ZURICH.- The Old Master Paintings auction on 26 March features works by an 'all-star' selection of artists, including a powerful painting of St Jerome in the wilderness by Anthony van Dyck (lot 3027, estimate upon request). This small-format work is remarkable for its virtuoso, free-flowing execution. Painted when the young van Dyck was still in Peter Paul Rubens's workshop, the work seems to correspond with one mentioned in the elder artist's estate, and so may have been a part of Rubens's personal collection.

Lot 3027. Anthony van Dyck (Antwerp 1599–1641 London), St Jerome in the Wilderness. Oil on panel, 47.1 × 40.4 cm. Estimate upon request. Sold for CHF 2 443 300. Courtesy Koller

Provenance: - Probably Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) collection, Antwerp, 1640, no. 231 (as ‘small kneeling Ierome’, acquired directly from the artist).
- Probably Jan Wildens (1583/1586–1653) collection, Antwerp.
- Thence by family descent, most likely Jeremias Wildens (1621–1653) collection, Antwerp, 1654 (as one of the six depictions of Saint Jerome).
- Probably Joan Baptista Anthoine (d. 1687) collection, Antwerp, 1691.
- Comte Charles Cavens (before 1850–1921) collection, Brussels, by 1909 (as Rubens).
- Lallemand & Le Roy, Brussels, 22.12.1922, lot 142 (as Manner of Rubens).
- Léon Seyffers (1885–1944) collection, Brussels, by 1928.
- P. Nicaise, Brussels, 24.5.1944, lot 54 (as Attributed to Rubens).
- Art trade, Amsterdam, 1.6.1944 (according to expert opinion Friedländer mentioned in auction catalogue Dorotheum 1955).
- Art trade, Brussels, 10.7.1944 (according to literature Erik Larsen: The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck, Freren 1988, vol. II, pp. 95–97, no. 223.3).
- Art trade, Brussels, 10.7.1950 (Certificate Puyvelde, quoted in Díaz Pádron, 1977, vol. I, p. 96–97, see literature).
- Leegenhoek collection, Paris, by 1954 (verso with handwritten note).
- Dorotheum, Vienna, 17.3.1955, lot 30.
- Thence by family descent, Count von Goëss, Austria, acquired at the above auction.
- Christie’s, Amsterdam, 8.5.2012, lot 25 (as Circle of Sir Anthony van Dyck).
- European private collection.

Exhibited: - Brussels 1909, Les 100 portraits, collection du Comte Cavens, Galerie Royale, 1.5.–1.6.1909, no. 74 (as Rubens (Pierre-Paul)).
- Brussels 1920, Rubens et les peintres du XVIIe siècle, Palais des Arts de Somzée, 20.8.–1.11.1920, no. 101 (as Rubens).
- Paris 1954, Chefs-d’œuvre de la curiosité du monde, Musée des arts décoratifs, 10.6.–30.9.1954, no. 53.

Literature: - Most likely F. M. Michel: Histoire de la vie de P. P. Rubens, Chevalier, et Seigneur de Steen…, Brussels 1771, p. 159 and 284, no. 231.
- Jan van Meurs : Specification des peintures trovvees a la maison martvaire dv fev messier Pierre Pavl Rvbens, chevalier, &c., Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Département des Manuscrits, Fonds Français 18967, fols. 200–205, (as ‘Vn petit Saint Ierosme du mesme (Cheualier van Dyck)’). Translated into English: s.n.: An Inventory of Pictures found in the howse of the late Sr Peter Paul Rubens Knt: after his death: Inprimis pieces of Italian Mrs:, London, Courtauld Institute, The Princes Gate Collection, Seilern Collection (as ‘A small kneeling Ierome, by the same (van dyke) vppon Cloth’) (the latter translation incorrectly describing the support). (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- J. B. Colijns and H. Fighé: ‘Inventaris van alle de goeden van wylen Signor Jeremias Wildens Janssone wylen, in synen leven Constschilder was, overleden opden 30en Decembris 1653, bynnen synen woonhuise gestaen inde Lange Niewstraete alhier, naerlaetende voor syne geinstitueerde erffgenaemen … de kinderen van wylen Abraham, Henrick ende Sara Wildens, mitsgaders de kinderen ende kintskinderen van wylen Magdalena van vosbergen, geprocreert by Cornelis Cock’, Antwerpen 1654, fols. 495-541 and fol. littera N., no. 50, 55, 262, 272, 462 or 698. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- J. M. Lodewijcx: ‘Inventaris van alle ende yegelyecke de goederen … competerende den sterffhuyse van wylen Mijnheer Joan Bapta Anthoine riddere ende postmeester binnen dese stadt, overleden 27 Meert 1687 in syne huysinge gestaen int Kipdorp, naerlaetende negen kinderen … daer moeder van was vrouwe Susanna Maria de Lannoy’, Antwerpen 1691, fols. 156-160 and 1697, fol. 204), no. 71 (as ‘Jeronimus op pinneel Van Dijck’). (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Jaques van der Sanden: ‘Oud Konst-tooneel van Antwerpen’, Antwerp c. 1771, PK 171–173, vol. II, p. 279–305, no. 231 (as Een klynen Heilige Hiëronymous door den zelven (Ridder Van Dyck)’). (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- F. Donnet: ‘Van Dyck inconnu’, Bulletin et annales de l’académie royale d’archéologie de Belgique, Belgium 1898, 5e série I, p. 393 ff. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Frans Josef van den Branden, ed.: ‘Verzamelingen van schilderyen te Antwerpen’, Antwerp 1904, vol. XXII, p. 381–395, no. 50, 55, 262, 272, 462 or 698. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Jean Denucé, ed.: De Antwerpsche ‘Konstkamers’: Inventarissen van kunstverzamelingen te Antwerpen in de 16e en 17e eeuwen / Inventare von Kunstsammlungen zu Antwerpen im 16. u. 17. Jahrhundert, Antwerp 1932, p. 66, no. 231; p. 156, 160, 161, 164 and 170, no. 50, 55, 262, 271 (for 272), 462 or 698; p. 357, no. 71, ‘Jeronimus op pineel van van Dyck’. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Jean Denucé, ed.: Historical sources for the study of Flemish art, vol. II: The Antwerp art-galleries: Inventories of the art-collections in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th centuries, Antwerp and The Hague 1932, no. 231. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Erik Duverger, ed.: Fontes Historiae Artis Neerlandicae / Bronnen van de Kunstgeschiedenis van de Nederlanden, vol. I: Antwerpse kunstinventarissen uit de zeventiende eeuw, Brussels 1984–2004, vol. IV, 1989, inventories 1084–1086, p. 298, 306 and 314, no. 231; vol. VI, 1992, inventory 1902, p. 477, 485, 486, 490 and 496, no. 50, 55, 262, 272, 462 or 698; vol. XII, 2002, inventory 3988, p. 92, no. 71. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Alfred Michiels: Van Dyck et ses élèves, Paris 1881, p. 50–51 (incorrectly identified as the Prado picture) and 235, no. 4. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Heinrich Rosenbaum: ‘Der Junge Van Dyck (1615-1621), Munich, 1928, p. 64. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Gustav Glück: Van Dyck: Des Meisters Gemälde in 571 Abbildungen (Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben, XIII), 2nd edition, Berlin / Stuttgart / London / New York 1931, p. 526, (under the note to p. 65, ‘besser … skizzenhaftes Bildchen’). (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Matías Díaz Padrón: Museo del Prado: Catálogo de pinturas, I: Escuela flamenca: Siglo XVII, Madrid 1977, vol. I, p. 96–97, no. 1473 und vol. II, p. 70, no. 1473 (with ill.).
- Exh. Cat. Pedro Pablo Rubens (1577–1640), ed. by Matías Díaz Padrón, Madrid 1977, p. 51–52, no. 26. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Erik Larsen: L’opera completa di Van Dyck, 1613–1626, Milan 1980, p. 92, no. 108 (with ill.).
- Exh. Cat. The Young van Dyck / Le jeune van Dyck, ed. by Alan McNairn, Ottawa 1980, p. 160 and 162–163, no. 160. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Erik Larsen: The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck, Freren 1988, vol. II, p. 95–97, no. 219, 223.1, 223.2, 223.3 and most likely no. 223, ill. 219.
- Jeffrey M. Muller: Rubens: The Artist as Collector, Princeton 1989, p. 134, no. 231. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Exh. Cat. Anthony van Dyck, ed. by Arthur K. Wheelock, Susan J. Barnes et al., Washington 1990, p. 95, no. 8. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Matías Díaz Padrón: El Siglo de Rubens en el Museo del Prado, Barcelona 1995, vol. I, p. 420, no. 1473 (with ill.).
- Exh. Cat. A house of art: Rubens as collector, ed. by Kristin Lohse Belkin and Fiona Healy, Antwerp 2004, p. 332, no. 231. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Susan J. Barnes, Oliver Millar, Nora de Poorter and Horst Vey: Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven and London 2004, p. 51, no. I.35. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).
- Exh. Cat. El joven Van Dyck / The Young Van Dyck, ed. by Alejandro Vergara and Friso Lammertse, Madrid 2012, p. 272–275, no. 70. (Lit. refers to the painting in the Rubens inventory, see Michel 1771).

With a dendrochronological Analysis from the Jordaens/Van Dyck Panel Paintings Project, April 2019.

The painting is registered in the RKD, The Hague under no. 241291 as an authentic work by Anthony van Dyck.

Dr. Susan Barnes examined the painting in the original in 2018 and has confirmed its authenticity.

Note: This depiction of St Jerome in the Wilderness is a masterpiece by Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck. Its thickly applied and virtuoso brushwork is characteristic of the artist’s early creative period, when he worked closely with Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) in Antwerp.

The theme of St Jerome in the Wilderness exists in several versions in Van Dyck’s œuvre. Three such paintings were recorded in the estate of Peter Paul Rubens (see Michel, 1771). One showed the saint with an angel (Barnes 2004, I.33), another was a large-format composition, and the third was a small painting depicting St Jerome on his knees. This last one is possibly the painting offered here, and attests to Rubens’s appreciation of this work by his contemporary and pupil.

Anthony van Dyck is recorded in Rubens’s circle between 1616 and 1620. Around 1616–18, Van Dyck maintained his own workshop in Antwerp, where in 1618 he was recorded as a master in the Guild of St Luke. At that time, he received a remuneration comparable to that of Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678) and Peter Paul Rubens, in whose workshop he also worked as a freeman.

Our composition of Saint Jerome is most closely related to a large oil on canvas in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Barnes 2004, I.35, pp. 50–51). That version, like ours, shows the saint with a stone in his clenched right fist, just before he strikes his chest with it to stifle his desire. In our version, Jerome firmly holds the stone even closer to his chest, reinforcing the dynamic of the composition. The powerful posture contrasts with the aged body of the saint. The execution of the background and the saint’s attributes, such as the skull and prayer book, are rendered in less detail than in the Dresden version, helping to draw the viewer’s attention to the protagonist.

The present work was identified as being by van Dyck as early as 1944 by Max Jacob Friedländer, followed in 1950 by Leo van Puyvelde, by Prof. Dr Robert Eigenberger in 1955 and Erik Larsen in 1988 as well as Matías Díaz Padrón in 1995. Susan Barnes, who also examined this painting in 2018 and confirms its authorship, makes the tantalising suggestion that our version could be a study for the Dresden painting. However, the original and fully executed quality of this composition could also be an indication that it is a stand-alone work.

A portrait of a nobleman by Titian, circa 1550 (lot 3032, CHF 800 000/1 200 000), apparently served as a model for paintings by both Rubens ('Self-Portrait in the Circle of His Mantuan Friends', 1602, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne) and van Dyck ('Self-Portrait with Endymion Porter', 1635, Museo del Prado, Madrid). The Flemish artists were likely inspired by the particular pose of the sitter, who was probably a friend of Titian. Van Goyen's river view with a walled city and windmill (lot 3057, CHF 120 000/160 000) is a mature work by the artist at the height of his talents, rendered in enchanting shades of ochre and umber.

Lot 3032. Tiziano  Vecellio called Titian (Pieve de Cadore 1485/1490–1576 Venice), Portrait of a nobleman. Oil on canvas, 93.5 × 73.4 cm, apparently served as a model for paintings by both Rubens ('Self-Portrait in the Circle of His Mantuan Friends', 1602, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne) and van Dyck ('Self-Portrait with Endymion Porter', 1635, Museo del Prado, Madrid). Estimate CHF800,000 - CHF1,200,000. Passed. Courtesy Koller

Provenance: - Duke of Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha, probably Charles Edward, 1884–1954.
- Seligman collection, Rey and Co., New York, circa 1939.
- Private collection, Venice.
- Semenzato auction, Venice, 31.10.1998, Los 118 (estimate 880 Million Lire).
- Private collection, Italy until 2013.
- Acquired from the above. Private collection.

Literature: - Exh. cat. Seven Century of Painting. A Loan Exhibition of Old and Modern Masters, The California Palace of the Legion of Honor and The m. H. de Young Memorial Museum San Francisco, 1939, cat. no. Y-21 (as Tizian).
- Herold E. Wethey: The Paintings of Titian, Bd. II, The Portraits, London 1971, p. 168, cat. no. X-57 (as ‘Venetian School’).

Exhibited: - New York 1939, New York World Art Fair, 1939, no. 21.
- San Francisco 1939, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, no. Y21, 1939–40 (ill.).

We are grateful to Professor Paul Joannides and Professor Peter Humfry for each independently confirming Titian’s authorship of this remarkable portrait following their first hand inspection of the painting. Professor Joannides suggests a date of c. 1545–55, while Professor Humfrey similarly proposes circa 1550. The following text is extracted from a report prepared by Professor Joannides.

Note: "This portrait, which only recently came to light after having been lost to sight since its exhibition in 1939–40, was formerly in the collection of the Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha, whose family was the antecedent of the British Royal House of Windsor. Datable c.1545-55, it was most likely painted as a friendship portrait. It was evidently known to Rubens and Van Dyck for, as noted below, it seems to have inspired self-portraits by both artists: Rubens’ in his Self-Portrait with Friends of 1602 in the Wallraf Richartz Museum (fig. 1); and Van Dyck’s in his Self Portrait with Endymion Porter of c.1535 in the Prado (fig. 2). Having now examined the portrait in the flesh, restored and cleaned, I have no doubt that it is an autograph work by Titian.

I would place the painting between c. 1545 and 1555, and probably near 1550, in line with the date given in the exhibition catalogues of 1939-40. In support of this dating I would mention the large-scale portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti in Washington – in which the hand of the Doge is constructed in a similar way. As for the boldness with which the right sleeve is painted one might cite the left sleeve of St John in St John on Patmos of c. 1549 now in Washington; for the rather powerful left hand I would mention that of the Antoine Granvelle of 1548 in Kansas City, although that painting is more highly finished. The rather shiny cloak, with an inventive arrangement of folds, also has links with the Granvelle and ‘Titian’s Friend’ in San Francisco.

In the photograph of the painting which shows it before restoration, the sitter was accompanied on the left by a fall of curtain; however it is improbable that Titian ever intended to include a curtain in this portrait and the matter is discussed below. It should be pointed out that the sitter’s right sleeve originally extended a little further up the wrist and the outline of his cloak was changed on the right side: it originally extended further out to the right. Although I do believe this portrait to be a finished picture, some areas are executed much more loosely than others, most notably the left hand and cuff, which are slashed in.

The employment of one hand holding a book and the other placed expressively is not infrequent in Titian. Something similar is found in the splendid over half-length Portrait of a Man in profile in Boston, of the early 1530s, but he is clad in courtly garb and looks ahead, not at the viewer. There is also some relation to the frontally placed Count Porcia in the Brera, of c.1540. Both paintings also employ the formula of one glove on, one glove off, which runs through Titian’s work from the mid-1510s onwards. This formula was developed and modified in the lost portrait of Ariosto of c. 1530 (which survives in a presently unlocated copy illustrated in Oskar Fischel, Tizian, Klassiker der Kunst, 5th ed., plate 280). But the closest precedent for the present Portrait is Titian’s famous (unidentified) Musician in Galleria Spada, of about 1513 (fig. 3). It is this formula that the present portrait pursues, although it is modified to the extent that the sitter leans backward slightly, to give his outward-turned face a greater urgency, as though he is appealing to the view rather than simply presenting himself: this effect is amplified by the ungloved right hand placed on his chest, as though in a gesture of plighting troth, or fidelity. The effect is of response to the viewer rather than self-presentation.

After mid-1550s Titian seems to have painted no potentates and he tried to escape from the monotonous task of representing doges. As far as we can judge, he appears to have concentrated on portraits of residents of, and visitors to, Venice and he no doubt also represented some of his friends, relatively informally. The likelihood of identifying the sitter in this portrait is slim, unless there is some inscription on the reverse, concealed by the old lining, or unless some labelled copy of it is found. However, Vasari does refer to a number of individuals painted by Titian whose portraits have not been identified and among these was a man called ‘Sinistro’ – about whom nothing further seems to be known. One might venture the hypothesis that he could be the subject of the ex-Seligman portrait, given the prominence accorded to his left hand. Considering the sitter’s very direct address, he may have been one of Titian’s literary friends. The sitter has blue eyes and Titian has emphasised these by taking up varied hues of blue in the shadows of his purple doublet, and by a slight scattering of blue accents over his cloak.

The section of canvas on which sitter’s head and part of his bust are painted is not part of the same piece of canvas as the rest of the picture, but is painted on a rectangular insert with chamfered corners – effectively an elongated octagon. The sitter’s head was presumably painted ad vivum on this piece of canvas, which was then added to the main one. A portrait of Paul III of c. 1545 by Titian has recently re-appeared in which the Pope’s head was also painted on a separate piece of canvas. Much earlier, c. 1509, Titian inserted the Saviour’s head in his Risen Christ (Florence, Uffizi) on a separate panel; and his Portrait of a Young Man in Frankfurt, also on panel, which is composed like a close-up snap-shot, might well have been painted with view to insertion. It has further been suggested that the head of a Magistrate on canvas sold at Christie's in 2013 (and which I published in 2006) is not, as I had thought, a fragment, but a head-study planned for insertion into a larger canvas. Such insertions are also found in portraits by a contemporary of Titian, Jacopo Tintoretto, and insertion is a phenomenon that I have observed in the works of many different portrait-painters of many different periods: it is unsurprising to find Titian doing the same thing. This fact must be coordinated with another. As noted above when the portrait was sent for restoration a red curtain was present at the left side. Examination revealed that while the upper part of this curtain was original, the lower part was a later addition, probably of the 19th or even the 20th century, which came away easily. Although technical examination shows that the curtain extended above the ‘insert’ carrying the sitter’s head, no trace of the curtain appears in the insert itself. This means that when the head was inserted, Titian decided – or may already have decided - to eliminate the curtain. This further suggests that the main canvas had been used – but probably no more than begun – previously. It may even have been cut from a much larger canvas on which at least part of a now redundant curtain was painted. There are many examples of Titian painting over laid-in compositions and one of the most relevant is the Venus and Two Cupids in Washington which is superimposed upon a double portrait.

The present painting seems to have been known to Rubens and to have been the source of his self-representation in his Self Portrait with Friends painted in Mantua c. 1602 and now in the Wallfraf Richarts Museum in Cologne. In this picture Rubens’ left arm is abbreviated and seems to disappear behind his friend, but the relation is very close and the effect of the head being leant back further establishes the link. Van Dyck too employs this pose in his Self Portrait with Endymion Porter (Madrid, Prado) although whether he knew Titian’s portrait directly – but there is no record of it in his Italian sketch-book – or through Rubens is conjectural. In favour of the former however is that he does wear a Titianesque grey glove on his left hand while with his bare right hand he touches his breast in a gesture of friendship and fidelity. And the cloak in the present picture is handled with a proto-Van Dyck-ian fluency. Professor Peter Humfrey has noted that a ‘Man holding a book’ by Titian is recorded in Van Dyck’s posthumous inventory and it is possible, although hardly provable, that that is the present picture. Given Rubens’ employment of it c.1602, it may be that this portrait by Titian was then in Mantua. Titian was in regular contact with Mantua from the mid 1520s onwards and soon after 1530 became a regular employee of the Duke, Federico Gonzaga, who held him in considerable personal affection."

A haunting depiction of St Benedict by Filippino Lippi (lot 3002, CHF 40 000/60 000) dates from the artist's youth, when he worked in partnership with Sandro Botticelli's workshop, and contains elements of the particular style that would make Lippi one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance.

Lot 3002. Filippino Lippi (Prato 1457– 1504 Florence), Saint Benedict, Circa 1470-75. Oil tempera on panel. Inscribed center bottom: SACTUS BENEDICTUS, 63.3 × 23.3 cm. Estimate CHF40,000 - CHF60,000. Sold for CHF 134 500. Courtesy Koller.

Certificate: Mina Gregori, July 26th, 2004, as Filippo Lippi circa 1440 (copy available).

Provenance: - Private collection, Florence.
- Geri auction, Milan, March 23, 1932, lot 51 (as Filippino Lippi) (fig. 1).
- European private collection.

With an extensive art historican analysis by Prof. Dr. Gaudenz Freuler, Feb 2021.

Note: In line with the practice of Renaissance wall figures, placed in a conch niche closed at the top in the shape of a shell and facing the viewer frontally, the founder of monastic life, Saint Benedict, appears in a white habit. As a traditional attribute, he holds his rod in his right hand and a red book in his left hand. His identity is confirmed by the inscription SA (N) CTUS BENEDICTUS painted in gold letters on the skirting board. The delicate table appears as a typical gem of the great Florentine Renaissance art and combines the essential ingredients of the new humanistic imagery of this city. Externally, this applies to the scenic framing via antique architectural elements, as well as to subtle lighting, balanced proportions,

Luca Giordano is represented in the March sale by an intense portrait of a scholar in tattered clothing but with all the dignity of a nobleman in his regard - a coded show of support for a new form of science based on experimentation and reason (lot 3035, CHF 80 000/120 000).

Lot 3035. Luca Giordano (1632 Naples 1705), Portrait of a scholar. Oil on canvas, 113.5 × 96.5 cm. Estimate CHF80,000 - CHF120,000. Passed. Courtesy Koller

Provenance: European private property.

Three paintings by Austrian artist Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller will be offered in the 19th Century Paintings auction on 26 March, including a magnificent candlelight portrait of two young ladies reading a love letter (lot 3141, CHF 150 000/250 000). Waldmüller's landscapes are gaining more and more importance in his oeuvre, and his view of the Watzmann peak in the Bavarian Alps is a fine example of this genre (lot 3143, CHF 70 000/90 000).

Lot 3141. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (Vienna 1793–1865 Helmstreitmühle), The Love Letter, 1848.
Oil on canvas. Signed and dated upper right: Waldmüller 1848, 78 × 64.5 cm. Estimate CHF150,000 - CHF250,000. Sold for CHF 232 100. Courtesy Koller

Expertise: Prof. Dr. Rupert Feuchtmüller, September 12, 1990 (copy available). --------------- FERDINAND GEORG WALDMÜLLER (Vienna 1793–1865 Helmstreitmühle) The love letter. 1848. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated upper right: Waldmüller 1848. 78 × 64.5 cm. Expert opinion: Prof. Dr. Rupert Feuchtmüller, September 12, 1990 (copy available).

Provenance: - Swiss private collection.
- Koller auction, Zurich, November 16, 1990, lot 5085.
- Private collection, Principality of Liechtenstein.

Literature: Rupert Feuchtmüller: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. 1793-1865. Life - Writings - Works. Pub. by Austrian Gallery in Vienna. 1996. p. 497, no.792 (with ill.).

Lot 3143. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (Vienna 1793–1865 Helmstreitmühle), The back of the Watzmann in Ramsau, 1837.Oil on panel. Signed and dated lower right: Waldmüller 1837. 44.7 × 57.2 cm. Estimate CHF70,000 - CHF90,000. Courtesy Koller

Provenance: - Private ownership in Vienna.
- Dr. Peter Nathan, Zurich, until 1957.
- Swiss private property, acquired from the above.

Exhibition: Vienna 1838: Academy Exhibition on St. Anna, No. 125.

Literature: - Bruno Grimschitz: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. With his oeuvre catalog by Bruno Grimschitz and Emil Richter, Salzburg: Galerie Welz, 1957, no. 491, color plate XV.
- Rupert Feuchtmüller: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. 1793-1865. Life - Writings - Works. Edited by Austrian Gallery in Vienna. 1996. p. 472, no. 542 (with ill.).

In addition to portrait and genre painting (see lot 3141), landscape depictions became more and more important in Waldmüller's oeuvre. He dared to conquer the landscape with pictures, which resulted in a believable reproduction of near and far, which is expressed in a virtuoso manner in the present depiction and that of lot 3152.

Konstantin Ivanovich Gorbatoff's view of Capri (lot 3119, CHF 60 000/80 000) is a testament to the fascination for Italy held by this Russian emigrant and former professor of the St Petersburg Academy of Art.

Lot 3119. Konstantin Ivanovich Gorbatoff (Stavropol 1876–1945 Berlin), View of Capri. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right: K. Gorbatoff. Inscribed on the canvas verso: CAPRI / K. Gorbatoff. 50.3 × 60.4 cm. Estimate CHF60,000 - CHF80,000. Sold for CHF 134 500. Courtesy Koller

Provenance: - Galerie Commeter, Hamburg until 1950/51.
- German private ownership, acquired from the above gallery.
- By inheritance to the current owner, German private property, since 1953.

Note: Impressive vedutas of Italian coastal cities, including the present depiction of a port city, were created during Konstantin Gorbatoff's time on Capri. With short brushstrokes and the use of a high-contrast color palette of strong pastel tones, he captures the picturesque backdrop and its intense, bright lighting mood in a virtuoso manner.

The Russian neo-impressionist and professor at the St. Petersburg Art Academy was fascinated by Italy throughout his life. During his scholarship stay in Rome and Capri, he visited the southern landscape for the first time in 1912. In the wake of the Russian Revolution, Gorbatoff decided to emigrate to Italy in 1922. First he settled on Capri before moving to Berlin in 1926, where he stayed and worked as an artist until the end of his life. As a Russian emigrant, he joined the intellectual circle around the painters Leonid Pasternak (1862–1945) and Ivan Myasoedov (1881–1953). Numerous study trips, on which he continued his education and found his own and unmistakable style, also brought him to England and to distant regions such as Syria and Palestine.

His reputation as a gifted and talented artist spread quickly and also beyond national borders. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, however, the demand for his art decreased and his family was driven more and more into poverty. As a Soviet citizen, he was no longer allowed to leave the country after the outbreak of World War II and so he died in 1945 shortly after the Soviets conquered Berlin.

We would like to thank Olga Sugrobova-Roth and Eckart Lingenauber for confirming the authenticity on the basis of a photograph. The painting will be included in the forthcoming catalog raisonné.

A fascination for another realm, the Near East, was the impetus for the portrait of an Arab seated in a bazaar by Carl Spitzweg (lot 3120, CHF 30 000/40 000).

Lot 3120. Carl Spitzweg (1808 Munich 1885), An Oriental figure seated facing left at a bazaar, Circa 1852/53. Oil on board. The verso inscribed lower left with estate stamp: S in rhombus Spitzweg, 28.7 × 22.4 cm. Estimate CHF30,000 - CHF40,000. Sold for CHF 36 900. Courtesy Koller

Provenance: - Collection of Karl Kaiser.
- Auction, Hugo Helbing, Munich, 20.6.1906, no. 266 (then as "Türkischer Kaufmann, im Basar sitzend").
- Collection of Annemarie Ericsson, Schaffhausen.
- Koller auction, Zurich, 1.6.1989, Lot 5082.
- Private collection, Principality of Liechtenstein.

Exhibited: - Munich 1906, Bayrische Kunst 1800–1850. Glaspalast, June-July 1906, no. 596 (then as "Rauchender Türke").
- Munich 1985/86, Carl Spitzweg, Haus der Kunst, 23.11.1985–2.2.1986 no. 332 (verso with label).
- Munich 2003, Carl Spitzweg. Reisen und Wandern in Europa. Der glückliche Winkel. Haus der Kunst, Munich, 24.1.–4.5.2003, no. 54 (verso with label).

Literature: - Günther Roennefahrt: Carl Spitzweg. Beschreibendes Verzeichnis seiner Gemälde, Ölstudien und Aquarelle, Munich 1960, p. 201f., no. 654 (with ill.).
- Siegfried Wichmann: Orientdarstellungen im Werk von Carl Spitzweg. Dokumentation, Starnberg-München R.f.v.u.a.K. 1975, No. 11, Bayer. Staatsbibl. München, Inv.-No. Ana 656 SW 92.
- Exh. cat.: Carl Spitzweg und die französischen Zeichner Daumier, Grandville, Gavarni, Doré. Ed. by Sigfried Wichmann, 1985, cat. no. 332 (with colour ill.).
- Siegfried Wichmann: Carl Spitzweg, Munich 1990, p. 119 and 210, no. 68.
- Siegfried Wichmann: Carl Spitzweg. Verzeichnis der Werke. Gemälde und Aquarelle, Stuttgart 2002, p. 241 f., no. 424 (with colour ill.).
- Exh. cat.: Carl Spitzweg. Reisen und Wandern in Europa. Der glückliche Winkel. Ed by Siegfried Wichmann, Stuttgart 2002, p. 123 f., no. 54 (with colour ill.).

The Fine Furniture, Porcelain & Silver auction on 25 March boasts a particularly fine selection of works from private collections, including a pair of German Rococo marquetry chests of drawers from the workshop of the renowned Gebrüder Spindler, which were formerly in Trebschen Castle in present-day Poland (lot 1087, CHF 150 000/250 000).

Lot 1087. Pair of important inlaid commodes from the workshop of Johann Friedrich Spindler, Rococo, Potsdam around 1765. Johann Friedrich Spindler (1726 - 1799). Estimate CHF 150 000-250 000. Courtesy Koller

Walnut, walnut burl, plum and other, partly tinted fruit woods richly and finely inlaid in rocaille reserves with flower bouquets and fillets. Subsequent fine painting with diamondwork. Trapezoidal, three-sided curved and cambered body on a cut-out frame and curved legs. Front with two drawers without crossbar. The slightly protruding, moulurized and passig curly leaf inlaid with fantasy landscapes, a central fountain with a Neptune figure as a seated figure, including rural scenes with cattle and people as well as a representation of a castle in rocaille reserves, flanked by bouquets of flowers. The side walls also inlaid with flower bouquets in rocaille reserves. Fine gilt bronze fittings and sabots in the form of openwork rocailles with flowers and leaves. With a seal on the back, 134 × 66 × 82.5 cm. Smaller veneer additions. Preservation restorations and reinforcements. Veneer partly sanded and bleached.

Provenance: - Prinzlich Reuss'scher Privat Familienfideikommiss Schloss Trebschen, presumably under Count Heinrich IX. Reuss zu Köstriz (1711 - 1780), Royal Prussian Marshal and Minister of State of Frederick II the Great.
- Auction Leo Grünpeter Berlin, 23 and 24 April 1928; Collections of the Prinzlich Reuss'schen Privat Fiedeikommissbesitz Schloss Trebschen, Lot Nos. 31 and 32.
- Max Emden Collection (documented in a photograph taken in Emden's study on the Isola di Brissago, 1935).
- 1940 by inheritance to his son, Heinrich Emden.
- Probably sold on the occasion of an auction of the Emden Inventory, Isola di Brissago, in the summer of 1948.
- Hausamann Collection, Rolle Castle.
- Auction Koller Zurich, 5 November 1982, Lot No. 2493.
- Purchased in the Munich antique trade by the present owner.
- Swiss private collection.

Literature: - Afra Schick. Friedrich der Große und der Hof Johann Friedrich und Heinrich Wilhelm Spindler. Die Möbelaufträge Friedrichs des Großen für das Neue Palais. In: Friedrich 300 – Colloquien Vol. 2 (2008) (https://perspectivia.net//servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/ploneimport_derivate_00000046/Schick_Spindler.doc.pdf).
- A. Gonzales-Palacios et al. Il valore dei mobili antichi. Turin, 1983. p 53. With illustration and a reference to the Koller Auction.

Note: The pair of commodes on offer has stamps on the inside of the drawers, identifying the two pieces of furniture as part of the Prinzlich Reuss'schen Privat Familienfiedeikommiss Schloss Trebschen. The Reuss'sche Fideikommiss was auctioned off as collections of the Prinzlich Reuss'schen Privatfideikommissbesitz Schloss Trebschen by the Berlin-based art and furniture auction house, Leo Grünpeter, in 1928.
The two chests of drawers on offer are erroneously listed in that Auction Catalogue as "Kommode. Französisch um 1750. Reich und fein intarsiert, bauchig gearbeitet. Bronzebeschläge der Zeit." and were auctioned under Lot Nos. 31 and 32. However, the illustration of Lot No. 31 on Plate IV proves that these are indeed the items currently on offer.

After the stellar success of the Ducret Collection of porcelain in Koller's September auction, further pieces from Ducret's heirs will be offered on 25 March, including an important Meissen Höroldt tankard (lot 1059, CHF 18 000/22 000). From another collection comes a very rare large Meissen plate (D 42 cm) from the celebrated Swan Service of Count von Brühl (lot 1047, CHF 15 000/25 000).

Lot 1059. Important cylindrical jug, with a courtly scene, Meissen, ca. 1723-24. The paintwork, attributed to Johann Gregorius Höroldt (1696-1775). H 16.5 cm (19 cm). Estimate CHF 18 000-22 000. Sold for CHF 90 580. Courtesy Koller.

Depiction of a gallant scene featuring ladies and gentlemen playing cards in a park landscape, in an underglaze blue and gold-framed cartouche with foliage and bands in iron red and gold. No mark. Silver cover, significantly restored in the 19th century.

Provenance: - Collection Dr. Siegfried Ducret, Zurich.
- By succession to Rosmarie Schmidt-Ducret, Binningen, estate.

Literature: - Siegfried Ducret, Die Arbeitsmethoden Johann Gregor Höroldts, Keramikfreunde der Schweiz, MB 39, 1957, p. 39, Ill. 68.
- Siegfried Ducret, Porzellan der europäischen Manufakturen im 18. Jahrhundert, Zurich, 1971, p. 18, Ill. 9.
- Ulrich Pietsch, Johann Gregorius Höroldt 1696-1775 und die Meissener Porzellanmalerei, Leipzig 1996, p. 70 No. 48, Ill. p. 71.

 Lot 1047. Large plater from the Swan Service of Count Heinrich von Brühl, Meissen, ca. 1738-39, model by Johann Joachim Kändler. D 42 cm. Estimate CHF15,000 - CHF20,000. Passed. Courtesy Koller.

Designed as a shell with a pair of swans, in a body of water overgrown with reeds, next to a heron with a fish in its beak and another heron in flight. The rim, bearing the alliance coat-of-arms: Brühl and Kolowrat-Krakowksky. Underglaze blue sword mark, incised size number V and potter's mark with four concentric triangles for Elias Grund. Edge with small restoration.

Provenance: - Count Heinrich von Brühl (1700-1763), Pförten Castle and in the possession of his descendants until after World War II.
- Acquired from Antique Porcelain Co, Ltd, 149 New Bond Street, London.
- Monheim Collection, Aachen.
- By succession in the present private collection, Switzerland.

Note: Count Heinrich von Brühl (1700-1765), Prime Minister of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland August III and since 1739 Supreme Director of the Porcelain Manufactory, had already commissioned Meissen porcelain in large quantities in earlier years, with the privilege, personally granted by the Elector, of not having to pay for it.
The Swan Service is still the most famous service of the manufactory and with its elaborate figural centerpieces also the most magnificent. Despite the prominent alliance coat of arms, the occasion for this lavish order was not the wedding to the Polish Countess Anna Franziska Kolowrat-Krakowsky, but the obligation as cabinet minister to perform the representative duties of the Elector and King and to arrange banquets for a large number of illustrious guests from the European royal and princely houses.

The majority of the service, comprising approximately 2,200 pieces, remained in the possession of the Brühl family until the end of World War II at their family seat, Pförten Castle in Silesia. As early as 1880, the family gave pieces to the museums in Dresden and Berlin on loan, while other items came into the hands of collectors. Pförten Castle and almost the entire service were destroyed by Russian troops in 1945. The remaining service parts ended up in public and private collections all over the world. (Pietsch, Schwanenservice 2000; Maureen Cassidy-Geiger, From Barlow to Buggel, in Keramos 119 (1988), pp. 64-68, on the graphic models for the dinnerware).

The silver section features a private collection of Baroque silver from Hamburg, including a magnificent covered tankard by Hans Lambrecht III weighing in at almost 4 kg (lot 1016, CHF 90 000/140 000), and a rare silver coin goblet by Hamburg maker Heinrich von Dort (lot 1018, CHF 80 000/140 000).

Lot 1016. Large tankard with lid, Hamburg 1642. Maker's mark Hans Lambrecht III. and Prussian tax stamp. Cast silver, chased, chiseled and parcel-gilt. H 31 cm. 3,890 g. Estimate CHF90,000 - CHF140,000. Sold: 82 000 CHF HT. Courtesy Koller.

Provenance: - Collection U. and M. Bey, Hamburg.
- Galerie Neuse, Bremen 1989.
- Hamburg private collection.

Exhibition: Hamburg 1966, Altes Tafelgerät. Collection Udo and Mania Bey, Sonderausstellung des Altonaer Museums, 11 May to 19 June 1966; No. 28.

Literature: - Exhibition catalogue, Altes Tafelgerät. Collection Udo and Mania Bey, published by Manfred Meinz and The Altonaer Museum, Hamburg 1966, Catalogue No. 28 (with illustrations).
- Erich Schliemann: Die Goldschmiede Hamburgs, Hamburg 1989, Vol. II, p. 105, No. 9.
- Exhibition catalogue: Silver, Galerie Neuse, 1994, pp. 21-22.

Note: This magnificently designed lidded tankard is a Baroque work by the Hamburg goldsmith, Hans Lambrecht III. He belonged to a family of goldsmiths, operating over the course of three generations, who were active during the heyday of the Hamburg goldsmith's art in the 17th century, and whose works contributed significantly to shaping the reputation of the Hamburg goldsmiths. Hans Lambrecht III. learned his trade from his uncle Hinrich Lambrecht and was appointed Master Goldsmith in 1630. In addition to commissions for the Senate since 1637, he also received orders from the Gottorp Court (1639-66) and the Swedish Royal House (1665).

Lot 1018. Large beaker, decorayed with coins, Hamburg 1681–1688. Maker's mark Heinrich von Dort. Cast silver, chased, chiseled and parcel-gilt. H 54 cm. 1,850 g.  Estimate CHF90,000 - CHF140,000. Passed.Courtesy Koller.