Federico Barocci, 'Self-Portrait', about 1595-1600. Oil on paper mounted on canvas, 41.5 x 32.5 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence - © 2013. Photo Scala, Florence - courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att.

LONDON.- This Spring, the National Gallery presents the first major monographic exhibition, dedicated to the art of Federico Barocci (1535-1612). The display assembles the majority of Barocci’s greatest altarpieces and paintings, together with sequences of dazzling preparatory drawings, allowing visitors to understand how each picture evolved. 'Barocci: Brilliance and Grace' showcases the remarkable fertility of Barocci’s imagination and the diversity of his working methods. 

Highly revered by his patrons during his lifetime, Barocci combined the beauty of the High Renaissance with the dynamism of what was to become known as the Baroque, a genre he was instrumental in pioneering. From his earliest creations of the 1550s, he began to challenge pictorial convention by positioning his figures in dynamic spatial arrangements, anticipating by almost half a century the innovations of Baroque art. He was an incessant and even obsessive draughtsman, preparing every composition with prolific studies in every conceivable medium. Fascinated and inspired by people and animals, he infused his harmonious compositions with infectious charm and an unparalleled sensitivity to colour. Spiritually attuned by nature, Barocci was predominantly a painter of religious subjects, his approach epitomising the clarity and accessibility required by a Catholic church, then in crisis. Barocci’s unique warmth and humanity transformed familiar gospel stories and more unusual visions into transcendent archetypes with universal appeal. 

Highlights of the exhibition include Barocci’s most spectacular altarpiece, 'The Entombment of Christ' from the Marchigian seaside town of Senigallia and 'Last Supper' painted for Urbino Cathedral, neither work ever having left Italy before. Two other splendid late altarpieces for Roman churches, the 'Visitation' from the Chiesa Nuova and the 'Institution of the Eucharist' from Santa Maria sopra Minerva, also are displayed. In addition, the exhibition also includes Barocci’s finest portraits, smaller devotional paintings, his only secular narrative ('Aeneas Flight from Troy'), and more than 65 preparatory drawings, pastel studies and oil sketches – the latter techniques pioneered by the ever experimental Barocci long before they became standard artistic practice. 

Born in the Marchigian town of Urbino, Federico Barocci was one of the most talented and innovative artists of late 16th-century Italy. He flourished in a town that had become one of the great cultural centres of the Renaissance, and had also been the birthplace of his famous predecessor Raphael, by whom he was much influenced. He emerged as a promising young painter and, in the 1550s, moved to Rome for further study. During a second trip to Rome in the 1560s, Barocci lived and worked with a number of Rome’s leading painters. After participating in a fresco project for Pope Pius IV in the Vatican, he was allegedly poisoned by jealous rivals during a picnic. Suffering severely and in need of recuperation, Barocci returned to Urbino in 1563, where he remained for the rest of his career. When he died in 1612, he was not only among the highest paid painters in Italy, but also one of the most influential. 

Many of Barocci’s most accomplished works remain in his home region of the Marches, Italy, on the altars for which they were made. Consequently, his name has not acquired the broad recognition of distinguished predecessors such as Raphael and Michelangelo, or successors such as Rubens, who, with other Baroque artists, drew inspiration from his sumptuous colour palette, expressive compositions and innovative techniques. Beloved by artists and art historians throughout the ages, those unfamiliar with Barocci’s art should prepare to be astonished by his brilliance and grace. 

'Barocci: Brilliance and Grace' is curated by Carol Plazzotta at the National Gallery. It was first shown in a different form in Saint Louis, where it was curated by Judith W. Mann and Babette Bohn.

Federico Barocci, Head study for Saint John the Evangelist. Oil on paper lined with linen, 42 x 31.7 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund 1979. 1979.11.1. Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Image courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Federico Barocci, 'Oil study for the head of Saint Elizabeth'; Brown, ochre, white, peach, and orange oils on paper, laid down on canvas. 39.1 x 27.4 cm. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence

Federico Barocci, 'Last Supper', 1590-99. Oil on canvas, 298 x 318 cm. Chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento, Cathedral, Urbino. Photo © Scala, Florence - courtesy of Ufficio Beni Culturali Diocesi di Urbino.

Federico Barocci, 'Entombment of Christ', 1579-82. Oil on canvas. 295 x 187 cm. Diocesi di Senigallia - Chiesa della Croce, Senigallia. © 2013. Photo Scala, Florence.

Federico Barocci, 'Visitation', 1583-86. Oil on canvas. 285 x 187 cm. Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa Nuova) © Francesco Cantone, Archivio della Congregazione dell'Oratorio di Roma, Archivio Fotografico ACOR.

 

Federico Barocci (1535-1612), Aeneas Fleeing Troy, 1598. Oil on canvas, 179 x 253 cm. Galleria Borghese, Rome 68. Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Roma

Federico Barocci, 'Studies for the Virgin's Hands'; Charcoal with red and pink pastel heightened with white on blue paper. 27.3 x 39.4 cm; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett © Volker-H. Schneider

Paire de meubles d'entre-deux. Attribuéà Pierre IV Migeon (1696-1758). Paris, époque Louis XV, vers 1750.Photo Kohn.

Bâti de sapin et de chêne, bois violet, bronzes dorés et marbre brèche violette. H. 90,5 cm, L. 85 cm, P. 48 cm - Estimation : 200 000 / 250 000 €

Cette élégante paire de meubles à hauteur d'appui de forme légèrement chantournée ouvre en façade par deux vantaux démasquant des étagères.

Ils sont ornés sur trois faces d'un placage de bois violet formant sur l'ensemble des meubles un décor de larges losanges.

Les angles des montants reçoivent une très belle chute de feuillages traitée en ajour.

La partie basse est soulignée par une ceinture sinueuse bordée de bronzes dorés et centrée d'un cul-de-lampe portée par quatre petits pieds cambrés terminés par des sabots de bronze.

Ils sont coiffés de marbres fleur de pêcher à gorges.

Cette paire de meubles, par sa dimension et sa forme élégante s'inscrit parfaitement dans la tradition des ébénistes de l'époque Louis XV et notamment de Pierre IV Migeon. Spécialiste des placages au savant jeu décoratif, l'objectif de ses meubles est de mettre en valeur les qualités intrinsèques des matériaux en les associant pour créer des décors à la fois sobres et élégants.

On retrouve ainsi ce motif de losanges qui recouvrent l'ensemble du meuble sur une encoignure conservée à la Neue Residenz de Bemberg. Outre son décor, les similitudes apparaissent également dans la découpe du meuble au niveau des petits pieds cambrés, renflés en partie supérieure et de la sinuosité du tablier.

Kohn. Mardi 5 mars 2013. Hôtel Le Bristol - Salon Castellane - 112, rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré– 75008 Paris - www.kohn.fr

A large blue and white brushpot (bitong), Transitional period, 17th century - photo Sotheby's

of waisted cylindrical form, painted in rich violet-blue tones with two pheasants and a smaller bird amid flowering chrysanthemums and peonies issuing from rockwork, all between double lines around the rim and base; eight 9 3/4  in., 24.8 cm - Estimation: 8,000 - 12,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Charlotte Horstmann & Gerald Godfrey Ltd., Hong Kong, January 1985.

NOTE: Brushpots are one of the implements of the scholar's desk and the present example embodies the fresh and unique forms that characterize early 17th century ceramics. With the late-Ming court suspending its commissions of porcelainproduction, the introduction of new patrons freed potters and painters to experiment with a wide range of styles beyond those previously prescribed by the court. The present elegant waisted vessel is an example of a form that evolved during the Chongzhen reign (1628-1644).
Compare a slightly smaller vessel of related form sold at Christie's New York, 18th September 2003, lot 300; and another sold in our London rooms, 10th November 1964, lot 92. Vessels of this form but with different decoration are also known, for example see one painted with figures in a landscape, in the collection of Mrs. Eugene L. Garbaty, included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period: 1620-1683, China House Gallery, New York,
1984, cat. no. 20; and another with flowering plants, sold in our London rooms, 11th May 1993, lot 1.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A rare blue and white double-gourd vase, Jiajing mark and period - photo Sotheby's

each bulb painted in deep cobalt-blue with medallions of a dragon, two phoenix, and a crane among clouds, divided by spandrels of scrolling lingzhi supporting various Daoist emblems, all between a collar of lotus petal panels at the cut-down neck, lotus scroll at the waist, and a skirt of oblique lappets above hooked scrolls at the foot; Height 18 in., 45.7 cm - Estimation: 60,000 - 80,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Property from a Philadelphia Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 17th September 2003, lot 83

NOTE: The present vase with its vivid blues and energetic design is characteristic of the second half of the Jiajing emperor's reign. The design incorporates Daoist symbols such as the crane and lingzhi popular during the Jiajing reign but more unusual are the predominance of the emblems of power, the dragon and phoenix. Usually vases of this type feature two distinct designs; deer and crane beneath pine and peach trees and other various emblems of immortality or gatherings of Immortals again amidst further Daoist symbols. The inclusion of imperial imagery such as seen on the present vase is quite rare.

A vase of the same form and design in the Philadelphia Art Museum is illustrated by Jean Gordon Lee, Ming Blue and White, Catalogue, 1949, no. 110 and another is the Copenhagen Museum of Decorative Arts, Andre Leth, Catalogue of Selected Objects of Chinese Art, 1959, no. 112. A similar example was sold in these rooms 1st-2nd April 1974, lot 210 and Christie's London, 21st June 2001, lot 86.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

French artist Pierre Soulages poses during the press preview of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

 ROME.- The French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici presents the exhibition Soulages XXIst Century from March 2 to June 16, 2013. The first personal exhibition in Italy dedicated to the greatest living French painter, it presents a vast selection of paintings on canvas and paper created since 2000. 

The exhibition entitled Soulages XXIst Century, organized by the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici and the Lyons Musée des Beaux-Arts, highlights how this master, considered to be the greatest representative of French abstraction and who has been internationally recognized since the early 1940s, is also truly a “contemporary” artist. At over 92, he still continues his in-depth investigation of abstract painting, exploring new possibilities stemming from the demanding premises on which he has based his practice since the very beginning of his activity as a painter. 

Since his 1948 tar paintings on glass – one will be shown in the exhibition as a historical benchmark – Soulages has proven that painting, yet more than colour, can be a way to enhance light and space. It is not without reason that he maintained fruitful and friendly relationships with artists such as Mark Rothko and Lucio Fontana in the 1950s. In 1979, he opened a new period, self-penned outrenoir (‘blackbeyond’, i.e. the idea of using black to reveal and organize light), and has since then presented every possible nuance of colour and light only through the use of black, spread over the canvas, yet diversified by the effects of the surfaces. Between 1999 and 2000, after a break of several years, he resumed painting on canvas, opening a new period characterized by a highly varied experimentation. Willing to assert what had only existed marginally before, he started creating families of paintings, which he still explores, more than ten years later: paintings where white is present, paintings which juxtapose smooth and rough surfaces, paintings made from multiplied discrete marks, collages, paintings based on diverse tonalities of black. The works of Soulages are present in the most important exhibitions and collections in the world, and he is widely considered the greatest contemporary French painter. The Centre Pompidou in Paris dedicated an important retrospective exhibition to him in 2009, which was later shown at the Museo Ciudad de Mexico and the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin. 

The exhibition Soulages XXIst Century, at Villa Medici, from March 2 to June 16, 2013, will concentrate on the most recent developments of his work, presenting an important selection of paintings, chosen together with the artist by its two curators: Éric de Chassey, director of the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici, and Sylvie Ramond, director of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyons. 

In the catalogue, Éric de Chassey writes: We have become used to considering Pierre Soulages one of the last “great classical artists”. It is true that his paintings are occasionally characterized by their balance and harmony, and a form of perfection, that create a sense of serenity and fulfilment in the viewer which is the cipher of classicism, if not of a certain Atticism. [...] He continues: Neither classicism nor his link to a certain tradition are goals that Soulages has deliberately pursued; rather, they are, on the one hand, the result of the fact that his work has by now been developing over decades and that therefore it has ended up seeming to us to be historical, while on the other hand, the moments of resolution that his art seems to achieve are merely temporary moments, immediately undone and relaunched. This is the reason why Pierre Soulages is a modernist artist. He was a modernist at the beginning of his career, immediately after World War II, when modernism was the mainstream of the art world . He still is today, when many say that we are all fall under “the postmodern condition”. 

Chassey concludes: Soulages’ recent paintings has not fallen asleep, resting on his mastery, but continues to explore the territories of experimentation. Nothing is ever gained once and for all. Each painting is a new experience. More than anything else, the experiencing of each painting is a new experience in itself. [...] Considering that art entertains a modelling relationship with reality, that abstract art does not take external reality as a model but, on the contrary, that it models our relationship with the world in a condensed way, that it suggests and depicts new dispositions that we can later carry into our everyday lives, is it really necessary to emphasize how vital the art of Pierre Soulages continues to be ? 

A visitor looks at a painting by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

 Visitors walk between paintings by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

A visitor looks at a painting by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

A visitor looks at a painting by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

A visitor looks at a painting by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

A visitor looks at a painting by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

A visitor looks at a painting by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

 A visitor looks at a painting by French artist Pierre Soulages as part of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

French artist Pierre Soulages poses during the press preview of the Soulages XXIst Century exhbition at the Villa Medici on March 1, 2013 in Rome. Soulages XXIst Century running from March 2 to June 16, 2013 is the first exhibition dedicated to 93 year-old Soulages, the greatest living French artist. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS.

À la Villa Médicis, première exposition consacrée en Italie au plus grand peintre français vivant.

Elle montrera une sélection de tableaux et d’œuvres sur papier réalisés depuis le début de notre siècle, qui font de cet artiste reconnu internationalement depuis les années 1940 un artiste pleinement contemporain.

Réalisée en collaboration avec le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, l’exposition Soulages XXI^e siècle montre comment cet artiste reconnu internationalement depuis la fin des années 1940 est aujourd’hui un artiste pleinement contemporain. À plus de 92 ans, il continue de renouveler profondément les possibilités de la peinture abstraite, ouvrant des voies nouvelles à partir d’une conception de l’art exigeante qu’il s’est forgée très tôt.

Ce sont les œuvres de cette nouvelle période de la création de Pierre Soulages que l’exposition Soulages XXI^e siècle, présentée à la Villa Médicis du 2 mars au 16 juin 2013, mettra en valeur à partir d’une sélection d’œuvres majeures opérée en collaboration avec l’artiste par les deux commissaires Éric de Chassey, directeur de l’Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis et Sylvie Ramond, conservateur en chef du patrimoine, directeur du musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.

Pierre Soulages. Photo: Philipp Wente.

Irving Penn (American, 1917-2009), Picasso, Cannes, France, 1957. Gelatin silver, before 1965; 22-1/4 x 22-1/2 inches (56.4 x 57.2 cm). From an edition of 30. Signed, titled, and dated in ink; REF 8395 and Print made before 1965 in ink; with Conde Nast copyright stamp with 1960 and Courtesy of Vogue in ink; limitation stamp Signed silver prints of this negative not exceeding 30 in ink on the verso of the mount. Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA.- Irving Penn's iconic close-up portrait of Picasso is expected to bring $60,000+ to lead a rare selection of four different Penn portraits offered in Heritage Auctions' March 23 Photographs Signature® Auction. The Penn works are offered amid a cavalcade of work by noted artists, ranging from Ansel Adams' Portfolio V, expected to bring $30,000+, and Richard Avedon's Kennedy Portrait, triple signed and inscribed by both the artist, JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy, expected to bring $15,000+. All lots come from private collections and will be presented at Heritage's Beverly Hills location.

Richard Avedon (American, 1923-2004), Kennedy Portrait, 1961. Vintage gelatin silver. 11-3/8 x 10 inches (28.9 x 25.4 cm). Signed and dated by the artist in ink in the lower left corner in the image; inscribed and signed in ink by Jacqueline and John Kennedy. Artist's stamp on the verso. Estimate: $15,000 - $30,000.

"This auction is wall to wall stars, both behind and in front of the camera," said Rachel Peart, Consignment Director for the company. "There are many instantly recognizable images by the powerhouses of photography from Man Ray to Cindy Sherman being offered." 

The Penn works highlight his work for Condé Nast's Vogue magazine and include a platinum-palladium of Dahomey Girls, One Reclining, expected to bring $15,000+, an early gelatin silver print of Dusek Brothers, New York, expected to bring $15,000+, and a vintage gelatin silver of Ballet Theater Group New York, expected to bring $8,000+. 

Irving Penn (American, 1917-2009), Dahomey Girls, One Reclining, 1967. Platinum-palladium, 1976; 19-3/4 x 19-3/4 inches (50.2 x 50.2 cm). Signed, titled, dated, numbered Ed. 10/35, with REF: P1850 in pencil; Conde Nast copyright and artist's limitation stamp on the verso. Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000.

A circa 1969 gelatin silver print of Robert Frank's 1955 photograph titled Newburgh, New York aka Fish Kill is expected to bring $25,000+ and a gelatin silver of Helmut Newton's Woman into Man, Yves St. Laurent, for French Vogue, 1979, is expected to bring $20,000+, while an edgy 2000 chromogenic print from photographer David LaChapelle depicting musician Eminem is expected to bring $10,000+. 

Robert Frank (American, b. 1924), Newburgh, New York, 1955. Gelatin silver, circa 1969; 11-3/4 x 7-7/8 inches (29.8 x 20.0 cm). Signed, titled, and dated in ink in the image on the verso Fishkilll, NY 1955 Robert Frank. Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000.

Helmut Newton (German/Australian, 1920-2004), Woman into Man, Yves St. Laurent for French Vogue, Paris, 1979. Gelatin silver, printed later; 14-1/4 x 9-1/4 inches (36.2 x 23.5 cm). Ed. 6/75. Signed and edition in pencil on the verso, Print 1, Suite I, with artist's stamp on the verso. Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000.

David LaChapelle (American, b. 1964), Eminem: About to Blow, 1999. Chromogenic, 2000; 60 x 50 inches (152.4 x 127 cm). Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000.

Additional highlights include but are not limited to: 

Sunday on the Banks of the River Marne by Henri Cartier-Bresson, expected to bring $10,000+.

Couple d'Amoureux dans un Petit Café by Brassai, expected to bring $8,000.

A gelatin silver of Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous VJ Day, Times Square, NYC, expected to bring $8,000+.

New York at Night by Berenice Abbott, expected to bring $8,000+. 

Zao Wou-Ki’s 10.03.83, Oil on Canvas, 200 x 325 cm. Est. HKD25 – 32 million / USD3.2 – 4.1 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong 20th Century Chinese Art Spring Sale 2013 will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the 6th April 2013. Tracing the variety of aspirations and edifices shaping the history of Chinese art, this auction will feature a lush array of works sourced from around the globe. Led by Abstract and Realism art, this meticulously curated Spring Sale will offer more than 150 lots estimated at HK$150 million/ US$19 million*. Appearing at auction for the first time, Zao Wou-Ki’s rare diptych, 10.03.83, completed at the pinnacle of his career, as well as Wang Yidong’s Teasing the Newlyweds, the first group-portrait painting that derives inspiration from Chinese wedding rituals, serve to highlight the ingenious creative outlooks of Chinese artists of the 20th century at the sale. 

Sylvie Chen, Head of Sotheby’s 20th Century Chinese Art Department, said: ‘’The colour Red has always been an auspicious symbol in Chinese culture. Coinciding with Sotheby’s Asia’s 40th anniversary celebration this year, this Spring we are delighted to offer a series of red-hued paintings, the highlight being Wang Yidong’s rubicund and festive masterwork - Teasing the Newlyweds. Apart from the debut of Wang’s outstanding realist painting, we will also be introducing an important work by yet another leading figure in Chinese Realism - Ai Xuan’s Longing, a poignantly beautiful depiction of Tibetan romance. On the Abstract art front, Zao Wou-Ki’s 10.03.83, a diptych that is rarely seen in the artist’s oeuvre, will surely take the collectors’ world by storm. In addition, Chu Teh-Chun’s picturesque rendering of the majestic snow-capped mountains in his 25 Décembre 1985 and Wu Dayu’s dexterous work, Untitled No.7, both delicately elicit the essence of Abstract art. Other highlights include Wu Guanzhong’s landscape paintings, as well as other fine works from such 20th century Chinese artists as Wang Huaiqing, Yun Gee, Hon-Chew Hee, Shen Hanwu, to name a few. These coveted works sourced from around the world make this auction the one to intensely look forward to.” 

Chinese Abstract Art. Chinese abstract master Zao Wou-Ki reached the pinnacle of his artistic career in the 1980s. His generous and unconstrained state of mind in this period is reflected in his instinctive brushworks and colour palette. Combining forms of traditional Western and Eastern art, Zao created the present massive 10.03.83 (200 x 325 cm; Est. HK$25 - 32 million / US$3.2 – 4.1 million) which is an exceptionally rare diptych in the artist’s oeuvre. In 1983, the year this painting was created, Zao paid a visit to his artist friend and Chinese art master, Zhang Daqian, and took inspiration from Zhang’s liberal and spectacular colour splash ink paintings, which led to the unique composition in this work. The skyline divides the painting into two parts with multifarious colours, presenting the audience with a panoramic view on the peak of Taishan. Since its completion in 1983, 10.03.83 has been showcased at 18 important international exhibitions. The debut offering at auction of a work of such rarity and prominence marks a remarkable occasion. 

At the zenith of his career, Chu Teh-Chun embarked on creating his famous Snow Scene Series inspired by his passion for the magnificence of the Alps. The 25 Décembre 1985 (Est. HK$15 – 20 million / US$1.9 – 2.5 million) which underlines the Series forms a reminiscent of the landscape paintings from the Chinese Song Dynasty. Paris in the snow was another stimulus to inspire the artist when he looked out from his studio in Bagnolet in the Eastern suburbs of Paris. The various shades of oil paint ricochets with ink painting’s technique of ‘coke, thick, heavy, light, clear’. Texture and depth is further enriched with the shades of blue, green and red. The distinctive dripping and splashing techniques often applied by Lyrical Abstract artists distinguish Chu Teh-Chun’s style and also augment the vigour of the ephemeral snow. Yet, the harmony between the spirit of Western Abstractionism and the poetic essence of the East are captured in this work. 

A mentor to renowned Chinese artists including Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun and Wu Guanzhong, Wu Dayu is reputed for his forte in working colours to the charm that overrides the mere formal images. In his mature years, his intense passion is fully adorned through the application of vivid colours, and complex yet compact compositions. Sotheby's sold Wu’s Untitled No.37 at its Autumn Sale 2012 for HK$9.02 million / US$1.1 million, achieving a record for the artist at auction. This season, the artist’s Untitled No.7 (Est. HK$3.5 – 5 million / US$450,000 - 640,000) couched in blue hues, looks deceptively abstract, will be on offer. The painting carefully conceals a mask redolent of traditional Beijing opera figures, with the gorgeous costume of the actor imminent in the background. 

The Auspicious Red. The auspicious colour Red has a profound significance in Chinese culture as a token of prosperity, fortune, life and hope. Heralded as one of the Chinese Realism art masters, Wang Yidong’s Teasing the Newlyweds, which marks its premier appearance at auction for the first time (Est. HK$12 – 16 million / US$1.5 – 2 million), is amongst the first of his group-portrait paintings to be centered on a Chinese marriage theme, evocative of the jubilant folk customs of his native hometown, Yi Meng in Shandong province. Wang Yidong pays tribute to his beloved homeland with his adroit, rapt depictions of local figures, Chinese rituals such as the wedding toast and teasing the newlyweds, causing a stir amongst his 19 guests whose myriad of emotions and dynamics are meticulously captured. The artist also applies classic Renaissance realist technique, chiaroscuro, foregrounding the painting with its median red candle to illuminate the scene. The beauty of rural life is daintily articulated with his cinematic use of narrative. Since its completion in 1998, Teasing the Newlyweds has remained in the hands of a private collector; its sequel, Teasing the Newlyweds No. 2 - Lucky Cigarettes, was sold for HK$12.98 million / US$1.7 million at Sotheby’s Autumn Sale 2008 and achieved an auction record for the artist at the time. At its debut in auction, Teasing the Newlyweds is an exquisite showpiece set to stir up interest of connoisseurs. 

Other works on offer that exemplify the aesthetic essence of the colour Red in Chinese art include: Wang Yidong’s Letter from Far Away, Chu Teh-Chun's Composition, Su Xiaobai's Acclaim, LaLan’s Red and Blue, Hsiao Chin’s La repressione cinese – 1 and La grandezza, Liu Jiu-Tong’s Beauty Beyond Words and Distant Traveler, and Huang Gang’s The World of Mortals. 

Chinese Realism Art. Ai Xuan, the acclaimed exemplar of Chinese Realist art, has been known for his inimitable Tibetan series of works. His romantic touch is no more apparent than in his Longing (Est. HK$8.8 - 12 million / US$1.1 – 1.5 million), capturing the characters’ delicate and elusive sentiments. The male figure is seen crestfallen while the girl’s hands tightly clasped. Their juxtaposition seems to suggest that they are in two minds. Multifarious emotions including doubt, helplessness, frustration, anxiety, and longing could be observed from her eyes - the amalgamation provides unlimited avenues for our imagination. 

Ai Xuan’s works are a culmination of his forty years of dedicated observation and creation, weaving into a lyrical tale that is telling of his perceptive understanding of life. The quintessence of the landscape paintings from the Song and Yuan Dynasty also finds its expression in the work’s background, where the grandeur of the northern Tibetan plateau landscape is adorned with scintillating snowflakes. It is amidst the simplicity that the viewer is given an insight into the paradoxical beauty and sorrow of humans in the face of harsh environments. 

Wu Guanzhong’s Landscape Paintings. Wu Guanzhong's endeavour to voyage through Chinese landscapes is unequalled among artists of his generation. His A Mountain Village of Xibaipo (Est. HK$3.8 – 4.8 million / US$490,000 – 620,000), Bamboo Forest of the Lijiang River (Est. HK$4 – 5 million / US$510,000 – 640,000) and Lijiang Town at the Foot of the Yulong Mountains (Est. HK$3 – 4 million / US$380,000 – 510,000) are all exquisite landscape paintings presented in this auction. At the time of creating A Mountain Village of Xibaipo, the artist was once banned from painting. His experience living in the small village in the Hebei Province inspired him to explore the use of minimal colour and angular housing shapes that reflect the whispered serenity of the rural scenery. Bamboo Forest of the Lijiang River features Wu’s use of bright hues and different textures, exposing the layers of bamboo by the Lijiang River. Lijiang Town at the Foot of the Yulong Mountains from a cavalier perspective shows the artist’s modern take on the mastery of multiple perspectives of Chinese paintings and a manner derived from landscape art of Song Dynasty, expressing the unperturbed ancient city of Lijiang as well as the breathtaking scenery of Yulong Mountains. 

‘Intersection ntersection of East and West’ – Themed section of Hon-Chew Hee’s works Following the success of last season’s ‘A Fallen Star In The Artist Realm: David Wu Ject- Key’, we are delighted to offer a series of ten works by yet another Chinese artist who developed his career in the United States - Hon-Chew Hee. The works have previously been kept in different American private collections, and serve to display Hee’s artistic spectrum. 

Originally from Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, Hee graduated from the California Institute of the Arts, Columbia University, New York, and the Art Student’s League. Later he taught art at the University of Hawaii. The former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had been a student of his. Since the 1930s, the artist has been dedicated to exploring the aesthetics of Yin Yang and blends abstract and figurative forms to depict the beauty of three-dimensional space. He was twice named Best Artist of the Year by the government of the State of Hawaii in 1971 and 1986 respectively. In 1985, he received Gold Oscar from the Academy of Design in Italy. 

Also showcased in this auction are two important works, San Francisco Street Scene and Artists by Yun Gee, a forerunner of Synchronism. He was considered in the United States academia as the pioneer in the development of modern art in the West coast. The two works e exhibit his exceptional talent during his time in San Francisco. 

Wang Yidong’, Teasing the Newlyweds. EEst. HKD12 – 16 million / USD1.5 – 2 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

A blue and white 'Ode to the Red Cliff' dish, Transitional period - Photo Sotheby's

with gentle shallow sides, the interior painted with a scene from 'Ode to the Red Cliff', with Su Dongpo and two friends in a raft drinking wine, steered by an attendant through a mountainous riverscape, beneath a crane in flight and an inscription describing the scene; Diameter 10 1/8  in., 25.6 cm - Estimation: 6,000 - 8,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Acquired by Mr. Henry S. Palmer in Hong Kong in the 1850s and thence by descent.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A 'Kosometsuke' blue and white dish, Tianqi mark and period - Sotheby's

of circular form with with a shallow cavetto and everted rim, the center loosely painted with a scene of two scholars crossing a bridge away from a pavilion under a sheltering pine and towards a mountainous landscape, the border asymmetrical with six circular medallions, four-character mark in underglaze blue; Diameter 5 3/4  in., 14.6 cm - Estimation: 5,000 - 7,000 USD

EXHIBITED: S. Marchant & Son, Ming Porcelain for the Japanese Market, London, 2008, no. 25

NOTE: A similar dish is illustrated by Julia B. Curtis, Trade Taste & Transformation, Jingdezhen Porcelain for Japan 1620-1645, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2006, no. 33, p. 61.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

Exceptionnelle commode formant présentoir d'objets précieux. Attribuéà Mattyjs Horrix (Looberich, 1735 - La Haye, 1809), Hollande, vers 1765-1770. Photo Kohn

Bâti de chêne, bois de rose, amarante, acajou et bois teinté vert, bronzes dorés et cuir. H. 87 cm, L. 130 cm, P. 66 cm - Estimation : 130 000 / 150 000 €

Cette commode de forme galbée ouvre en façade à deux tiroirs à traverses de soutien dissimulées.
Au centre, dans un cartouche, se détache un superbe décor marqueté d'une scène animée de personnages élégants en train de converser au milieu d'un paysage verdoyant et de papillons.

Le fond de ce tableau est composé de losanges ponctués de cubes.
Des motifs de coeur sont présents aux quatre angles.
Sur les panneaux latéraux apparaît une nature morte dans un médaillon émergeant d'une marqueterie de cubes.

Ce décor est complété par une élégante ornementation de bronzes ciselés et dorés de style rocaille telles entrées de serrure et poignées de tirage.

Une large feuille d'acanthe ajourée

PROtège l'arête des montants et se prolonge sur les sabots garnissant les quatre pieds du meuble.

Le plateau est orné d'un trophée de musique marqueté posé sur un entablement.

Il est encadré de rinceaux feuillagés et se détache sur un fond géométrique similaire à celui de la façade. Ouvert, il démasque un vaste espace de rangement destinéà contenir de la vaisselle et autres objets précieux que le propriétaire pouvait exposer aux yeux de ses convives grâce aux deux étagères rétractables situées sur l'intérieur du panneau.
Deux tirettes latérales tendues de cuir forment écritoire.

Cette commode à transformation peut ainsi prendre l'apparence d'une véritable crédence au milieu d'un vaste salon.

La qualité et l'originalité de ce meuble, tant dans sa forme que par son décor permet de l'attribuer à l'un des plus éminents ébénistes hollandais du XVIIIe siècle, Mattyjs Horrix.
Devenu membre de la Guilde des ébénistes de la Haye et citoyen de cette même ville, Horrix y développa un superbe atelier dont la production sut séduire une riche clientèle.
Son art était très apprécié en particulier auprès de la Cour du Stadhouder William V duquel il reçut de nombreuses commandes.
Son atelier, appelé« A la commode de Paris » traduit toutes les influences françaises et notamment du style Louis XV, visibles dans ce meuble et dans une grande partie de son OEuvre. Plusieurs de ses réalisations sont conservées dans les collections de la Reine Beatrix des Pays-Bas et au Ryjksmuseum d'Amsterdam.

Une très grande majorité de l'OEuvre de Mattyjs Horrix n'est pas estampillée et seules des attributions à ce maître demeurent possibles par comparaison. Dans une commode exécutée par l'entourage de cet ébéniste, certainement réalisée d'après un modèle de ce dernier, aujourd'hui conservée au Rijksmuseum d'Amsterdam, et datée vers 1765-1770, on retrouve de grandes similitudes avec le meuble que nous présentons.

On observe ce même fond marqueté de losanges aux contours soulignés de bois clair ponctué de fleurettes.

Le galbe général de la commode est également très accentué, tant en façade que sur les côtés.

Un large cartouche central se développe sur les deux tiroirs pour encadrer le motif principal.

La découpe du tablier, très prononcée, est aussi équivalente tout comme l'emploi raisonnable de bronzes ciselés et dorés traités en ajours, inspirés du style rocaille qui complètent l'ornementation du meuble.

Les meubles exécutés par Horrix se démarquèrent de ceux de ses contemporains car il fut le premier à introduire en Hollande le grand style Louis XV français en matière d'ébénisterie.

Kohn. Mardi 5 mars 2013. Hôtel Le Bristol - Salon Castellane - 112, rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré– 75008 Paris - www.kohn.fr

Coffret. Naples, seconde moitié du XVIIe siècle. Photo Kohn

Bâti en bois résineux, nacre, écaille, bois polychromes et métal H. 13 cm, L. 49 cm, P. 38 cm - Estimation : 120 000 / 150 000 €

Ce ravissant coffret de forme rectangulaire présente un somptueux décor en marqueterie se développant sur l'ensemble du corps de la boîte.

Le couvercle et les côtés s'ornent d'une scène de la naissance de Vénus entourée de putti dans un exubérant décor de fleurs au naturel sur fond d'écaille, tandis que l'intérieur du coffret, des fleurs et feuillages en marqueterie de bois polychromes couvrent l'ensemble des panneaux.

Cette technique n'est pas sans rappeler les « peintures en bois » initiées par les artistes hollandais et qui se propagea dans toute l'Europe.
Des ateliers se consacrèrent à cette technique et notamment celui de Leonard van der Vinne (1659-1713) qui travailla pour les Médicis. Originaire des Flandres, il excella dans la marqueterie de bois précieux, d'ivoire et de nacre et collabora fréquemment avec le sculpteur Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725) qui lui fournissait les dessins.

Ils collaborèrent sur de nombreuses réalisations, cabinets, bureaux, plateaux, pendules ou menus objets, comme ce coffret, conservé au Kunsgewerbemuseum de Berlin, qui présente un décor en marqueterie de bois polychromes, visible à l'intérieur de la caisse, très proche de notre modèle.

RÉFÉRENCES BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES: Alvar Gonzáles-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Milan, 1986, vol. I; pl. IV et vol. II, p. 32-35, 40-44 et 54

Enrico Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Arredi e Decorazioni d'interni dal 1600 al 1738, éd. Electa, Milan, 2000, pp. 165-171

Kohn. Mardi 5 mars 2013. Hôtel Le Bristol - Salon Castellane - 112, rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré– 75008 Paris - www.kohn.fr

Importante coupe en ivoire reposant sur un socle en argent. XIXème siècle. Photo Millon et Associés

à décor repoussé en forme de calice. Le corps central est à décor de scène de chasse avec la représentation de Diane avec un sanglier, un cerf, un bouc, et un chien. Socle en métal argenté remonté. H.: 33cm - Estimation : 3 000 - 5 000 €

Millon et Associés. Mercredi 6 mars 2013. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 1 et 7 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. contact@millon-associes.com - Tél. : 01 47 27 95 34

Représentation de Frédéric II (1712-1786) roi de Prusse. Première moitié du XIXème siècle. Photo Millon et Associés

Groupe en ivoire sculpté, représentant le roi de Prusse Frédéric II, à cheval le bras droit tendu. Il repose sur un socle flanqué de pilastres et agrémenté de scènes polychromes illustrant ses faits d'armes: la bataille de Lovositz le 1er octobre 1756 et la bataille du 16 octobre 1756. Décoration de bronzes dorés et argentés tels que: guirlandes de fleurs, tapis de selle, et cabochons; (fentes et restaurations) H: 42,5 - L: 21,5cm - Estimation : 3 000 - 5 000 €

La représentation de Frédéric II (1712-1786) roi de Prusse est très en vogue au cours du XIXème siècle. L'Empereur Napoléon Ier en possède une effigie sur son bureau. L'exemplaire que nous présentons s' inspire directement de celui réalisé par le sculpteur Emmanuel Bardou [(élève de Lambert Sigisbert Adam),1744-1818) pour la manufacture de Berlin pour laquelle il avait réalisé d'autres modèles. En 1786 il exécute une statue en bronze de Frédéric le Grand, et une du Maréchal Schwering. D'autres sculpteurs ont reproduit ce souverain, en particulier Théodore Erdmann Kalide (1801-1863) à partir de l'oeuvre de Bardou. 

Millon et Associés. Mercredi 6 mars 2013. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 1 et 7 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. contact@millon-associes.com - Tél. : 01 47 27 95 34

Three 'Jizhou' bowls, Southern Song dynasty - Sotheby's

each with rounded sides rising in two of the bowls to a slightly indented ridged vertical rim and in the other to a slightly inverted rim, all supported on a round bottomed base with wedge-sectioned footrim, covered in a dark brown glaze, one painted in overglaze with a magpie and prunus branch, one with the moon and a plum blossom and the third with 'hawksbill speckles' (3). Diameter of largest 4 1/2  in., 11.4 cm - Estimation: 8,000 - 9,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Collection of Gale R. Blosser (1913-2009), acquired at Kalk Bay Antiques, Cape Town, 1970s.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A large 'Cizhou' russet-splashed bowl , Jin dynasty - Sotheby's

the robustly potted body with deep gently rounded sides rising from the short spreading foot to the rolled rim, covered overall with a thick lustrous black glaze decorated in the interior with three bold vertical russet splashes, the foot unglazed revealing the light buff body. Diameter 7 in., 17.8 cm - Estimation: 8,000 - 10,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Collection of Gale R. Blosser (1913-2009), acquired at Kalk Bay Antiques, Cape Town, 1970s.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

Nautile monté en forme de cygne. Travail dans le style de Nuremberg du XVIème siècle. XIXème siècle. Photo Millon et Associés

reposant sur une base ovaleen argent à décor de fleurs en repoussé. Légers accidents. H.: 30,5cm -Estimation : 3 000 - 4 500 €

Millon et Associés. Mercredi 6 mars 2013. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 1 et 7 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. contact@millon-associes.com - Tél. : 01 47 27 95 34

Christ en émail champlevé. Limoges. XIIIème siècle. Photo Millon et Associés

la tête est couronnée, les yeux sont émaillés, le périzonium est émaillé de bleu. Accidents: pieds, mains et Croix en bronze doré, postérieurs. L'ensemble est présenté sur un bloc de cristal de roche. H. du Christ: 14,5cm. ; H. de l'ensemble: 36cm - Estimation : 3 000 - 4 000 €

Millon et Associés. Mercredi 6 mars 2013. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 1 et 7 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. contact@millon-associes.com - Tél. : 01 47 27 95 34

A green 'Jun' dish, Song dynasty - Sotheby's

of shallow circular form with upturned rim, covered in an unctuous grayish-green glaze, thinning towards the rim and stopping just short of the edge of the foot on the underside; Diameter 6 1/4 in., 15.9 cm - Estimation: 5,000 - 7,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Collection of Dr. Richard and Mrs. Mary Eckhardt, acquired in Japan between 1947-1952, and thence by descent.

NOTE: A slightly larger green 'Jun' dish of this form, formerly in the Collection of Myron S. Falk, Jr., was sold in these rooms, 23rd March 2011, lot 507.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A small 'Longquan' celadon-glazed bowl, Song dynasty - Sotheby's

the smoothly rounded sides incurved to the unglazed rim, rising from a neatly knife-pared footrim, covered overall with a lustrous celadon glaze of even tone, wood stand (2). Diameter 3 5/8  in., 9.3 cm - Estimation: 7,000 - 9,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Berton, acquired in the 1930s or 40s, London.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 19 mars 2013 - www.sothebys.com

Attribuéà Cornelis Verelst (Vers 1667 - 1734), Nature morte au bouquet de fleurs. Photo Millon et Associés

Toile, 45 x 38cm. Restaurations - Estimation : 3 000 - 4 000 €

Millon et Associés. Mercredi 6 mars 2013. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 1 et 7 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. contact@millon-associes.com - Tél. : 01 47 27 95 34