12 août 2013

Elisabetta Sirani (Bologna, 1638–1665), Virgin and Child, 1663; Oil on canvas, 34 x 27 1/2 in. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. National Museum of Women in the Arts © 2012 National Museum of Women in the Arts. Elisabetta Sirani's Virgin and Child portrays Mary not as a remote Queen of Heaven but as a very real, young mother.Wearing the turban favored by peasant women in Bologna, Mary gazes... [Lire la suite]

Clara Peeters (Antwerp 1594–after 1657 ?), Still Life of Fish and Cat, n.d.; Oil on panel, 13 1/2 x 18 1/2 in. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. National Museum of Women in the Arts © 2012 National Museum of Women in the Arts. Clara Peeters’s considerable skill at rendering naturalistic texture and detail is on full display in Still Life of Fish and Cat. Typically called a “breakfast piece,” this type of still life realistically depicts household abundance, with no subtle moral or subtext.The reddish ceramic colander... [Lire la suite]

Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella (Lyon 1641–1676 Paris), The Entrance of the Emperor Sigismond into Mantua, 1675; Engraving on paper, 6 1/2 x 15 3/4 in.. Gift of Chris Petteys. National Museum of Women in the Arts © 2012 National Museum of Womenin the Arts. Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella mastered the art of printmaking with tutelage from her uncle, painter and printmaker Jacques Stella. Invited to live in his prestigious lodgings in the Louvre, she produced copies of paintings by her uncle and 17th-century master Nicolas Poussin. She later... [Lire la suite]

Judith Leyster (Haarlem 1609–1660 Heestede), The Concert, ca. 1633; Oil on canvas, 24 x 34 1/4 in. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. National Museum of Women in the Arts © 2012 National Museum of Women in the Arts. Along with tavern scenes and intimate domestic genre pieces, Judith Leyster frequently painted musical performance scenes. In The Concert, Leyster accurately depicts elements such as the Baroque violin (made without a chin rest and usually supported against the chest), as well as the woman's songbook.The... [Lire la suite]

Lavinia Fontana (Bologna 1552–1614 Rome), Portrait of a Noblewoman, ca. 1580; Oil on canvas, 45 1/4 x 35 1/4 in. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. National Museum of Women in the Arts © 2012 National Museum of Women in the Arts. Portrait of a Noblewoman illustrates Lavinia Fontana’s ability to render sumptuous clothing and jewels in astonishing detail. The contrast between the woman and the painting’s plain, dark background is especially strong, ensuring that viewers will focus on the figure. ... [Lire la suite]

The 1st Earl Spencer’s Carved Fustic* and Satinwood Sofa, c. 1758-65. Height:  40½ in (103 cm). Depth:  36 in (91 cm). Length:  86 in (219 cm). Price: $850,000 (£550,000). Apter-Fredericks Ltd, Stand D11. NEW YORK - An exceptional sofa, dating from the middle of the 18th century and made for the 1st Earl Spencer, will be offered for sale by the leading London furniture dealer Apter-Fredericks at The International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show.  Established in 1989, this... [Lire la suite]

Butler and Wilson

Emerald, diamond, onyx and sapphire pendant-necklace, Mauboussin, circa 1925. The pendant set with a cushion-shaped emerald weighing 25.50 carats, framed by calibré-cut emeralds and old European-cut, pear-shaped, marquise-shaped and baguette diamonds, anchored by 2 articulated fringes set with emerald-cut and baguette diamonds, calibré-cut emeralds and onyx segments, accented with old European-cut diamonds, sapphires and emeralds, total diamond weight approx 13.95 carats. Via Sotheby’s. Marlene Dietrich's Trabert &... [Lire la suite]

Lot 173. A rare guan-type altar vessel, fu, Yongzheng seal mark and period  (1723-1735); 16.8cm., 6 5/8 in. Estimate  15,000 — 20,000. Lot Sold 62,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2013 of rectangular section, the wide flaring sides rising from a spreading foot cut with an arched aperture in the centre of each side, set on one side with a loop handle issuing from animal mask, covered overall in a crackled greyish-blue glaze, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark Provenance: Sotheby’s... [Lire la suite]

t A rare gilded dish, Yongzheng mark and period. Photo Sotheby's he shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot, covered overall in a bright layer of gilt, the white base inscribed with a six-character mark in three vertical columns within a double-circle; 18.8cm., 7 3/8 in.  Estimate  15,000 — 20,000. Lot Sold: 122,500 GBP PROVENANCE: Bluett & Sons, London.Sotheby’s London, 6th June 1995, lot 244. Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 May... [Lire la suite]