paysage, du portrait et de la nature morte auxquels il reste indéfectiblement attaché,
sur les traces de ses maîtres révérés : Rembrandt, Hals, Delacroix, Millet, ainsi que des artistes de l’école de Barbizon tels Breton. 

Les toiles choisies permettent de suivre sa quête artistique depuis ses débuts jusqu’à sa mort : à Nuenen, dans le Brabant, où son humanisme le porte à restituer la rude existence des gens du peuple ; à Paris, où il se portraiture lui-même pour la première fois et aborde les contrastes colorés dans les natures mortes de fleurs ; en Provence, où il approche enfin ce soleil qui exalte la nature ; à Auvers-sur-Oise, où le blé l’enchante une dernière fois et ouvre la voie à l’abstraction contemporaine.

Commissaire de l’exposition : Sjraar van Heugten

Vincent van Gogh, Bateaux de pêche sur la plage des Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, 1888. Huile sur toile, 65 x 81,5 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation). 

Vincent van Gogh, Vieille Arlésienne, Arles, février 1888. Huile sur toile, 58 x 42 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Vincent van Gogh naît le 30 mars 1853 à Groot-Zundert, aux Pays-Bas.

À l’âge de 16 ans, il entre dans la société de négoce d’art Goupil & Cie à La Haye, puis travaille dans les succursales de Bruxelles, Londres et Paris. Choqué de voir l’art traité comme une marchandise et devenant de plus en plus croyant, il retourne en Angleterre enseigner et prêcher l’Évangile. Il a 23 ans. Moins d’un an plus tard, il rentre aux Pays-Bas et travaille dans une librairie, puis devient prédicateur laïc en Belgique auprès des mineurs. La faiblesse de son talent de prédicateur ne tarde pas à se faire remarquer, aussi, son contrat n’est pas prolongé.

En août 1880, à l’âge de 27 ans, il décide de devenir artiste. Pour se former, il copie des estampes de maîtres connus (ou exécutées d’après celles-ci), dont notamment Jean-François Millet. Van Gogh souhaite par-dessus tout devenir un peintre de la vie paysanne et de la réalité quotidienne. Ses lectures de Balzac, Hugo, Zola et Dickens le renforcent dans ses convictions sociales et son intérêt pour la vie
des classes ouvrières. Animé d’une réelle empathie pour la nature, il affectionne également les paysages. En 1886, il découvre à Paris l’art de l’estampe japonaise et l’impressionnisme, côtoie oulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, Seurat, Signac, Russell, Gauguin et Bernard.

Convaincu que la couleur est essentielle et prenant pour modèles Eugène Delacroix et les maîtres japonais, il part en Provence chercher la lumière qui l’exaltera. Rêvant d’une communauté de création réunissant ses amis artistes, il s’installe à Arles en février 1888. Il y approfondit sa réflexion stylistique et technique, multiplie paysages, natures mortes et portraits de figures du peuple. À la fin du mois de décembre, les premiers signes de sa maladie apparaissent. Épuisé, il est hospitaliséà diverses reprises puis intègre un asile à Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, où il demeure une année entière.

Durant les 444 jours passés en Provence, Van Gogh produit plus de 300 tableaux et environ 200 dessins. Son oeuvre atteint l’apogée de sa modernité. En mai 1890, il s’installe à Auvers-sur-Oise, où le Dr Paul Gachet suit son état de santé. En deux mois, Vincent peint les 70 derniers tableaux d’une oeuvre qui comptera plus de 2 000 peintures, dessins et estampes. Le 27 juillet 1890, il se tire une balle de révolver et meurt le 29. Il a 37 ans.

Son génie pictural bientôt reconnu, la publication de ses Lettres en 1914 et son tragique destin feront de lui, au xxe siècle, une véritable icône internationale.

Vincent van Gogh, Autoportrait en chapeau de feutre, 1887. Huile sur toile, 44,5 x 37,2 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Vincent van Gogh, Saules têtards au soleil couchant, Arles, mars 1888. Huile sur toile sur carton, 31,6 x 34,3 cm. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo.

ARLES.- The exhibition Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition brings together 31 paintings – of which 29 have never before been shown in Arles – from the collections of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. 

The third retrospective devoted to Vincent van Gogh at the Fondation, it confirms the institution’s major role in facilitating an ongoing examination of the artist’s work and thinking, namely by presenting these latter in constant interaction with contemporary artistic production. Thus Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition is accompanied by a concurrent solo show of British painter Glenn Brown. 

Selected by Sjraar van Heugten, one of the world’s foremost experts on Van Gogh, the 31 paintings on display offer a panorama of seven years of intense activity, culminating in the artist’s stay in Provence, where he produced some 500 works.

Over the course of the rooms, Van Gogh’s palette becomes – as he puts it himself – more “exaggerated”, his brush stroke more forceful and his composition more audacious. All the while, however, the artist preserves a remarkable continuity in his choice of motif. Van Gogh constantly experiments with ways of modernizing landscape, portraiture and the still life – the traditional genres to which he remains unwaveringly attached, following in the steps of his revered masters: Rembrandt, Hals, Delacroix, Millet, and artists of the Barbizon School such as Breton. 

The canvases chosen for this exhibition allow us to follow Van Gogh’s artistic quest from its beginnings right up to his death: in Nuenen in the Dutch province of Brabant, where his humanism leads him to portray the rugged existence of rural peasants; in Paris, where he paints his own portrait for the first time and ventures upon vibrant colour contrasts in floral still lifes; in Provence, where he finds the glorious southern light that exalts the face of nature; and finally at Auvers-sur-Oise, whose wheat fields captivate him one last time and open up the path to contemporary abstraction. 

Curator of the exhibition: Sjraar van Heugten.

Vincent van Gogh, Le Botteleur (d’après Millet), 1889. Huile sur toile, 44,5 cm x 33,1 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Vincent van Gogh, Table de café et absinthe, 1887. Huile sur toile, 46,3 x 33,2 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Vincent van Gogh is born on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert in the Netherlands. 

At the age of 16 he joins Goupil & Cie, a firm of art dealers in The Hague, and subsequently works in the company’s offices in Brussels, London and Paris. Appalled at seeing art treated as a commodity and growing increasingly religious, he goes back to England to teach at a school and to preach the Gospel. He is 23 years old. Within 12 months he returns to the Netherlands and works in a bookshop before becoming a lay preacher in a mining community in Belgium. It is soon clear that he is unsuited for this role and his post is not extended. 

In August 1880, at the age of 27, he decides to become an artist. To train himself, he copies prints by or after famous masters, notably Jean-François Millet. He longs above all to become a painter of peasant life and everyday reality. He reads the novels of Balzac, Hugo, Zola and Dickens, which reinforce his social convictions and his taste for the life of the working classes. Spurred by a real empathy for nature, he also pursues his love of landscapes. In 1886 in Paris he discovers Japanese prints and Impressionism and mixes with Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, Seurat, Signac, Russell, Gauguin and Bernard. 

Convinced that colour is the key, and with Eugène Delacroix and the Japanese masters as his guides, he leaves for Provence in search of the southern light under which colours are heightened. Dreaming of establishing a creative community with his artist friends, in February 1888 he settles in Arles. Here he further develops his ideas on style and technique and paints increasing numbers of landscapes, still lifes and portraits of local people. By the end of December, the first signs of his illness become apparent. Exhausted, he is hospitalized on several occasions and eventually enters an asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he remains for a whole year. 

During the 444 days he spends in Provence, Van Gogh produces over 300 paintings and some 200 drawings. His art reaches the height of its modernity. 

In May 1890 he settles in Auvers-sur-Oise, where Dr Paul Gachet keeps an eye on his health. In the space of two months, Vincent produces the final 70 paintings of an oeuvre that comprises more than 2,000 paintings, drawings and prints. On 27 July 1890 he shoots himself with a pistol and dies two days later at the age of 37. 

His artistic genius, recognized soon after his death, the publication of his Letters in 1914 and his tragic fate make him, in the 20th century, a veritable international icon

Vincent van Gogh, Vue d’Arles avec des iris au premier plan, 1888. Huile sur toile, 54 x 65 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Lot 1987. An important diamond choker, by Marina B. Estimate HK$7,200,000 – HK$10,000,000 (US$900,000-1,250,000). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Designed as a line of sixteen graduated circular-cut diamonds, suspending a fringe of similarly-cut diamonds, 1979, mounted in gold, 32.0 cm. Signed Marina B

Literature: V. Jutheau de Witt, Marina B: L’Art de la joaillerie et son design, Skira, 2003, p146-147

Christie's. HONG KONG MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 31 May 2016, Convention Hall

Lot 603. A black-glazed 'oil-spot' bowl, Song–Jin dynasty. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 HKD (9,157 - 13,735 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's. 

finely potted with a slightly incurved rim, covered with a shiny black-brown glaze stopping neatly above the unglazed short footring, the shiny glaze with lustrous metallic purplish 'oil-spots'; 9.8 cm, 3 7/8  in. 

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 02 juin 2016, 02:00 PM