Emanuel von Baeyer at TEFAF 2015 Paper (13-22 March 2015)

Étiquettes

'Baron Denon instructing the artist in the technique of polyautography', Apollo, c. 1811-1818, EFAF 2015 Paper, Emanuel von Baeyer, Engraving, Harriet Cheney, Hendrick Goltzius, Polyautograph in dark brown

Hendrick Goltzius (Mulbrecht near Venlo 1558-1617 Haarlem), Apollo. Engraving, 26.4 x 34.9 cm, 1588. Emanuel von Baeyer (stand 703) – TEFAF 2015 Paper (13-22 March 2015)

Apollo with his stylized elegance is one of the highlights of the artist’s so-called ‘Spranger period’. A magnificent impression printed on a full sheet, in untouched condition. One of the finest impression known of this print.

Literature: B. 141; Holl. 131; S. 263, first state of two.

Harriet Cheney (1771 – 1848), ‘Baron Denon instructing the artist in the technique of polyautography’. Polyautograph in dark brown. Inscribed in brown ink ‘Mrs Cheney & Mr Denon’ 13.7 x 17.8 cm, c. 1811-1818. Emanuel von Baeyer (stand 703) – TEFAF 2015 Paper (13-22 March 2015)

Emanuel von Baeyer. European drawings, rare prints and selected paintings from the fifteenth to the early twentieth century. Artist autographs. Contemporary art.

Emanuel von Baeyer London was founded in 1998 and has since been firmly established as a leading representative of the younger generation of old master dealers. His clientele includes older and younger generations of private collectors, art historians and museum curators from institutions around the world. He is now widely recognized as an innovative dealer within his field and has published numerous specialist sales catalogues.

Emanuel von Baeyer regularly participates in the London Original Print Fair, Frieze Masters London, Master Drawings Week in London and New York, IFPDA Print Fair New York, Antiquarian Booksellers Associations (ABA), and at TEFAF, Maastricht. He is also a member of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), as well as an executive committee member of The Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD) and a member of the TEFAF Young Dealers Committee (YDC). He has held exhibitions in various galleries in Munich, Berlin and New York.

Lucas Cranach I (Kronach 1472-1553 Weimar), Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg as Saint Jerome in a landscape

Étiquettes

'Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg; The Small Cardinal', 1520-1524, Albrecht Dürer, Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as Saint Jerome, Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg as Saint Jerome in a landscape, Lucas Cranach I, Matthias Grünewald, Saints Erasmus and Mauritius

Lucas Cranach I (Kronach 1472-1553 Weimar), Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg as Saint Jerome in a landscape, indistinctly signed with remains of the artist’s serpent device (lower left), oil on oak panel, 19½ x 14 5/8 in. (49.5 x 37.1 cm). Estimate $1,000,000 – $1,500,00. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

Provenance: Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910), Düsseldorf; (†) sale, Lepke, Berlin, 17 November 1910, lot 148.
Marczell von Nemes (1866-1930), Budapest and Munich.
Dr. Karl Lanz (1873-1921), Mannheim, by 1917.
with Karl Haberstock, Berlin, by 1923, where acquired for 18,000 Swiss francs on 15 May 1923, with a letter of expertise by M.J. Friedländer, by the following.
B. Hürlimann-Hirzel, Zurich, and by descent in the family of the present owner.

PROPERTY FROM A EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION

Literature: Gemäldesammlung Dr. Karl Lanz, Mannheim, Mannheim, 1917, p. 8, no. 13.
M.J. Friedländer and J. Rosenberg, The paintings of Lucas Cranach, Secaucus, 1978, p. 106, no. 184A.
H. Friedmann, A Bestiary for Saint Jerome: Animal Symbolism in European Religious Art, Washington, 1980, p. 132.
F.B. Polleross, Das sakrale Identifikationsporträt: ein höfischer Bildtypus vom 13. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, Worms, 1988, p. 310.
A. Tacke, ‘Albrecht als heiliger Hieronymys: Damit « der Barbar überall dem Gelehrten weiche! »‘, Der Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg: Renaissancefürst und Mäzen, II, Regensburg, 2006, pp. 122-4, fig. 5, as workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder.
A. Tacke, ‘With Cranach’s Help: Counter-Reformation Art before the Council of Trent’, in B. Brinkmann, ed., Cranach, London, 2007, p. 87.

Exhibited: Basel, Kunstmuseum, Lukas Cranach: Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Druckgraphik, 15 June-8 September 1974, no. 47.
Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Images of Erasmus, 8 November 2008-8 February 2009, no. 28.

Notes: Cranach’s Portrait of Albrecht von Brandenburg as Saint Jerome in a landscape is an icon of Northern Renaissance art. The picture is rare surviving evidence of the relationship between Albrecht von Brandenburg, the supreme Catholic dignitary of the age, and Lucas Cranach, an artist often described as Martin Luther’s foremost propagandist. Thus, the story of this portrait brings together three titans of the Reformation whose inextricably entwined destinies shaped this period of European history.

Albrecht von Brandenburg (1490-1545) was born the younger son to the powerful house of Hohenzollern, the ruling dynasty of the Eastern German principality of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire. Ambitious and intelligent and attuned to the humanist debates of the day, he embraced a religious career and quickly rose up within the ecclesiastical hierarchy. In 1513, aged only 23, he was made archbishop of Magdeburg and administrator of the diocese of Halberstadt. One year later, he became archbishop of Mainz, making him an Elector, one of the ruling princes allowed to select the Holy Roman Emperor. By 1518, he had become a cardinal.

In 1517, Albrecht initiated a massive sale of indulgences – purchasable remissions of one’s sins. Proceeds from this project were used by Pope Leo X to fund the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. The idea that one could buy salvation, and Albrecht’s involvement in this commerce, infuriated Martin Luther, then a 35 year-old monk, preacher and theologian of rising influence in Wittenberg. In response Luther nailed his notorious pamphlet, the 95 Theses, to the door of the cathedral at Wittenberg, a seminal act that sparked the Reformation.

Luther’s attack did not deter a financially stricken Albrecht from issuing another campaign of indulgences only four years later for anyone that came to venerate the impressive collection of relics he had amassed in Halle, the seat of his power and main residence. Inevitably, this project ignited Luther’s ire. In his correspondence, Luther called Albrecht the pope’s « creature » and condemned the « sacrilegious action of that son of perdition ». (For more on the strained relationship between Luther and Albrecht von Brandenburg, see: S. Ozment, The serpent & the lamb: Cranach, Luther, and the making of the Reformation, New Haven & London, 2011, pp. 81, 125-8, 139-42; and M. Brecht, Martin Luther, Shaping and Defining the Reformation, 1521-1532, II, pp. 13-4.)

Such was the state of affairs between the two religious leaders when, from 1519 to 1525, Cranach – a close friend of Luther and the great visual promoter of his doctrine – was called by Albrecht to produce a massive decorative programme of over 142 paintings for the collegiate church in Halle. Interestingly, Cranach’s well-documented relationship with Luther did not prohibit him from working for Albrecht, a representative of traditional Catholic doctrine. Indeed, in these early days of the Reformation the schism did not appear to contemporaries as irrevocable as it eventually became. Whatever his personal beliefs, Cranach’s art was deeply adaptable and allowed him to serve both patrons successfully.

The splendor displayed in the church in Halle, integrating Cranach’s paintings with silk hangings and ornate reliquaries, was a manifesto of Roman magnificence and deliberately meant to astonish, and ultimately persuade, the worshipper. This tradition of courtly brilliance in the service of the church pervaded every aspect of Albrecht’s patronage. The sheer breadth and quality of the artistic patronage of this Renaissance prince was unparalleled, as was recently highlighted in a 2006 exhibition organised by Andreas Tacke in Halle (Der Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg: Renaissancefürst und Mäzen).

Never was Albrecht more prone to extravagance than when fashioning his own public image. In 1519, Albrecht Dürer received the extraordinary sum of 200 florins and 20 yards of damask to produce an engraving of the cardinal (fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Albrecht Dürer, ‘Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg; The Small Cardinal’, 1519.

By contrast, Dürer’s contemporaries Bernard van Orley and Conrad Meit, respectively court painter and court sculptor to Margaret of Austria in Mechelen, earned the modest annual salary of 18 florins (G. Messling, ed., Cranach et son temps, Paris, 2011). Albrecht particularly favoured the ‘historiated’ portrait, the portrayal of a contemporary patron in the guise of a religious or mythological figure, which became increasingly popular during the Reformation. Albrecht had himself included in the guise of Erasmus, his personal saint, in The Meeting of Saint Erasmus and Saint Mauricepainted by Matthias Grünewald (fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Matthias Grünewald, Saints Erasmus and Mauritius, 1520-1524 © Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany / Interfoto / The Bridgeman Art Library

There are four surviving portraits of Albrecht in the guise of Saint Jerome painted by Cranach, of which only the present picture remains in private hands. Two of these portraits depict the Cardinal as Saint Jerome in his study (1525, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt; and 1526, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; fig. 3) in a free adaptation of Dürer’s celebrated print of 1514. We are grateful to Dr. Dieter Köpplin for confirming the dating of the present picture to c. 1527 (private communication, May 2013). In both this picture and another from the same year (now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin), the saintly scholar, still immersed in his theological reflections, has been transported into a landscape. The verdant background, so carefully rendered in this picture, is, however, more reminiscent of the Saxon forest than the Syrian desert.

Fig. 3 Lucas Cranach I, Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as Saint Jerome, 1526, Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota.

By the early 16th century, Saint Jerome had become the embodiment of the exemplary Christian scholar and a role model for humanists. His popularity among erudite circles had been heightened by the critical edition of his collected works that the greatest thinker of the age, Erasmus of Rotterdam, had published in 1516, the Sancti Hieronymi Stridonensis Opera Omnia. In portraying himself this way, the Cardinal was following an already established tradition of cardinals portrayed as Jerome. For example, Jan van Eyck’s Saint Jerome in his study (Detroit Museum of Arts) is believed to be a historiated portrait of cardinal Niccolò Albergati.

As the official translator of the Bible into Latin, in its canonical version known as the Vulgate, Saint Jerome was regarded as the custodian of the Gospels’ truth and integrity. Luther undertook his own translation of the Bible from Latin to vernacular German, which was first published in 1522, and was deemed invalid by Church authorities. One of his main principles was that every believer should be able to read the Bible without clerical mediation. By the time that this portrait was painted in the 1520s, Albrecht had also produced a translation of the Bible which was embraced by the Roman authorities. Thus by taking the guise of Saint Jerome, Albrecht emphasized his own role as a translator of the Scriptures (Tacke, 2007, op. cit., p. 87).

The tame lion looking out to the viewer is the traditional iconographical attribute of Saint Jerome. It became the saint’s lifelong companion after Jerome removed a thorn from its injured paw. The stag is a common Christian symbol and its antlers are often associated with the wood of the Cross and the Resurrection. The younger stag or hind nearby, defenseless because of its lack of antlers, can be seen to represent the vulnerable Christ, at the mercy of humanity. A pair of partridges with their young in the foreground perhaps recall a legend in which partridges would steal eggs from the nests of other birds and then hatch them as their own. Jerome considered the partridge a despoiler of homes. Furthermore, in the writings of Saint Augustine, the partridge was likened to heretics, who adopt those they have not bred, a symbolism heavy with meaning in the context of Albrecht’s ongoing struggle with the ‘heretic’ Luther and his growing number of followers. (For more on animal symbolism, see: H. Friedmann, 1980, op. cit., pp. 132, 288-4; C. Campbell, Temptation in Eden: Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve, London, 2007, p. 76.)

In 1541 Albrecht surrendered Halle to his opponents and died four years later, having failed to stem the growing tide of support for Luther. This jewel-like portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder immortalises one of the church’s most brilliant patrons during this turbulent period of European history.

Christie’s. RENAISSANCE, 28 January 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

E.H. Ariëns Kappers at TEFAF 2015 Paper (13-22 March 2015)

Étiquettes

1570, E.H. Ariëns Kappers, Hans Bol, Hieronymus Cock, Paper, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Pieter van der Heyden, TEFAF 2015 Paper, The Four Seasons

Pieter van der Heyden (circa 1530-Antwerp-after 1572), The Four Seasons Ver (Spring), Aestas (Summer), Autumnus (Autumn), Hyems (Winter). Complete series of four engravings after the designs of Pieter Brueghel the Elder (circa 1525 -1569) and Hans Bol (1534-593). Paper. Circa 22.5 x 28.5 cm with large margins around. Inscribed in the plates ‘Bruegel inve’ and ‘Bol inv.’ The serie was published by Hieronymus Cock, 1570. E.H. Ariëns Kappers (stand 710). TEFAF 2015 Antiques (13-22 March 2015)

Only ‘Spring’ signed by Pieter van der Heyden, but is generally accepted that he engraved the other plates as well.

E.H. Ariëns Kappers. Director: Drs. E.H. Ariëns Kappers

Founded in 1980 by art historian Erik Ariëns Kappers in the now famous Spiegelkwartier in Amsterdam, neighbour of the Rijksmuseum. He is dealing mainly in masterprints ranging from the 15th to the 20th century. Since 2011 he also sells Japanese prints.
By appointment only.

« Un pharaon de légende, Sésostris III » au Palais des Beaux‐Arts de Lille

Étiquettes

12e dynastie, Amenemhat Ier, Antony Gormley, Assouan, barque funéraire, Bracelet manchette, Bronze Moyen, Calcaire polychrome, Ceinture aux têtes de léopards, Christian Bernard Rhode, Deir el-Bahari, Deir el-Bersha, Djehoutyhotep II, Egypte, faucon, Figurine magique, Gneiss anorthositique, Granodiorite, Grauwacke, Karnak, Kerma, Mirgissa, Moyen empire, Nouvel Empire, Palais des Beaux‐Arts de Lille, pays de Kouch, Pectoral, Quartzite, Renefseneb, Sésostris III, scribe Iaÿ, Semna, Senousret-Senbefny, Sithathoryunet, Soudan, Sphinx, Statue-cube, temple de Taharqa, Wolfgang Laib, XVIIIème dynastie

Tête de Sésostris III, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris III, vers 1872-1854 av. J.-C. Provenance inconnue.Quartzite. H. 45 ; L. 34,3 ; pr. 43,2 cm © Kansas City, Nelson-Atkins Museum

LILLE – Le Palais des Beaux‐Arts de Lille présente la première exposition d’envergure consacrée au Moyen Empire égyptien en France, organisée en collaboration exceptionnelle avec le musée du Louvre.

Le Pharaon Sésostris III est l’un des rois les plus emblématiques de l’Égypte antique, dont la renommée fut telle que les auteurs de l’Antiquité classique en firent le modèle par excellence du monarque égyptien. Au coeur du Moyen Empire, son règne (v. 1872‐1854 av. J.‐C.) marque un tournant dans l’histoire de l’Égypte ancienne. Parallèlement au développement intense des échanges culturels entre l’Égypte et ses voisins de la Méditerranée orientale, ce pharaon mène en personne au moins quatre expéditions militaires en Nubie pour affronter le royaume rival de Kerma (dans l’actuel Soudan), qui aboutissent à la construction d’un gigantesque réseau de forteresses et à l’établissement des premières frontières autour de la vallée du Nil, marquées par des stèles. Ces actions ont des répercussions profondes sur la gestion du pays et modifient la conception même de l’Etat égyptien. Avec la mise en place d’une administration très dévouée, Sésostris III met également fin aux menaces intérieures et fait valoir son autorité vis‐à‐vis des notables locaux.

Ce changement est incarné dans l’art par la statuaire : les portraits énigmatiques du pharaon rompent avec les canons traditionnels et le montrent tantôt sous des traits sévères, symboles de sagesse, tantôt sous les traits idéaux d’un jeune homme. Cette nouvelle image fait écho à l’intense entreprise de propagande royale à un moment où la société égyptienne se réinvente en profondeur. Ses productions artistiques extrêmement raffinées et variées ont valu au Moyen Empire d’être considéré comme LA période classique de l’Égypte ancienne : le Nouvel Empire et les époques suivantes s’y sont sans cesse référés comme à un âge d’or.

Récemment, les expositions Ägypten 2000 v. Chr. ‐ Die Geburt des Individuums aux musées de Munich et Berlin (2000) et The Secrets of Tomb 10A. Egypt 2000 BC. au Museum of Fine Arts de Boston (2009‐2010), ainsi que les dernières fouilles archéologiques à Dahchour, Abydos et Deir el‐Bershesh, ont profondément renouvelé notre compréhension de cette période clé de l’Égypte ancienne. L’exposition du Palais des Beaux‐Arts réunit environ 300 oeuvres, dont 200 prêts des plus grands musées internationaux. Mêlant sculptures, bijoux royaux, objets de la vie courante et mobilier funéraire, elle est l’occasion de présenter au grand public cette période d’une richesse extraordinaire. Cet événement permet aussi de dévoiler une centaine d’objets choisis, issus des fouilles menées par l’Université de Lille III sur les sites des antiques forteresses de Nubie, désormais ensevelies sous les eaux du Lac Nasser.

En quatre sections thématiques, l’exposition dessine le portrait de Sésostris III, grand chef militaire et fin stratège politique. Elle lève le voile sur la prospérité retrouvée de la société égyptienne sous la XIIe dynastie en mettant l’accent sur les contacts commerciaux ou guerriers que Sésostris III et ses successeurs ont noués avec les puissances voisines. Le parcours permet d’évoquer les impressionnants complexes funéraires royaux et montre le succès sans précédent du culte du dieu Osiris, qui va de pair avec le développement de son sanctuaire à Abydos. Ce phénomène s’accompagne d’un renouveau des pratiques funéraires des élites, dont les riches nécropoles sont le signe d’une appropriation des rituels auparavant réservées aux seuls membres de la famille royale. L’exposition illustre la diversité et la sophistication de ce mobilier funéraire, en usage jusqu’aux frontières les plus reculées de l’Égypte. Elle se conclut sur la postérité de Sésostris III, pharaon divinisé par ses successeurs et dont les exploits ont été magnifiés par les Anciens, Hérodote et Diodore de Sicile en tête.

L’événement sera enrichi d’une présentation d’oeuvres d’artistes contemporains majeurs (Wolfgang Laib, Antony Gormley, Andreas Gursky, Gerhard Richter) sur les thématiques du voyage des âmes et de l’au‐delà, faisant écho aux préoccupations religieuses de l’Égypte antique. Cette installation s’accompagnera d’une exposition de photographies anciennes dédiées à l’aventure des fouilles archéologiques de la fin du XIXe au début du XXe siècle.

Linteau de porte provenant du temple de Médamoud présentant le roi sous ses deux visages faisant offrande au dieu Montou, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris III, vers 1872-1854 av. J.-C. Égypte, Médamoud, temple de Montou. Calcaire. H. 107 ; l. 226 ; ép. 13,5 cm. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités égyptiennes © 2013 Musée du Louvre/Christian Descamps

Détails. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités égyptiennes
© 2013 Musée du Louvre/Christian Descamps

Sésostris III autoritaire et vigilant les mains posées à plat sur son pagne, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris III, vers 1872-1854 av. J.-C. Égypte, Deir el-Bahari, complexe funéraire de Montouhotep II. Granodiorite. H. 122 ; l. 58 ; ép. 50 cm © Londres, The British Museum

Le scribe Iaÿ, un rouleau de papyrus déroulé sur ses genoux, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris III ou d’Amenemhat III. Provenance inconnue.Grauwacke. H. 16,5 ; l. 9,3 ; pr. 9,9 cm. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités égyptiennes © 2013 Musée du Louvre/Christian Descamps

Statue de Renefseneb, 12e dynastie, Égypte, Assouan. Grès. H. 33,6 ; l. 10,5 ; pr. 19,3 cm © Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung,

Statue-cube de Senousret-Senbefny avec sa femme devant lui, 12e dynastie, règnes de Sésostris III et d’Amenemhat III. Provenance inconnue. H. 68,3 ; l. 41,5 ; pr. 46 cm © New York, Brooklyn Museum

Sphinx de Sésostris III, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris III, vers 1872-1854 av. J.-C. Égypte, probablement Karnak. Gneiss anorthositique. H. 42,5 ; L. 73 ; l. 29,3 cm © New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Figurine magique à l’effigie d’un étranger ligoté, 12e dynastie, fin du règne d’Amenemhat Ier, Soudan, Mirgissa, nord-ouest de la ville ouverte. Calcaire polychrome. H. 13 ; l. 5,3 ; pr. 3,5 cm © Lille, université de Lille 3

Statue d’un fonctionnaire égyptien provenant de la capitale du pays de Kouch, Kerma, 13e dynastie, Soudan, Kerma. Granodiorite. H. 65 ; l. 22 ; pr. 28,5 cm © Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

Pectoral de style égyptien décoré d’un faucon aux ailes déployées provenant de la nécropole royale de Byblos (Liban), Bronze Moyen (2000-1600 av. J.-C.), Liban, Byblos (actuelle Jbeil), Tombe royale III. Or / H. 12 ; l. 20,5 cm. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités orientales © 2013 Musée du Louvre/Christian Descamps

Statuette d’une femme du Proche-Orient, reconnaissable à sa coiffure et à sa robe, portant son enfant dans le dos, 12e dynastie, Égypte, Béni Hassan, Tombe de Ouser. Bois, traces de gesso et de polychromie. H. 15,3 ; l. 4,4 cm © Edimbourgh, Royal Museum of Scotland

Miroir de style égyptien à manche papyriforme provenant de la nécropole royale de Byblos (Liban), Bronze Moyen (2000-1600 av. J.-C.), Liban, Byblos (actuelle Jbeil), Tombe royale II. Or, argent. H. 47 ; l. 22,5 cm © Beyrouth, ministère de la Culture / Direction générale des antiquités

Ceinture aux têtes de léopards de la princesse Sithathoryunet, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris III ou d’Amenemhat III, Égypte, el-Lahun, tombe de Sithathoryunet.Or, améthyste, diorite. L. 81 cm © New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ceinture aux têtes de léopards de la princesse Sithathoryunet (détail) © New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bracelet manchette inscrit du nom du roi Amenemhat III, successeur de Sésostris III, et appartenant à la princesse Sithathoryunet, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris III, vers 1872-1854 av. J.-C., Égypte, el-Lahun, tombe de Sithathoryunet (BSA Tomb 8). Or, cornaline, turquoise. Circ. 12,5 ; l. 8,1 cm © New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Relief de la tombe du nomarque Djehoutyhotep II. Procession de porteurs d’offrandes, 12e dynastie, règne de Sésostris II et Sésostris III, Égypte, Deir el-Bersha, tombe du nomarque Djéhoutyhotep II. Calcaire peint. H. 36 ; l. 168 ; pr. 15 cm  © Londres, The British Museum

Modèle de barque servant lors d’un enterrement, 12e dynastie, règnes d’Amenemhat II-Sésostris II, vers 1913-1872 av. J.-C. Égypte, Deir el-Bersha. Bois polychrome. H. 49 ; L. 77,5 ; l. 19 cm © 2013 Musée du Louvre/Christian Descamps

Stèle du vice-roi de Nubie Ouser-Satet présentant des offrandes à une triade divine composée (de droite à gauche) de Khnoum, du pharaon Sésostris III divinisé et de Dédoun, XVIIIème dynastie, Nouvel Empire, Semna, temple de Taharqa, chambre A. Grès. H : 68 cm ; l : 50 cm ; ép : 12 cm © Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

Gravure de la Bibliothèque historique de Diodore de Sicile : Sésostris III paradant sur un char, 1777, Christian Bernard Rhode. H : 60,3 cm ; l : 45,1 cm © Londres, British Museum

Antony Gormley: Rise + Tree; Wolfgang Laib: Passageway + Ziggurat © Studio Antony Gormley/Wolfgang Laib/Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

Antony Gormley, Tree © Antony Gormley Studio, Londres / Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris-Salzburg. Photograph by Stephen White, London

Antony Gormley, Rise © Studio Antony Gormley, Londres, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris-Salzburg

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center to present first U.S. exhibition that explores Renaissance Augsburg’s innovations in works on paper

Étiquettes

Augsburg, c. 1509-10, ca. 1508, ca.1529, Chiaroscuro woodcut, Daniel Hopfer I, Emperor Maximilian I, Etching, Hans Burgkmair I, Hans Holbein the Elder, ink, Jost de Negker, Kolman Helmschmid, Lead alloy., Matthes Gebel, Raimond Fugger, Silverpoint

Hans Holbein the Elder (German, ca. 1465 – 1524), Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1508. Silverpoint, ink, and chalk heightened with white on white prepared paper. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Woodner Collection

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY.- The city of Augsburg, Germany has an impressive Renaissance heritage, notably in printmaking innovations, but has long been eclipsed in America by the more well-known Nuremberg. Imperial Augsburg: Renaissance Prints and Drawings, 1475-1540, the first U.S. exhibition to explore Augsburg’s artistic achievements in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, is on view at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College from September 19 through December 14, 2014.

Organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Imperial Augsburg focuses on prints, drawings, and illustrated books. However, the exhibition also includes medals and one etched set of armor. Of the almost 100 works presented, most are from the National Gallery’s own collection, with additional loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Library of Congress, Washington; and private collectors Andrea Woodner and Andrew Robison. The last major exhibition on this subject was mounted more than three decades ago in Augsburg itself.

This exhibition emphasizes the rich and varied works of art on paper produced in Augsburg from 1475 to 1540, paying particular attention to innovative printmaking techniques as well as the fundamental role of imperial patronage.

“It is truly remarkable that the rich and varied history of works on paper in Renaissance Augsburg can be told almost entirely through the National Gallery’s extensive collection of German prints, drawings, and illustrated books—thanks in large part to the contributions of donors over the course of many decades,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art.

The exhibition was curated by Gregory Jecmen, associate curator of old master prints and drawings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Freyda Spira, assistant curator of drawings and prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. At the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, the exhibition is coordinated by Patricia Phagan, the Philip and Lynn Straus Curator of Prints and Drawings.

The opening event for the exhibition at Vassar takes place on Friday, September 19, at 5:30pm in Taylor Hall, room 102, with a lecture entitled “Imperial Augsburg: A Flourishing Market for Innovative Prints” by curators Jecmen and Spira. It is followed by a reception in the Atrium of the Art Center at 6:45pm with music of the German Renaissance played by the St. John’s Recorder Ensemble. These events are free and open to the public.

The Vassar Libraries and Department of Music will also present major activities in conjunction with the “Imperial Augsburg” exhibit: a 4-month exhibit in the Thompson Memorial Library will focus on the famed fourteenth-century illustrated book “The Nuremberg Chronicle”, and the early-music vocal ensemble Pomerium will perform a program of “Music for Imperial Augsburg, 1518-1548” at Skinner Hall. These events are free and open to the public.

Vassar’s Phagan points out that several circumstances came together to give Augsburg the opportunity to rise as an art hub. The city, located in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany, was founded as a Roman settlement in the reign of Emperor Augustus in 15 BCE. Located at the confluence of two rivers and on trade routes through the Alps to Italy, Augsburg was a prosperous manufacturing center in the late 15^th and early 16^th century that gave rise to the great banking houses of the Fugger and the Welser families. “Together, these circumstances fostered an important and diverse artistic community, with an established tradition in the printing and metalworking industries,” Phagan explains.

Augsburg was also favored by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (reigned 1493-1519), whose patronage reveals, more than anything, the magnitude of the city’s prestige and fame. During his rule, Augsburg became the location of an Imperial Diet (council) and the center from which the emperor organized all of his print and armor commissions. “As Augsburg’s artists benefited from the patronage of the Habsburg court they also created works for the city’s thriving art market,” says Phagan.

The exhibition is presented in four galleries. One gallery focuses on devotional prints and illustrated books representing the Christian contemplative life. In this period Augsburg, as elsewhere in Germany, witnessed rapid changes and realignments in theological beliefs. Its Renaissance artists came of age in a society still very much engaged in the devotional customs of the late Middle Ages, and prints seen in the show played an important role in the expression of religious devotion.

This gallery also emphasizes the city’s role as a center for cutting-edge printing techniques of the time, including color printing pioneered there by the native printer Erhard Ratdolt (1447-1528) through his use of multiple carved wooden blocks, one for each color, in imitation of illuminated manuscripts. It was further developed by his apprentice Hans Burgkmair I (1472-1531) who went on to create a series of imaginative and complex prints. Etching, a technique originally used to decorate armor, was first explored in prints in Augsburg, by Daniel Hopfer (ca. 1470-1536), a painter and armor decorator turned printmaker.

This gallery also emphasizes the city’s role as a center for cutting-edge printing techniques of the time, including color printing pioneered there by the native printer Erhard Ratdolt (1447-1528) through his use of multiple carved wooden blocks, one for each color, in imitation of illuminated manuscripts. It was further developed by his apprentice Hans Burgkmair I (1472-1531) who went on to create a series of imaginative and complex prints. Etching, a technique originally used to decorate armor, was first explored in prints in Augsburg, by Daniel Hopfer (ca. 1470-1536), a painter and armor decorator turned printmaker.

Another gallery features portraits of both famous and obscure citizens. Portraits could serve as public tributes; Augsburg’s artists made many medals and prints of famous residents and visitors, which were widely disseminated. The gallery includes several portraits of Emperor Maximilian, part of an intense visual and literary campaign launched by the ruler. Artists also depicted soldiers and knights, as in an elegant drawing by an unknown artist of a knight holding a halberd, a long-handled weapon.

Another gallery features portraits of both famous and obscure citizens. Portraits could serve as public tributes; Augsburg’s artists made many medals and prints of famous residents and visitors, which were widely disseminated. The gallery includes several portraits of Emperor Maximilian, part of an intense visual and literary campaign launched by the ruler. Artists also depicted soldiers and knights, as in an elegant drawing by an unknown artist of a knight holding a halberd, a long-handled weapon.

A complementary exhibition presented by the Vassar College Libraries explores the most heavily illustrated book of the 15^th century, The Nuremberg Chronicle. The exhibition, Never Before Has Your Like Been Printed: The Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493, will be on display in the Thompson Memorial Library from August 27 to December 10.  It showcases printed leaves and editions of this landmark book, and marks the 500th anniversary of the death of the author, the German humanist Hartmann Schedel.

Imperial Augsburg was first shown at the National Gallery of Art in 2012 and it subsequently traveled to the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin. The accompanying catalogue—the first of its kind in English—serves as an introduction to Augsburg, its artists and its cultural history, during this period. The catalogue is available for sale at the Art Center. At Vassar, this exhibition is generously supported by the Evelyn Metzger Exhibition Fund.

Matthes Gebel (German, ca. 1500 – 1574), Raimond Fugger, ca.1529. Lead alloy. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection.

Hans Burgkmair I (German, 1473 – 1531) and Jost de Negker (German, ca. 1485 – 1544), The Lovers Surprised by Death, 1510. Chiaroscuro woodcut printed from 3 blocks on laid paper. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection.

Attributed to Kolman Helmschmid (armor maker) and Daniel Hopfer I. ‘Breast-and Back-plate with Virgin and Child with Saints,’ c.1510-1520 etched steel. (Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Marshall Field)

Emperor Maximilian I in the Guise of St. George, by Daniel Hopfer, c. 1509-10. Etching (iron) with open biting, plate bitten twice, on laid paper.

The City of Augsburg, from Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493. By the Workshops of Michel Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. Courtesy the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Portrait de John Edwards

Étiquettes

Francis Bacon, Lithographie, Portrait de John Edwards

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Portrait de John Edwards. Photo Le Brecht & Associés

Lithographie, signée au crayon en bas à droite et numérotée en bas à gauche 12/150. Réalisée en 1986; 80 x 59,5 cm. Lot 217. Estimation : 6 000 € / 8 000 €

LE BRECH & ASSOCIÉS, 75008 PARIS. Collection d’Art d’Extrême Orient, Objets d’Art et Tableaux.  22 Septembre 2014 à 14h30

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Etude pour le Portrait de John Edwards

Étiquettes

Etude pour le Portrait de John Edwards, Francis Bacon, Lithographie, Portrait de John Edwards

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Etude pour le Portrait de John Edwards. Photo Le Brecht & Associés

Lithographie, signée au crayon en bas à droite et numérotée en bas à gauche 59/180. Réalisée en 1987. 83 x 62 cm à vue. Lot 220. Estimation : 6 000 € / 8 000 €

LE BRECH & ASSOCIÉS, 75008 PARIS. Collection d’Art d’Extrême Orient, Objets d’Art et Tableaux.  22 Septembre 2014 à 14h30

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Etude du Corps Humain d’après Ingres

Étiquettes

Etude du Corps Humain d’après Ingres, Francis Bacon, Lithographie

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Etude du Corps Humain d’après Ingres. Photo Le Brecht & Associés

Lithographie, signée au crayon en bas à droite et numérotée en bas à gauche 178 /180. Réalisée en 1984. 83 x 59,5 cm à vue. Lot 219. Estimation : 6 000 € / 8 000 €

LE BRECH & ASSOCIÉS, 75008 PARIS. Collection d’Art d’Extrême Orient, Objets d’Art et Tableaux.  22 Septembre 2014 à 14h30

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Triptyque, 1972 (partie droite)

Étiquettes

Francis Bacon, Triptyque

Francis Bacon (1909 –1992), Triptyque, 1972 (partie droite). Photo Le Brecht & Associés

Lithographies, signées au crayon en bas à droite et numérotées en bas à gauche 27/180, 33/180 et 3/180 Réalisées en 1989. 88,5 x 62 cm à vue. Estimation : 15 000 € / 20 000 €

LE BRECH & ASSOCIÉS, 75008 PARIS. Collection d’Art d’Extrême Orient, Objets d’Art et Tableaux.  22 Septembre 2014 à 14h30

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Vierge et l’enfant au singe ( Hollstein, Meder 30 ; Bartsch 42)

Étiquettes

Albrecht Dürer, Burin, Vierge et l'enfant, Vierge et l'enfant au singe

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Vierge et l’enfant au singe ( Hollstein, Meder 30 ; Bartsch 42). Photo Artprecium

Burin. Epreuve de l’état définitif en tirage tardif , légérement jaunie, quelques traces de plis. Petite déchirure dans le bas, petites marges. Lot 3. Estimation : 150 € / 180€

ARTPRECIUM, PARIS (FRANCE). Estampes Anciennes, Modernes et Contemporaines. 18 Septembre 2014 à 15h