Plate, Vietnam, Lê dynasty (16th century). Buffalos painted in overglaze enamels, chocolate base. D. 34,10 cm. Tokyo, National Museum, TG-2235 ©2004-2013 Tokyo National Museum

Candleholder, Vietnam, Lê dynasty, 1677. In three sections with dragons, panels, and rosettes in biscuit relief, underglaze-cobalt decoration. Second year Vinh Tri reign (1677); H. 61,30 cm; Tokyo, National Museum, TG-2731 ©2004-2013 Tokyo National Museum

Plate, Vietnam, Lê dynasty (15th – 16th century). Chrysanthemum flower within “Sasanian star” painted in underglaze-cobalt, chocolate base. D. 36,20 cm. Tokyo, National Museum, TG-2234 ©2004-2013 Tokyo National Museum

This motif is one of the rarely design specially made for the Islamic South-East Asian market.

Plate, Vietnam, Lê dynasty (15th – 16th century). Deer painted in underglaze-cobalt, chocolate base. H. 7,30 cm. Tokyo, National Museum, TG- 2231 ©2004-2013 Tokyo National Museum

François-Marius Granet, Monks in the Cloister of the Church of Gesù e Maria, Rome. Oil on canvas, 19 1/2 x 15 3/8 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Collection, Promised Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003 Accession.

NEW YORK, NY.- Over the last 40 years, one of the most significant developments in the study of 19th-century European paintings has been a growing appreciation of the importance of plein-air (outdoor) oil sketches to the Realist and Impressionist landscape aesthetic. In 2003 The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired from New York connoisseur Wheelock Whitney a comprehensive survey of sketches painted between 1785 and 1850 by many of the most notable artists of the French school who worked in this medium. The Path of Nature: French Paintings from the Wheelock Whitney Collection, 1785–1850 will be held on the tenth anniversary of this major acquisition. 

The 50 paintings in the exhibition, many no larger than a sheet of paper, reveal the rich tradition of painting out of doors nearly a century before Impressionism and provide an overture to key movements of 19th-century art that have long been a cornerstone of the Metropolitan Museum’s holdings. These works greatly enrich the story of how the European tradition of plein-air painting unfolded during a key period demarcated at its outset by the advent of the French Revolution in 1789 and at its conclusion by the abdication of France’s last king, Louis-Philippe, in 1848. 

The Whitney Collection includes a remarkable concentration of plein-air oil studies, ranging from Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes’ The Banks of the Rance, Brittany (possibly 1785) to Camille Corot’s Waterfall at Terni (1826), and is complemented by a strong representation of finished landscapes, history and genre subjects, and portraiture—in short, the full range of paintings that one could expect to find in a Parisian private collection in the first half of the 19th century. 

The practice of sketching in oil paint out of doors began to gain momentum in the late 18th century and is documented well before that. To equip themselves for sketching with paints out of doors, artists employed specialized apparatus: portable easels and paint boxes and, almost as fundamental as paint itself, paper. Paper was preferable to canvas because it was durable yet lightweight and easy to cut into small sheets. Typically, plein-air sketches were painted quickly in order to keep pace with nature’s fleeting effects. Paper’s smooth surface tended to allow the impasted pigment to lie on the surface, retaining the viscosity and luminosity of wet paint even after it dried. Such plein-air oil studies convey the sense of the artist painting d’après nature, a term that translates from the French as “from nature” but in the context of landscape sketching conveys immersion in nature. 

Crossing the boundaries of subject matter and lying at the heart of the collection is a group of paintings executed by northern artists who were drawn to Rome by its combination of antiquity and natural beauty. A number of these painters—François-Édouard Picot, Léon Pallière, Charles Rémond, and André Giroux— received the Rome Prize from the Fine Arts Academy in Paris to study painting in Italy. Others traveled there independently, including Joseph Bidauld, Simon Denis, François-Marius Granet, and Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny. The exhibition also illuminates one of the most popular developments in French painting during the 1820s: the depiction of Italian peasants, brigands, and clerics, by such representative figures as Claude Bonnefond, Jean-François Montessuy, and Louis-Léopold Robert. 

The exhibition title The Path of Nature derives in part from the Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David, as quoted by his follower Léopold Robert, who wrote in a letter from Rome in 1818: “I strive to follow nature in all ways. David always told us that it is the only master that one can follow without losing his way.” Put into practice by the landscape and figure painters represented in this exhibition, including Robert, this statement signals a shift from the idealizing aims of Neoclassicism to the nascent trends of Romanticism and Realism in French art. 

The Path of Nature: French Paintings from the Wheelock Whitney Collection, 1785–1850 is organized by Asher Ethan Miller, Assistant Research Curator in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of European Paintings. 

The exhibition will be accompanied by a Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin entitled The Path of Nature: French Paintings from the Wheelock Whitney Collection , 1785–1850 , written by Asher Ethan Miller. It will feature significant research undertaken on the individual works since their acquisition by the Museum 10 years ago and contextualizes the paintings within the Metropolitan Museum’s collections. The publication will be on sale in the Museum’s book shops. 

In conjunction with the exhibition, a Sunday at the Met afternoon of programming will take place on February 10, 2013.

Adrien Dauzats (French, Bordeaux 1804–1868 Paris), The Giralda, Seville, 1836/37. Oil on paper, laid down on canvas, 8 1/8 x 11 7/8 in. (20.6 x 30.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Collection, Promised Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003.

18 Karat White Gold, Colored Diamond and Diamond Ring - photo Sotheby's

Centered by a lozenge-shaped diamond of yellow hue weighing 5.98 carats, flanked by four marquise-shaped near colorless diamonds weighing approximately .60 carat, size 7. Estimation: 20,000 - 30,000 USD

Please note that the diamond has not been tested for natural origin of color.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels. New York | 07 févr. 2013 www.sothebys.com

Dragana Crnjak, Interior 4, 2007. Charcoal, pastel on paper, 34 X 34 inches

Dragana Crnjak, Bosnian born, studied art in Sarajevo and Belgrade before moving to the United States in 1997. She received her BFA in Painting from Myers School of Art at The University of Akron, Ohio in 2002 and her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 2004. She is a recipient of Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in visual art for 2008 and 2011 and of Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in drawing. She had taught art at University of Virginia and The Cleveland Institute of Art. She is currently Assistant Professor at Youngstown State University, Ohio, teaching painting and drawing. http://www.draganacrnjak.com/

Jupp Linsen, "Eastpack", 2010; oil, zinc sheet on canvas. 66x66x10cm

Francesca Biasetton [x], Asemic Writing Tela N/ 06-08, acrylic on canvas, 2008

Pair of 18 Karat Two-Color Gold, Ruby and Diamond Earclips, Buccellati - photo Sotheby's

Centered by two oval-shaped rubies weighing approximately 3.50 carats, within openwork surrounds accented by numerous round and single-cut diamonds weighing approximately 1.20 carats, signed M. Buccellati Italy. With signed box. Estimation: 20,000 - 30,000 USD

Sotheby's. Important Jewels. New York | 07 févr. 2013 www.sothebys.com

18 Karat Two-Color Gold and Diamond Bracelet, Buccellati - photo Sotheby's

Of hinged design accented with florets and navette-shaped motifs, the florets centered by five round diamonds weighing approximately 1.50 carats, further accented by smaller round diamonds weighing approximately 2.35 carats, gross weight approximately 59 dwts, internal circumference 6¾ inches, signed Buccellati. Estimation: 20,000 - 30,000 USD

Sotheby's. Important Jewels. New York | 07 févr. 2013 www.sothebys.com

18 Karat Two-Color Gold, Pink Sapphire and Diamond Ring, Buccellati - photo Sotheby's

Of bombé form, centered by a cushion-cut pink sapphire weighing approximately 3.25 carats, within openwork surrounds set with round diamonds weighing approximately 1.40 carats, size 4, inclusive of inner sizing spheres, signed Buccellati Italy. Estimation: 18,000 - 22,000 USD

Sotheby's. Important Jewels. New York | 07 févr. 2013 www.sothebys.com

18 Karat Two-Color Gold, Sapphire and Diamond Brooch, Buccellati - photo Sotheby's

Designed as a floral spray, the flowerheads centered by five oval and cushion-cut sapphires, accented throughout with numerous round diamonds weighing approximately 6.60 carats, signed Buccellati. Estimation: 16,000 - 18,000 USD

Sotheby's. Important Jewels. New York | 07 févr. 2013 www.sothebys.com

Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), The Sacrifice of Polyxena, 1647. Oil on canvas, 179x131 cm.

A previously unrecorded painting by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), official painter to the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV, has been discovered hanging in the Coco Chanel Suite at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris by the London-based fine art consultant Joseph Friedman.  Formerly Curator of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s residence in Paris, Friedman was advising the hotel on its current €200 million renovation project when he came across the work.  The painting, thought to depict The Sacrifice of Polyxena, will be auctioned by Christie’s in Paris on 15 April 2013 and has a pre-sale estimate of €300,000-500,000.

Friedman said: “I literally took a step backwards when I saw the painting.  It was clearly the work of a major 17^th-century French master.”  With his assistant, Wanda Tymowska, he set about examining the painting and Tymowska discovered an inscription ‘C.L.B.F.’, which they realised could stand for ‘Charles Le Brun Fecit’, with a date 1647, potentially making this one of the very earliest masterpieces by the artist.  A search of the literature on Le Brun revealed no mention of this painting, but this only increased Friedman’s excitement since it meant that he painting could not be a copy or re-working of some well-known composition but in all probability an original, which despite being in the hotel for decades, had somehow gone unnoticed. Illustration: The Le Brun paintingin the Coco Chanel Suite at  Hotel Ritz, Paris.

The painting was then shown to Christie’s in Paris as well as the acknowledged experts on Le Brun in the French museum world.  All were amazed, pronouncing it to be a major, fully autograph work by Le Brun, a highly important new discovery and addition to his oeuvre and to the study of 17^th-century French art in general. 

The owner of the Hôtel Ritz feels that a painting of such extraordinary importance and value should not remain there when it re-opens in two years’ time and has therefore consigned it to auction with Christie’s. 

Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), official painter to Louis XIV (the Sun King), was a leading French painter and designer in France in the 17^th century.  He created a series of masterpieces of history and religious painting for such prominent political figures as Chancellor Pierre Séguier, Cardinal Richelieu, and Nicolas Fouquet.  Created Premier Peintre du Roi (First Painter to His Majesty) in 1662 with a pension of 12,000 livres, the following year he became director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture.  His greatest work was at the royal palace of Versailles for the king who declared him “the greatest French artist of all time”.  Le Brun was involved from an early stage in the transformation of the palace, overseeing all aspects of the decoration from the sculptures in the park to two great suites of rooms for Louis XIV and his queen, Maria Theresa of Spain. 

The Sacrifice of Polyxena

In Greek mythology, Polyxena was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy.  Achilles told her of his vulnerability – his heel – and was then killed by her brothers.  His ghost demanded her sacrifice in order for the wind, needed to set sail back to Hellas, to be appeased.  The subject is rare suggesting a specific commission for Le Brun, although the patron has yet to be identified.

Joseph Friedman is an independent fine art agent and consultant who advises on all aspects of the sale and acquisition of works of art, fine furniture and other cultural assets.  He was previously a Senior Director of Sotheby’s, Curator of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s house in Paris, adviser to the Foreign Office on the restoration of the British Embassy in Paris and consultant on the restoration of Spencer House for Lord Rothschild and Castle Coole for the National Trust.  Joseph Friedman Ltd operates across all major collecting areas and in all key areas of the market, and has handled a wide range of projects on behalf of private, corporate, and institutional clients both in the UK and abroad, including private treaty sales to the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery of Ireland, the British Library, and Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.

Joseph Friedman is a founding partner of Historic Buildings Consultants, and has lectured and published widely.  His books include Spencer House. Chronicle of a Great London Mansion (Zwemmer, 1993); Inside London: Discovering London’s Period Interiors (Phaidon, 1988), and its sequels Inside Paris (1989), Inside New York (1992), and Inside Rome(1993); The Private World of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor [with Hugo Vickers] (1995); and the forthcoming Treasure Houses of London. Five Hundred Years of Private Artistic Patronage and Collecting (Yale University Press).  www.josephfriedmanltd.com

Francis Bacon, Man in Blue VI. Oil on canvas, 60⅛ x 46in. Painted in 1954. Estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000 / US$6,100,000-9,000,000 / €4,500,000-6,700,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.

LONDON.- On the evening of 13 February, Christie’s London will offer at auction a group of important works created by some of the most celebrated British masters of the 20th century: Francis Bacon (b.1902-1992), Allen Jones (b.1937), David Hockney (b.1937), Peter Doig (b.1959) and Damien Hirst (b.1965). The featured works are representative of the genius of four different generations within the field of Contemporary Art, and each artist’s style is instantly recognisable. 

Francis Outred, Christie's Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe: “This February we have assembled a unique group of very special works by the most emblematic artists of British 20th century art. David Hockney’s Great Pyramid at Giza with Broken Head from Thebes, is a classic image by the artist commemorating his first trip to Egypt in 1963 at the age of twenty-six, inspired by the poetry of Alexandrian-Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy and the Pergamon Museum, Berlin.The painting helped pave the artist’s way to California, representing a pivotal moment in his career. Peter Doig’s The Architect’s Home in the Ravine is an enchanting masterpiece which celebrates the artist’s astounding technical virtuosity. Man in Blue VI by Francis Bacon belongs to one of the artist’s seminal and most enduring series, providing an intense existential portrait of the post-War era. In this series Bacon encaged the businessman in dark isolation in the same way as he had the Popes the year before. Together these series paint a famous portrait of the devolution of power in the post-War period. Damien Hirst’s Away from the Flock (Divided), an important early formaldehyde from his celebrated Natural History series, picks up the mantle of Bacon, considering the atomisation of society and alienation in the contemporary world. Allen Jones rounds off this outstanding group with Table, Chair, Hatstand - a British Pop icon, perfectly capturing the zeitgeist of the Swinging Sixties. Together these artists have defined four generations of British art making and their impact on the post-War art scene can be felt everywhere”. 

FRANCIS BACON (1909-1992). The penultimate painting in Francis Bacon’s seminal suite of Man in Blue paintings (1954), Man in Blue VI is a stirring and profoundly perceptive portrait of existential, post-War Europe, executed between March and June 1954 – the same year the artist represented Britain at the 27th Venice Biennale (estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000 / US$6,100,000-9,000,000 / €4,500,000-6,700,000). Three paintings from this landmark series are now housed in museums including Man in Blue I, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Man in Blue IV, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna and Man in Blue V, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen, Dusseldorf. One of the most feverish of the suite, Man in Blue VI is, according to Ronald Alley, one of very few paintings undertaken from life, painted at the Imperial Hotel in Henley-on-Thames, where Bacon was hauled up close to his caustic lover Peter Lacy. Man in Blue VI was acquired by the present owner in 1971 and has been in their possession ever since. 

DAVID HOCKNEY (b. 1937) Great Pyramid at Giza with Broken Head from Thebes is a unique, landmark painting, which stands as the only canvas to commemorate David Hockney’s first trip to Egypt at the age of 26 (estimate: £2,500,000-3,500,000 / US$3,800,000-5,300,000 / €2,900,000-3,900,000). Egypt had long been a source of fascination for Hockney, first appearing as a theme in his work as early as 1961. The fascination developed through his encounter with ancient Egyptian art at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, as well as his admiration for Greek-Alexandrian poet Constantine P. Cavafy. It was only in 1963 however, at the age of twenty-six that Hockney was eventually to travel to the country. Forming part of an important British collection for more than forty years, this is the first time that this painting has ever been seen at auction Click here for a full press release. David Hockney is further highlighted in the sale with Green Pool with Diving Board and Shadow (1978), This tactile work forms part of his largely innovative Pulped Paper Pools series, many of which are now held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Australia (estimate: £500,000-700,000 / US$760,000-1,100,000 / €570,000-790,000). 

ALLEN JONES (b. 1937) Executed in 1969, Allen Jones’s Table, Chair, Hatstand is a gleefully subversive ménage of sculptures carried out at the height of the British artist’s career: they are quite simply icons of Pop (estimate: £1,500,000-2,000,000 / US$2,300,000-3,100,000 / €1,200,000-2,300,000). Capturing the zeitgeist of a generation, these seminal works are as sensational today as they have ever been, courting controversy and delight in equal measure. Jones grew out of the wave of Pop art that was growing across Britain and the United States during the ‘Swinging Sixties’. Schooled by Richard Hamilton at the Royal College of Art, he was one of a new generation of British artists including David Hockney challenging conventions and embracing their sexuality.

PETER DOIG (B. 1959) Formerly in the Saatchi collection, an epic masterpiece by Peter Doig, The Architect’s Home in the Ravine (1991) dates from a pivotal moment in the artist’s career (estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000 / $6,100,000-9,000,000 / €4,500,000-6,700,000). Closely covered with snow-laden trees, it recreates Canadian architect, Eberhard Zeidler’s modernist home in Rosedale at the heart of the Toronto ravine. Doig returned to Canada with this scene in mind, fascinated by its inaccessibility; dense nature hiding away the house, allowing only glimpses of life through the trees. The work was painted shortly after Doig’s graduation from the Chelsea College of Art and Design when he was awarded the prestigious Whitechapel Artist Prize culminating in a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1991. The pantheon of great paintings that Doig realised during the early 1990s is now widely considered the best of his career. Many of the works from this period are now housed within international museum collections including: The House that Jacques Built (1992), Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Boiler House (1994), promised to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Ski Jacket (1994), Tate Modern, London. 

DAMIEN HIRST (B. 1965) A single sheep, suspended serenely within two perfectly proportioned Minimalist tanks, Away from the Flock (Divided) is an early masterpiece from Damien Hirst’s celebrated Natural History series (estimate: £1,800,000 / US$2,800,000-3,800,000 / €2,100,000-2,800,000 illustrated right). Created in 1995, the same year Damien Hirst was awarded the Turner Prize, this work follows in a sequence of important bisected Natural History works. Romantically entitled, a solitary sheep separated from his flock, floats in an aquamarine-tinted formaldehyde solution; its hooves hover above the ground, frozen in lively gambol. A key early work, Hirst created four versions of Away from the Flock, with this work being the sole bisected example. The sheep has become an important symbol for Hirst: first realised in 1994 for the group exhibition curated by Hirst, ‘Some Went Mad, Some Ran Away’, at the Serpentine Gallery, London, Hirst created the seminal work Away from the Flock, now housed in the collection of Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. 

Peter Doig, The Architect’s Home in the Ravine, signed, titled and dated ‘“THE ARCHITECTS HOME IN THE RAVINE” PETER DOIG 1991’ (on the reverse), oil on canvas, 78⅞ x 98¾in. (200 x 250cm.). Painted in 1991. Estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013

Harmensz Van Rijn Rembrandt, Autoportrait au béret. photo Fraysse & Associés

(B. 26) 8,8 x 6, 2 cm. Eau-forte. Epreuve légèrement tardive, rognée d'environ 5 mm en hauteur, bon état général. Estimation : 800 - 1 000 €

Fraysse & Associés. Mercredi 30 janvier à 14h15. Drouot - Richelieu - Salle 15. EMail : contact@fraysse.net - Tél. : 01 53 45 92 10

Robe de réception, sur tournure, Charles Frédérick Worth, vers 1883. Photo Thierry De Maigret

Ottoman de soie vert bronze, taffetas changeant rosé-thé et tulle brodé de petites roses en tissu. Belle sur-jupe à pouf asymétrique et traîne à volant balayeuse. Jupe de dessous en tulle brodé orné de noeuds et ceinture flottante en velours de soie bronze. Griffe tissée blanc «C.WORTH» (très bel état). Estimation : 2 000 - 2 300 €

Thierry De Maigret. Vendredi 01 février à 11h00. Hôtel Drouot - Salle 10. EMail : contact@thierrydemaigret.com - Tél. : 01 44 83 95 20

Somptueuse cape brodée de Pair de France, époque Restauration. Photo Thierry De Maigret

Velours de soie bleu-nuit, brodé sur l'ourlet en filé, frisé, cannetille et lame d'or d'une large frise de rinceaux ponctués de fleur de lys (bel état de la soie et des broderies métalliques, doublure de satin blanc partiellement décousue, manque col et parements d'origine en fourrure d'hermine). Estimation : 1 000 - 2 000 €

Une cape identique fut présentée à l'exposition de 1982-1983 au Musée de la Mode et du Costume de Paris: Uniformes civils français: cérémonial, circonstances1750-1980.

Le marquis d'Aligre, de retour d'immigration devint chambellan auprès de la princesse Caroline sous Napoléon Ier et fut nommé conseiller général de la Seine. Chargé de recevoir Louis XVIII à son entrée dans Paris en 1814, il fut appeléà la haute dignité de Pair de France en août 1815 et marquis-pair le 31 août 1817, sans majorat); «Les rang, titre et qualité de pair de France dont est revêtu le marquis d'Aligre, ont été substitués, par ordonnance du 21 décembre 1825 àÉtienne-Marie- Charles de Pomereu-d'Aligre, son petit-fils,pour en jouir héréditairement après la mort de son aïeul. Par une ordonnance royale du 14 du même mois de décembre 1825, Étienne-Marie-Charles de Pomereu avait été autoriséà ajouter à son nom celui d'Aligre.» Le Chevalier de Courcelles, État actuel de la pairie de France, 1826.

Thierry De Maigret. Vendredi 01 février à 11h00. Hôtel Drouot - Salle 10. EMail : contact@thierrydemaigret.com - Tél. : 01 44 83 95 20

Catherine of Aragon, unknown artist, c.1520. By permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church Commissioners.

LONDON.- Henry and Catherine Reunited places portraits of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon together for the first time in nearly 500 years. The pictures will be on show from today (Friday 25 January) at the National Portrait Gallery, London. The rare early portrait of Catherine of Aragon has been placed on loan from Lambeth Palace and has undergone an extensive programme of research and conservation treatment prior to its display. 

During a research visit to Lambeth Palace staff from the Gallery’s conservation and curatorial department noticed a portrait hanging in a private sitting room. The portrait depicted a woman in costume which dated from the 1520s to 1530s. The sitter had previously been identified as Henry VIII’s last wife Catherine Parr. However, the facial features and costume shared more similarities with known works depicting Henry VIII’s first wife Catherine of Aragon. The other striking element of the piece was its rare original engaged frame (a frame that was constructed around the panel support for the portrait before it was painted). 

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church Commissioners generously allowed the Gallery to borrow the portrait for further research, including technical analysis. Examination of the painting in raking light indicated that it originally had a patterned background. Further analysis showed that it would be possible to remove the black over paint from the background to reveal the original green finish which imitates damask silk; the National Portrait Gallery’s portrait of King Henry VIII c. 1520 shares a similar brocade background. An X-ray indicated a veil attached to Catherine’s headdress and it became evident that a large amount of over painting had altered the characterization of the sitter’s face. This research confirmed the re-identification of the portrait as Catherine of Aragon, and also underpinned the subsequent conservation treatment of the painting. 

Examination of the frame revealed that elements of the original decorative finish survived beneath layers of later paint and gilding. The discovery of the original Tudor finish is an extremely rare find. It combines oil gilding with coloured bands of blue and red which were painted with the pigments azurite and vermillion. A large proportion of the original finish was recovered enabling the National Portrait Gallery’s conservation team to reconstruct the areas of loss and damage. The restored colour scheme adds to the aesthetic reading of the painting. 

The portrait was compared with the National Portrait Gallery’s painting of Henry VIII from the same period which is a similar composition. Whilst not suggesting the works originally formed a pair, the costume dates them to the same period and the works are of the same scale. It is likely that both are examples of the type of portraits of the king and queen that would have been produced in multiple versions, some of which would have been paired in this way. 

This research was undertaken as part of Making Art in Tudor Britain, a project which has used scientific techniques to analyse the portraits in the display to increase the understanding of the working practices of Tudor artists. 

Dr Charlotte Bolland, Project Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, London says: ‘It is wonderful to have the opportunity to display this important early portrait of Catherine of Aragon at the Gallery. Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were married for nearly twenty four years and during that time their portraits would have been displayed together in this fashion, as king and queen of England.’ 

This painting was identified as a part of the major five year research project Making Art in Tudor Britain. This project is supported by: AHRC, British Academy, John S Cohen Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Idlewild Trust, Leche Trust, The Leverhulme Trust, The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, The Mercers’ Company, PF Charitable Trust, Marit and Hans Rausing Charitable Foundation and an anonymous donor. 

Henry and Catherine Reunited is on display in Room 1 from 25 January 2013, admission free

King Henry VIII, unknown Anglo-Netherlandish artist, c.1520, © National Portrait Gallery, London.

The diminutive size and silk-lined zitan box indicate that this charming work was once a part of an imperial "treasure box". Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams

Zhang Ruocheng (1722-1770); and Hongli the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799), Landscape with imperial inscription. Handscroll, ink on paper. The titleslip reading 落紙雲煙 Luo zhi yun yan with a seal of the Qianlong emperor, followed by the imperial colophon, 1 1/2 x 6 1/2in (3.8 x 16.5cm) the painting, 1 3/8 x 4in (3.5 x 10.2cm) the colophone, 1 1/2 x 4in (3.8 x 10.2cm) the titleslip. Est. USD10,000-15,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams

NEW YORK, NY.- Among the highlights of Bonhams March 20 Chinese Painting & Calligraphy auction is an 18th century miniature painting, formerly in the collection of Hongli the Qianlong emperor (1711-1799) (est. $10,000-15,000). Depicting a mountainous landscape, this charming ink on paper scroll by Zhang Ruocheng (1722-1770) boasts imperial seals, as well as a colophon written by the emperor. At just under two inches wide and slightly over six inches long, the minute size suggests the piece was created for placement in an imperial "treasure box," a type of luxurious coffer favored by the Qianlong emperor, containing numerous small compartments for antiques, jades, porcelains and paintings that the imperial family could enjoy at leisure. This marvelous painting resides in its own delicate, fitted, silk-lined box made of zitan, a rare and valuable wood that was controlled by government restrictions during the Qing dynasty for exclusive use in court commissions. 

“This imperially inscribed Zhang Ruocheng scroll is an exquisite highlight from the Bonhams Chinese Painting & Calligraphy auction. The sale encompasses a chronologically broad range of traditional Chinese painting, with fine works offered at all price points,” says Nicholas Rice, Bonhams Chinese Art Junior Specialist. “The March 20 auction is full of beautiful, quality pieces that are fresh to the market.” 

Also in a classical vein, Bonhams will offer two large-scale, yet finely executed Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) academy paintings. The first, depicting a “knick knack peddler” (est. $40,000-60,000) belongs to a genre of paintings that originally emerged in the court of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), in which playful children are shown selecting toys and confections from the cart of a kindly merchant. The second painting, formerly in the collection of the Vietnamese emperor Bao Dai (reigned 1926-1945) and thereafter by descent through his family—also rendered in ink and colors on silk—shows a scholar instructing his students in a mountain pavilion in early spring (est. $50,000-70,000). A delightfully humorous composition, the students open a trunk of books and are surprised to see a small mouse escape and scurry across the floor. 

“The March 20 sale is a dynamic assortment of both classical and contemporary traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy,” explains Bruce MacLaren, Bonhams Chinese Art Specialist. “With the works dating from the 14th century to the last decade of the 20th century, the pieces are a testament to the strength of the Chinese aesthetic, and of Chinese artists to continually work with and evolve within the tradition.” 

Among the 20th century Chinese masters represented in the sale, works by Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Qi Baishi (1863-1957), Qi Gong (1912-2005) and Pu Ru (1866-1940) will interest collectors and connoisseurs who are seeking more modern expressions within the Chinese painting genre. 

The Chinese Painting & Calligraphy sale will take place at Bonhams New York on March 20. The sale will preview at Bonhams from March 16 to March 19.