Lot 1348. An hexagonal zitan table and set of six stools; 32 1/8 in. (81.6 cm.) high, 48 in. (121.8 cm.) wide, 41 5/8 in. (105.7 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 50,000 - USD 70,000. Price realised USD 122,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The table with top panels set within the hexagonal frame flush with the plain, beaded aprons below, supported on thick, beaded, faceted legs terminating in hoof feet, each stool similarly constructed with legs joined by latticework stretchers.

Lot 1346. A pair of zitan horseshoeback armchairs, quanyi; 37 in. (94 cm.) high, 20¾ in. (52.7 cm.) wide, 16¾ in. (42.5 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 23,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The curved toprail of each set above gently curved plain splats carved with stylizedchilong roundels and extending beyond the front corner posts, supported on curved stiles on either side, the zitan seat set into the rectangular frame above plain, beaded aprons and spandrels in the front, and plain aprons and spandrels on the sides and rear, the legs of rounded square section joined by stepped stretchers and the footrest above a plain apron. 

Lot 1358. An unusual small zitankang table, kangji, 19th century; 11 in. (28 cm.) high, 25¼ in. (64.2 cm.) wide, 18 5/16 in. (46.5 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 56,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

With four-panel top set within the rectangular frame, above aprons carved in sunken relief with key fret and stylized chilong confronted around pearls, the whole supported on short legs of square section terminating in scroll-form hoof feet. 

Attributed to the 'Master of beautiful breasts', Attie, Lagoon area, Ivory Coast, 19th century. Wood, 40 cm. © Lucas Ratton at TEFAF Maastricht 2019, Stand 604.

Provenance: Probably in William O. Oldman's collection (1879-1949), London; Formerly in Armand Trampitsch's collection (1893-1975), Paris; Formerly in Georges F. Keller's collection (1899-1981), Paris; Formerly in Paolo Morigi's collection, Lugano; Formerly in Rudolf and Leonore Blum's collection, USA, acquired from Paolo Morigi in 1989; Formerly in Daniel Hourdé's collection, Paris; Formerly in Adrian Schlag's collection, Brussels.

Literature: A. Jacob, ABC Décor, "Statuaire de l'Afrique Noire", Paris, January 1976, p. 75 
Bertrand Goy, Côte d'Ivoire, premiers regards sur la sculpture 1850-1935, Ed. Schoffel Valluet, Paris, 2012, p. 117-118 
Adrian Schlag, La région lagunaire, Cover, 2016, pp. 88-91 
Paolo Morigi, Racccolta di un amatore d’arte primitiva, Bern, 1980, pp. 164-167 
Kunstmuseum/Musée des Beaux-Arts de Berne, Kunst aus Afrika und Ozeanien. Eine unbekannte Privatsammlung / Art d'Afrique et d'Océanie. Une collection privée inconnue", Bern, 1980, p. 168 

Exhibited: Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900's, lent by Albert Daudy.

TEFAF March 16-24, 2019 Maastricht, Stand 604.

Beginning in the 1920s, his great-uncle, Charles Ratton, and his grandfather, Maurice Ratton, were Parisian pioneers of the Tribal Arts. Today, thirty years old Lucas Ratton perpetuates the family tradition of excellence in his gallery located 33 rue de Seine in Paris.

The gallery specializes in ritual african art, with selected objects such as Tyi Wara (also known as Chi Wara) crest masks or headdresses from the Bambara ethnic group in Mali, classical sculptures and ancestor statuary produced by the Punu and Fang tribes in Gabon, rare magical pieces, feminine images and protective family fetish figures from the Kusu, Luba and Teke tribes in the Congo.

The objects are acquired in important French and international collections.

The selection criterias became higher in 2014 with the opening of a new gallery located in Paris, in the heart of the historic district of Saint Germain des Prés.

Lot 7. A German silver-gilt Stacking 'Munzbecher', Hans Kellner, Nuremberg, 1592-94; 8.9cm., 3 1/2 in. high; 245gr., 8oz. 3dwt. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP. Lot sold 65,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2017.

the upper body applied with four casts after antique Roman coins between engraved foliate scrolls, lower body chased with lobes and strapwork, circular foot cast and chased in high relief with dancing putti in leafy scrolls, underside initialled 'L M L'.

Associated Literature: Timothy Schroder, The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver, Los Angeles, 1998, pp. 137-138. 
Hannelore Muller, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, European Silver, Sotheby's, London, 1986, pp. 172-173. 
Karin Tebbe et al., Nurnberberger Goldschmiedkunst 1541-1868, Band I, Nuremberg, 2007, no. 422 (17) pp. 211-213.

Note: Three other examples of this beaker are known. Two were sold from the collection of Sydney J. Lamon, Christie's London, November 28, 1973, lots 65 and 66. These were subsequently acquired for the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection and added to an example which had been purchased by Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza before 1938. Like the present beaker, two of these are also initialled 'M'.

The ornament on the beaker  is typical of Nuremberg work for the first half of the 16th century. This looking back to an older Germany, appears to have been favoured by Nuremberg Patrician families such as the Loffelhöltz. A Beaker in the Sir Arthur Gilbert collection, also by Hans Kellner, circa 1590 has the Loffelhöltz arms surrounded by similar etched ornament of the 1530's.

Sotheby's. From Earth to Fire, London, 4 May 2017

Lot 8. A German silver-gilt covered beaker, Hans Paulus Hauer, Nuremburg, circa 1670; 17.1cm., 6 3/4 in. high; 301.7gr., 9oz. 14dwt. Estimate 2,000 — 3,000 GBP. Lot sold 3,500 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2017.

body and cover chased with foliage, on three ball feet.

Sotheby's. From Earth to Fire, London, 4 May 2017

Lot 9. A German silver-gilt canister, Hieronymus Wolfgang Kern, Augsburg, circa 1649-53; 19.8cm., 7 3/4 in. high; 1111.3gr., 35oz. 14dwt. Estimate 12,000 — 18,000 GBP. Lot sold 21,250 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2017. 

sexfoil, the body chased with panels of foliate and shell scrolls, the screw-off cover similarly chased, panelled double scroll drop handle, lobate detachable stopper with loop handle, fully marked, also with 1788 St Petersburg control mark.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 4th April 1957, Lot 66.

Sotheby's. From Earth to Fire, London, 4 May 2017

Lot 10. A German silver-gilt cup and cover, Heinrich Jonas, Nuremburg, circa 1593-1602; 32.4cm., 12 3/4 in. high; 367gr., 11oz. 14dwt. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 GBP. Lot sold 27,500 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2017. 

the cover with waisted and girdled pedestal surmounted by a warrior, the body of flaring beaker form, chased with three vignettes depicting a horse, a stag, and a unicorn among fruiting and foliate strapwork, the compressed knopped stem spreading on to an embossed double-domed foot, marked on body, cover and foot.

Note: For a very similar example see Hannelore Muller, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, European Silver, Sothebys's, 1986, no.51. The author comments on designs on the cup as after the Nuremburg engravers, including: Paul Flindt, a master of alternating scrollwork with animal scenes; Jost Amman, whose illustration inspired the chasing of the horse; and Cunrat Gesner, whose woodcut (from history of the animals) is behind the chasing of the stag. 

Sotheby's. From Earth to Fire, London, 4 May 2017

Lot 11. A German parcel-gilt silver cup and cover, Jeremias Flicker II, Augsburg, 1606-10; 25.3cm., 10in. high; 341.5gr., 10oz. 18dwt. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 GBP. Lot sold 5,625 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2017. 

diamond embossed heart-shaped body, similarly embossed cover and domed foot below stem, figure finial, body, cover and foot also with 1806 Vienna control marks.

Note: For a similar example by Johann Flicker IV see, Habsburg Feldman, Geneva, 11 November 1987, Lot 70/85. 

Sotheby's. From Earth to Fire, London, 4 May 2017

Lot 13. A German parcel-gilt silver cup and cover, Eustachius Hohmann, Nuremberg, circa 1593-1602; 26.7cm., 10 1/2 in. high; 274.4gr., 8oz. 16dwt. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Lot sold 32,500 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2017. 

pear form, the lower body chased with foliate strap-work, the cover with stylised urn finial issuing foliate sprays cast from nature, accolee armorials to inside cover, dated 1636, the cast 'wood-cutter' stem below foliate sheet scrollwork, on a spreading circular double-dome foot embossed with husked and lobed bands.

Associated Literature: Marc Rosenberg, Janmitzer, Frankfurt, 1920, p.23-24. various other plates and pages. 
Timothy Wilson, Treasures of the Goldsmith's Art: The Michael Wellby Bequest to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2015, p.38-39.

Note: The arms on the left of reader (husband) are those of EHINGER of Baltzheim, and those on the right (wife) of FETZER of Ockenhausen.

The nature of the casting to the finial is reminiscent of the work of the silversmith Wenzel Janmitzer who mastered the technique of casting 'from nature', referring to the acquisition and casting acquisition of actual plant and insect specimens.

A similar cup by Tobias Wolf of Nuremberg, with sheet scrollwork finial, is in The Museum Fur Kunst Und KulturgeshichteDortmund, and illustrated in Gold Und Silber, Dortmund, 1965, no. 48. Another by the same maker is in the Rudolf-August Oetker Collection; see exhibition catalogue, Monika Bachtler et. all, Die Faszination Des Sammelns, Green Vaults, Dresden and Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, 2012, no.50.

Sotheby's. From Earth to Fire, London, 4 May 2017

 Anthony Van Dyck (1599 – 1641), Equestrian portrait of Charles I, National Gallery.

HELVOIRT.- The Executive Committee of The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) has awarded a total of €50,000 from TEFAF’s Museum Restoration Fund to support the distinct and complex restoration and conservation projects at the National Gallery, UK, and the Museum Volkenkunde, The Netherlands, for the benefit of future generations. At the National Gallery, the fund will support the restoration of the famous ‘Equestrian Portrait of Charles I’ by Anthony van Dyck (1599 – 1641), a powerful painting of the King, whilst at the Museum Volkenkunde, it supports a previously unknown and entirely unique 8-fold screen by Japanese artist Kawahara Keiga (1786 – c.1860), ‘View of Deshima in Nagasaki Bay’. 

Founded in 2012, the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund supports the restoration and conservation of culturally significant works in museums and institutions worldwide. Museums and institutions that have attended TEFAF Maastricht are eligible to apply for the grants, which are awarded by an independent panel of experts. Supporting the wider art community is an integral part of TEFAF’s DNA and the Fund is one way the Foundation demonstrates its ongoing dedication to cultural heritage. 

Presentations about each project will be displayed at TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s leading fine art and antiques Fair, which takes place from the 16-24 March 2019 at the MECC (Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre), Maastricht, The Netherlands.

The National Gallery, UK 
The National Gallery houses one of the world’s finest collections of paintings, attracting between 5 and 6 million visitors every year, who are taken on a journey through European art over seven centuries, from the 13th century to the early 20th century. ‘The Equestrian Portrait of Charles I’ by Anthony van Dyck, which requires a major programme of conservation and restoration, is a famous and much-loved work in the Gallery’s collection. 

The work is one of only two equestrian portraits of Charles I that have been firmly attributed to Van Dyck (the other, earlier portrait, is in the Royal Collection and hangs in Windsor Castle). Van Dyck was a successful Flemish portraitist, as well as an accomplished draughtsman and etcher; he is now remembered especially for his representations of Charles I and his Court. The artist’s choice of an equestrian portrait underlines the King’s horsemanship, often associated with virtue and courage, and is also deliberately reminiscent of statues of mounted emperors in Ancient Rome, asserting the King’s power. After restoration the painting will go back on display in the Van Dyck room (Room 21) at the National Gallery. 

The grant from TEFAF will support the cleaning and retouching of the painting, which is also currently undergoing structural treatment made possible by the Getty Foundation as part of its Conserving Canvas initiative. The structural treatment includes relining of this large-scale work by experts at the National Gallery, related training opportunities for mid-career professionals, and a culminating workshop to share project results with specialists in the field.

Kawahara Keiga (1786 – c.1860), ‘View of Deshima in Nagasaki Bay’, Museum Volkenkunde.

Museum Volkenkunde, The Netherlands 
The Museum Volkenkunde is part of the National Museum of World Cultures, alongside the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Africa Museum in Berg en Dal. Together, the museums are custodians of the Dutch National Collection, with over 450,000 objects and 1,000,000 photographs from around the world. The National Museum of World Cultures recently discovered and acquired the unknown and unique screen, ‘View of Deshima in Nagasaki Bay’, by Japanese artist Kawahara Keiga. 

The screen, which dates from 1836 or shortly after, consists of eight panels. At the time of its production, the Dutch were the only Europeans permitted to trade with Japan and only from their base on the artificial island of Deshima. The Dutch ship Marij en Hillegonda, which features prominently in the painting, sailed to Japan just once. Keiga had the privilege of being able to enter Dehima freely, which enabled him to create a visual record of Japanese-Dutch relations. 

The work, a key record of Japanese-Dutch relations, cannot, in its current state, be shown to the public, nor can it travel. The condition of the screen requires a full restoration and, when the conservation process is complete, the screen will function as a gateway object introducing visitors to the full breadth of the Japan collections on Museum Volkenkunde, inviting them to gain a deeper understanding of life in Japan in the early 19th century and the unique role of the Dutch trade during that era. 

Rachel Kaminsky, a private art dealer from New York who was formerly head of the Old Master paintings department at Christie’s; David Bull, a painting conservator and former Chairman of Painting Conservation at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Dr Kenson Kwok, the former and founding director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum in Singapore; and Carol Pottasch, a senior restorer and conservator from the Mauritshuis, The Hague, make up the international panel of experts which made the decision for the 2019 grant of the Fund.

Lot 1681. A blue and white ovoid jar and cover, Transitional period, Chongzhen (1628-1644); 11 in. (28 cm.) high. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 92,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Well painted with a messenger delivering a gift to a court dignitary, the messenger's horse held to one side, while a group of soldiers stands to the other side, between incised foliate borders, the neck encircled by flower sprays, the domed cover painted with a female immortal seated on a leaf floating in a river. 

Lot 1682. A small blue and white ovoid jar, Transitional period, circa 1640-1645; 6¾ in. (17.1 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. Price realised USD 15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Well painted on one side with Zhang Qian floating down the Yangzi River on a tree, the legendary Han dynasty explorer shown holding a fan as his double gourd flask swings from one of the branches, with a waterfall, rocks and clouds on the reverse, between incised line borders. 

Lot 1704. 

Louise Bourgeois, Untitled, 2003. Fabric and stainless steel, 39.4 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm. Photo: Christopher Burke. © The Easton Foundation / VAGA at ARS, NY / ProLitteris, Zurich. Courtesy The Easton Foundation and Hauser & Wirth.

ST. MORITZ.- Hauser & Wirth inaugurated its St. Moritz gallery with ‘Papillons Noirs’, an exhibition of works by renowned French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (1911 – 2010). On view until 10 February 2019, the exhibition spans two floors of the gallery space on Via Serlas facing the Palace Hotel, where Hauser & Wirth has made its home. 

Comprising a selection of works from the last decade of Bourgeois’s life, ‘Papillons Noirs’ includes a series of black fabric heads alongside late experimental works on paper that belong to the artist’s collection. The fabric heads were created roughly between the years of 2000 and 2003, when Bourgeois was in her late eighties and early nineties. The title of the exhibition, ‘Papillons Noirs’, is drawn from one of Bourgeois’s ‘psychoanalytic writings’, a group of texts written while she was undergoing intensive psychoanalysis. Penned on a loose sheet of paper dated 31 January 1966, the phrase is an old French metaphor for melancholic thoughts, and references her depression and anxiety. She often referred to colour as representative of emotional states; for her, black was symbolic of mourning, despair, regret and guilt. 

Louise Bourgeois, Untitled, 2002. Fabric and wood, 61 x 35.6 x 35.6 cm. Photo: Christopher Burke. © The Easton Foundation / VAGA at ARS, NY / ProLitteris, Zurich. Courtesy The Easton Foundation and Hauser & Wirth.

Bourgeois layered hand-sewn scraps of black terry cloth, tapestry, and fragments of her own clothing to form the features of her fabric heads. In these works, she reveals a deep identification with her mother, who died when Bourgeois was twenty years old. Her mother and maternal grandparents originated from the French town of Aubusson, famed for its textile industry, and her mother ran a tapestry restoration workshop – thus, Bourgeois came to associate sewing with the act of reparation: ‘I’ve always had a fascination with the needle, the magic power of the needle. The needle is used to repair the damage. It’s a claim to forgiveness’. Employing familial techniques from her childhood, Bourgeois confronted her past literally and metaphorically, stitching together scraps of old fabric to gain a semblance of understanding and reconciliation. For her, art was inextricably entwined with personal experience – it was a channel through which she explored the depths of her emotions. In her art-making, Bourgeois fused the intensity of the moment with memories of events and people from her past. 

Beginning in 1991 Bourgeois began employing the Cell as an archetypal structure, which she described as ‘environmental sculpture’, to represent themes of trauma, memory, and architecture. She played on the linguistic meaning of ‘cell’ to reference the biological unit that constitutes the body, as well as the idea of isolation or imprisonment. The Cells on view here comprise a distinctive subgroup of the series, called ‘Portrait Cells.’ They are composed of steel mesh, glass, and wood, with the black fabric heads either sitting at the base or suspended from above. In ‘Cell XXIV (Portrait)’ (2001) three heads, each with two faces, are bound together at the neck and hang from the top of the mesh enclosure. Adjustable mirrors are situated at the base of the vitrine, further multiplying the heads and their double faces in the reflected space. 

Louise Bourgeois, Cell XXIV (Portrait), 2001. Steel, stainless steel, glass, wood and fabric, 177.8 x 106.7 x 106.7 cm / 70 x 42 x 42 in. Photo: Christopher Burke. © The Easton Foundation / VAGA at ARS, NY / ProLitteris, Zurich. Courtesy The Easton Foundation and Hauser & Wirth.

Bourgeois layered hand-sewn scraps of black terry cloth, tapestry, and fragments of her own clothing to form the features of her fabric heads. In these works, she reveals a deep identification with her mother, who died when Bourgeois was twenty years old. Her mother and maternal grandparents originated from the French town of Aubusson, famed for its textile industry, and her mother ran a tapestry restoration workshop – thus, Bourgeois came to associate sewing with the act of reparation: ‘I’ve always had a fascination with the needle, the magic power of the needle. The needle is used to repair the damage. It’s a claim to forgiveness’. Employing familial techniques from her childhood, Bourgeois confronted her past literally and metaphorically, stitching together scraps of old fabric to gain a semblance of understanding and reconciliation. For her, art was inextricably entwined with personal experience – it was a channel through which she explored the depths of her emotions. In her art-making, Bourgeois fused the intensity of the moment with memories of events and people from her past. 

Beginning in 1991 Bourgeois began employing the Cell as an archetypal structure, which she described as ‘environmental sculpture’, to represent themes of trauma, memory, and architecture. She played on the linguistic meaning of ‘cell’ to reference the biological unit that constitutes the body, as well as the idea of isolation or imprisonment. The Cells on view here comprise a distinctive subgroup of the series, called ‘Portrait Cells.’ They are composed of steel mesh, glass, and wood, with the black fabric heads either sitting at the base or suspended from above. In ‘Cell XXIV (Portrait)’ (2001) three heads, each with two faces, are bound together at the neck and hang from the top of the mesh enclosure. Adjustable mirrors are situated at the base of the vitrine, further multiplying the heads and their double faces in the reflected space. 

Installation view, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Papillons Noirs’, Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz, 2018© The Easton Foundation / VAGA at ARS, NY / ProLitteris, Zurich. Courtesy The Easton Foundation and Hauser & Wirth.

‘Papillons Noirs’ is curated by Jerry Gorovoy, who worked closely with Bourgeois from the early 1980s until her death in 2010. 

Louise Bourgeois has exhibited widely across the globe. A major survey, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Eternal Thread’, is currently on view at Long Museum in Shanghai through 24 February 2019, the artist’s first largescale museum exhibition in China. The presentation will travel to Song Art Museum in Beijing in March 2019. 

Solo exhibitions of Louise Bourgeois include: ‘Louise Bourgeois: To Unravel a Torment’, Glenstone Museum, Potomac MD (2018 – 2020); ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Empty House’, Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany (2018); ‘Louise Bourgeois Spiders’, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco CA (2017); ‘Louise Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait’, Museum of Modern Art, New York NY (2017); ‘Louise Bourgeois: Twosome’, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel (2017); ‘Artist Rooms: Louise Bourgeois’, Tate Modern, London, England (2016), which travelled to Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Perth, Scotland in 2017; ‘Structures of Existence: The Cells’, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2015), which travelled to Garage Museum, Moscow, Russia (2015), Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain (2016), and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark (2016); ‘Louise Bourgeois. I Have Been to Hell and Back’, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (2015), which travelled to Museo Picasso Málaga, Málaga, Spain in the same year. Bourgeois’s work is included in some of the most important museum collections worldwide including the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Gemeente Museum Den Haag, Hague, Netherlands; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY; Museum of Modern Art, New York NY; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada; and Tate Modern, London, England.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, Known as the ‘Night Watch’, 1642. On loan from the City of Amsterdam.

AL-MSTERDAM - Rijksmuseum marks the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death in 2019 with ‘Year of Rembrandt’. The year-long celebration opens with ‘All the Rembrandts’ (15 February to 10 June), in which the Rijksmuseum will present for the first time an exhibition of all 22 paintings, 60 drawings and more than 300 best examples of Rembrandt’s prints in its collection.

As well as holding the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt paintings – including The Night Watch, the portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit, The Jewish Bride – the Rijksmuseum collection offers the world’s most comprehensive and representative overview of Rembrandt’s painting oeuvre.

Given the extreme rarity that many of these delicate drawings and prints go on display, All the Rembrandts in the Rijksmuseum offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to glean an unparalleled perspective on Rembrandt the artist, the human, the storyteller, the innovator.

The Rembrandt collection at the Rijksmuseum.

The recent acquisition of the spectacular marriage portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit means the Rijksmuseum’s collection of Rembrandt paintings is now the largest in the world. With its total of 22 works, from the early Self-Portrait as a Young Man to the later Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul, the collection forms a coherent overview of his entire life. The highlight of the collection of Rembrandt’s paintings is his greatest masterpiece, The Night Watch.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-portrait, c. 1628. Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum and the ministerie van CRM.

The comprehensive collection of drawings encompasses all Rembrandt’s periods and styles, and includes numerous exceptional drawings from his early period. The Rijksmuseum will show only the most beautiful and finest of Rembrandt’s 1300 prints. The 17th-century prints are exceedingly fragile and rarely displayed in public.

The exhibition

All the Rembrandts of the Rijksmuseum will explore different aspects of Rembrandt’s life and work through a number of themes. The first section presents the milestones of his career as a young artist; when Rembrandt looks at himself in the mirror, the viewer looks over his shoulder. A close examination of Rembrandt’s many self-portraits reveals his growth as an artist of incomparable talent.

The second section of the exhibition focuses on Rembrandt’s surroundings and the people in his life. As a young man Rembrandt honed his craft by painting portraits of his mother, his family and acquaintances. He even made a powerful portrait of his wife Saskia as she lay ill in bed. The artist was also fascinated by the wider world around him: the beggars, the buskers, the vagrants, the actors. He drew and painted countless portraits of the people he encountered.

Rembrandt was a gifted storyteller, and his stories are at the heart of the last section of the exhibition. The Old Testament tales inspired Isaac and Rebecca (the alternative title for The Jewish Bride, c. 1665–1669) and Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul (1661) in which he gives masterful expression to gestures and emotions that are familiar, tangible and intimate. Early depictions of these tales tend to be delicate and refined; later in life Rembrandt used a coarser experimental technique, applying ingenious colour and light effects to further enhance the narrative and draw out its essence.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Isaac and Rebecca, Known as ‘The Jewish Bride", c. 1665 – c. 1669. On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest).

Programme

The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive programme of lectures, workshops and events. Details of the programme will be announced later this year.

Biography of Rembrandt

A biography of Rembrandt by Jonathan Bikker, Curator of Research at the Rijksmuseum, will accompany the exhibition.

Title: Rembrandt Author: Jonathan Bikker Price: €25 ISBN: Dutch 9789462084742 English: 9789462084759.

Rembrandt van Rijnb, Self-portrait with Tousled Hair, c. 1628 – c.1629. De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, 1630. Purchased with the support of private collectors, the Vereniging Rembrandt and the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Man in Oriental Dress, 1635. Gift of Mr and Mrs Kessler-Hülsmann, Kapelle op den Bosch.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Saskia Sitting by a Window, c. 1638. Gift of C. Hofstede de Groot, The Hague.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Landscape with a Stone Bridge, c. 1638. Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt and A. Bredius, Amsterdam.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-portrait with the forearm leaning on a stone threshold, 1639. Rijksmuseum.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Three Trees, 1643. Rijksmuseum.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Three Crosses, 1653. Mr and Mrs De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Nude Woman Resting on a Cushion, c. 1658. Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Jupiter and Antiope, 1659. Rijksmuseum.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Recumbent Lion, c. 1660. Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Wardens of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild, Known as ‘The Syndics’, 1662. On loan from the City of Amsterdam.

NEW YORK, NY.- An exhibition of calligraphy and one-stroke paintings by the renown Chinese naturalist YY Ting (1902-1978) opens at Gianguan Auctions on Wednesday, January 24 and runs through February 7. Making the display unique are comparative works by Ming Dynasty naturalist Bada Shanren (1521-1527), who Ting credited with inspiring his oeuvre. “The Art of YY Ting and Bada Shanren” marks the fortieth anniversary of Ting’s passing. 

The Renwen Society of China Institute will host a lecture on “The Art of Y Y Ting & Bada Shanren” at Gianguan Auctions on Sunday, January 27 from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.. The speaker is Kwong Lum, a disciple of the late Y Y Ting. 

The lecture accompanies the exhibit, “The Art of Y Y Ting & Bada Shanren" that runs from January 24 through February 7. 

The talk will be conducted in English and Chinese. Gianguan Auctions is located at 39 W. 56th Street, NYC. 212-867-7288.

A native of Maoming, Guangdong Province, YY Ting (née Ding Yanyong) was sent, at the age of eighteen, to study western painting in Japan. The experience opened his eyes not only to technique but also to the passion of Japanese artists who abandoned opportunities in Europe to revitalize their cultural heritage. Ten years later, YY Ting saw how the splash ink freehand of Ming artist Bada Shanren reflected Lao Tzu’s philosophy of open mindedness. YY Ting then advanced the concept despite a backlash of public opinion. 

Just as abstractionists in the West reduced complex visuals to synergistic lines, YY Ting brought nature into focus. He rendered an entire lotus stem in a simple stroke that captured both the softness and harshness of nature. When applied to calligraphy, the text was lively, as can be seen in “Calligraphy in Couplet.” 

While he preferred painting historical subjects such as Yang Guifei the Concubine Emerging from the Bath in vibrant color, later one-stroke paintings dominate the exhibition. In “Landscape,” for example, traditional subject matter rendered in flowing, seemingly effortless brush lines takes on energy. The same can be said of minimalist subjects such as “Myna Bird on Willow,” “Sleeping Cat” and “Frogs Coraking in Lotus Pond.” 

YY Ting (1902-1978), 'Myna Bird on Willow'. Gianguan Auctions image

YY Ting (1902-1978), ‘Sleeping Cat’. Gianguan Auctions image.

YY Ting (1902-1978), 'Frog and Lotus'. Gianguan Auctions image.

Overall, apparently insouciant lines laid in with the precision of forethought evoke a sense of joy in viewers. It is little wonder that YY Ting’s paintings are in high demand.

Meanwhile, the portion of the exhibition devoted to the works of Zhu Da, better known as Bada Shanren (Man of Eight Mountains) offers a look at the origins of YY Ting’s inspiration. 

Bada Shanren’s life as an artist was altered when he broke from Ming formalism to explore a more naturalistic splash ink approach that had originated with a predecessor named Xu Wei. Incurring the ire of Emperor Jiajing (1522-1566), he was reduced to poverty, a state so dismal that fellow artists were reluctant to experiment lest they too lose everything. That was further complicated by the Manchurian invasion that established the Qing Dynasty. To save himself, Bada Shanren became a monk. In the monastery he was free to pursue his artistic journey. 

Using long tipped lamb’s wool brushes, Bada Shanren was able to wrap strength in softness and create a certain elasticity that allowed the natural changes in ink color to show through. This simplistic approach also allowed a flower be just a flower, a bird just a bird, and so on. 

Bada Shanren’s personal courage and faith ushered in a new era of Chinese art and established him as the founder of modern Chinese painting.  

Viewers will see his rejection of formalism in “Calligraphy,” which appears structured compared to YY Ting’s but is a huge departure from the tightly rendered characters of the day. 

YY Ting, 'Calligraphy in Couplet', circa 1969. Gianguan Auctions image. 

Bada Shanren (1625-1705), 'Calligraphy', 1692. Gianguan Auctions image. 

In “Geese,” a free flyer lords over two waterfowl locked in water. “No Birds in the Mountains,” painted with a foreshortened perspective of rocks and trees is a chiaroscuro painting that invites endless study. 

Bada Shanren (1625-1705), 'Geese Landing'. Gianguan Auctions image. 

Bada Shanren (1625-1705), 'No Birds in Mountain'. Gianguan Auctions image. 

What a difference five hundred years makes. Not only did China change, the world changed and art with it. Western artists challenged the precepts of the Academy to create Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism. YY Ting, once opened to western experimentation, found in his own heritage the seeds of abstraction. Ink splash blazed a new trail of spiritual civilization in eastern oil painting. 

“The Art of YY Ting & Bada Shanren” opens with a reception in the evening on Wednesday, January 23rd. Daytime hours open on Thursday, January 24 and continue through Thursday, February 7 at Gianguan Auctions Gallery, 39 W. 56th Street. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 pm.

Bada Shanren (1625-1705), 'Sleeping Cat'. Gianguan Auctions image. 

Bada Shanren (1625-1705), 'Two Quails'. Gianguan Auctions image. 

Lot 1705. A rare doucai deep bowl, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 7 3/16 in. (18.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 13,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

With steep sides rising to the rounded rim, painted around the exterior with the Eight Immortals, each holding a different attribute, the interior painted with a medallion of Shoulao seated atop a deer and being attended to by a young servant, the base with four-character mark fushou shuangquan (blessings and longevity both complete), in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Provenance: Acquired in London in the 1980s.

Property from the Silas Friedlander Collection.

Lot 1706. An unusual rectangular doucai box and cover, Early 18th century; 5 3/8 in. (13.6 cm.) long. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 13,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Raised on four short cabriole legs terminating in ruyi head-form feet, painted around the shaped aprons with a lotus scroll, the interior walls of the box painted with the flowers of the four seasons, the cover painted on top with butterflies in flight amidst a fruiting pomegranate tree, above the sides painted with peach, poppy and cockscomb.

Provenance: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 1-2 November 1994, lot 73.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I and Part II Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 24 March 2011

Lot 1707. Two doucai dishes, Kangxi-Yongzheng period (1662-1735); 6¼ and 6½ in. (15.8 and 16.5 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 6,875. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The first painted in the interior with a front-facing dragon amidst clouds encircled by four fish borne on crashing waves, the exterior with a further wave border; the second painted with a pomegranate tree in the center and three fruiting branches in the cavetto, the exterior with three peach sprays, each with apocryphal Chenghua mark.

Provenance: First: Christie's, South Kensington, 17 November 1994, lot 486.
Second: Christie's, South Kensington, 17 November 1994, lot 522.

Property from the Silas Friedlander Collection.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I and Part II Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 24 March 2011

Lot 1708. A rare doucai bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735); 7 3/16 in. (18.3 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. Price realised USD 21,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Painted around the exterior with a continuous landscape scene of a deer, butterflies and a bat in flight amidst flowers and lingzhi, and a monkey seated on a peach tree branch, all in a garden setting between single line borders, the interior with a roundel framing a single cluster of lingzhi.

Provenance: Christie's, South Kensington, 30 April 1992, lot 265.

Property from the Silas Friedlander Collection.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I and Part II Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 24 March 2011

Lot 1709. A doucai ogee-form bowl, Guangxu six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1875-1908); 8¼ in. (20.8 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 4,000 - USD 6,000. Price realised USD 8,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Painted in the center of the interior with a flower head with overlapping petals enclosed by a conjoined scroll border incorporating peaches and stylized flower heads, encircled by the anbaxian, the exterior with four pairs of flower and fruit sprays above a band ofruyi lappets encircling the foot.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I and Part II Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 24 March 2011