Old Master paintings [11/22/2005]

December is usually a plentiful month for Old Master paintings. 3000 Old Masters were offered for sale in the three weeks before Christmas of last year. Prices on this segment have risen 26% over the last twelve months, but only 36% over the last ten years. This compares with an 85% increase of the Artprice Global Index (all periods combined) since November 1995 (on the basis of auction sales in euros), implying that Old Masters has been one of the least speculative segments in the art market. On the positive side, the segment has proved ideal for risk averse collectors. With a reduced volume of sales (5.7% of Fine Art auctions), prices are reasonably well protected.

Sales in the millions in London

From 7 to 9 December, Sotheby’s and Christie’s London showrooms will host the biggest sales of Old Masters with a good number of lots likely to pass the GBP 1 million mark such as a major work by Aelbert CUYP's (1620-1691) entitled Landscape with a Hunt and a Portrait of a Youth with his Tutor, estimated at GBP 1 – 1.5 million and offered by Sotheby's on 7 December. The following day, Tiziano Vecellio (1485/89-1576), (aka Titien), will be the star of Christie’s evening sale with Portrait of a Lady and her Daughter, a painting that was rediscovered after a lengthy restoration and that is thought to worth around GBP 5 million. After Titien's death, the painting was reworked by one of his students into a more commercial representation entitled Tobias and the Angel. Christie’s will also be selling a large painting by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), The Hunt of Meleager and Atalanta estimated at between GBP 2 and 3 million.

Peter Paul Rubens holds the world auction price record for an Old Master since his "Le Massacre des Innocents", fetched GBP 45 million at Sotheby’s in London on July 10, 2002. The painting was originally thought to be the work of a less well-known artist, Jan van den Hoecke. However it was subsequently re-attributed to Rubens and prompted intense demand from collectors. Indeed, this fabulous sale occurred at the end of a period (1997 - 2002) in which Ruben's price index gained 411%. However, since then, the artist's index has fallen 48%. Overall, the indices of artists from the 17th century Northern School have contracted 12.1% over the last three years.
The second world record for an Old Master was generated by an Italian renaissance painting, Portrait of Duke Cosimo I de'Medici by Jacopo da Carucci Pontormo (1494-1556/57) that sold for USD 35.2 millions in May 1989. And this year, the third place was taken by another Italian, Antonio Canal Canaletto (1697-1768) whose Venice, View of the Grand Canal fetched a winning telephone bid of GBP 18,600,000 at Sotheby’s on 7 July. This particular view of the Grand Canal was originally owned by the English prime minister Sir Robert Walpole who put the painting up for auction in 1751. Since the start of this year, Canaletto's price index has risen 30%.

In Paris, prices are more reasonable

In the run-up to Christmas, a wide variety of Old Masters will be on sale at numerous auction houses throughout France, Italy and Germany. However, the prices will be much lower than those commanded by the prestigious sales of Old Masters at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in London. In Paris, four auctions will be particularly attended by the market: the Tajan sale on 12-13 December; the Artucrial and Rossini sales, both on 13 December, and finally the Piasa sale on 16 December.

In view of the diverse quality of Old Masters, the works in this category do not always find buyers at Paris sales. Between those whose authorship is difficult to determine with certainty, and those that have simply been badly preserved, the market is highly selective. Out of 1066 old paintings offered at auction in France between January and November this year, only 565 found buyers. This represents a bought-in rate of 47% compared with an average rate of 35-37% for the art market in general (all periods combined).
Nevertheless, when high quality works come up for auction in Paris, the figures can sometimes exceed the EUR 1 million mark. This year, the top-selling Old Master has so far been La Danse des Noce by Brueghel II (c.1564-1637/38 ), (aka. Brueghel d'Enfer). This painting generated EUR 1.3 million at Tajan on 21 June after receiving a high-estimate of EUR 1 million. Three days later at Piasa, another panel work by the same artist fetched EUR 650,000 after being estimated at between EUR 150,000 and 200,000. In total, over the first ten months of the year, 18 old paintings sold for over EUR 100,000, representing 3.2% of total art market turnover in the same period. 41% of old paintings have sold for over EUR 10,000 and 85% for over EUR 2,000. For prices under the EUR 2,000 mark, buyers can find essentially small works whose authorship cannot be guaranteed. Often, if the origin of a work cannot be guaranteed, it ends up selling far below its estimate. Vierge à l'Enfant et un ange attributed to Jacques Blanchard (1600-1638) went under the hammer for EUR 1,500 after being estimated at EUR 3,000 – 4,000 at Lucien (Paris) on 21 July last. Likewise for Allégorie de la Justice, a very large painting attributed to Adriaen Van Nieulandt I (1587-1658) which was initially estimated at EUR 4,000 – 6,000 and sold for only EUR 1,700 at the Crédit Municipal de Paris on 7 April.
However, "attributed" works can also generate some positive surprises if bidders are convinced that the attribution is authentic. For example, in March 2002, a Portrait de Gentilhomme en Buste attributed to Alessandro Longhi (1733-1813), and estimated by Tajan at EUR 6,000 € , finally sold for EUR 300,000!