On 16 April, the next auction at the Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo (HVMC) showcases more than 270 lots that give pride of place to the past. With an exquisite selection of French and Italian schools, the category of old paintings will include works by Matteo Cristadoro, Félix Ziem and Jean-Baptiste Olive, as well as Joaquín Sorolla, Peter van Schendel and Jan van Kessel II. The furniture and Asian art selections will be punctuated by superb pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The French paintings will notably include an oil on inlaid panel by Félix Ziem, a painter from the Barbizon School attached to the Orientalist movement. Ziem is considered one of the forerunners of Impressionism and stood out for his vibrant seascapes and his light-filled views of Venice, Constantinople and France. Le quai de la Mairie in Marseille is one of his many scenes in the city of southern France, where he joined his brother in 1839 after a dispute with the École des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, staying there for two years before leaving for Italy.
The painter Jean-Baptise Olive, originally from Marseille, will follow with a Vue de la Principauté de Monaco dedicated to a certain 'Mr. Teissier'. Olive is an artist who has left many critics and art dealers bewildered, for his famously introverted personality stood in stark contrast to his vibrant and dazzlingly clear paintings. Olive painted views of Toulon, Cannes and Monaco, as well as his city of origin. He focused on these locations even on the banks of the Seine in Paris, which set him apart from the other artists of his time.
The flagship lot of the catalogue is signed by the Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, a genius of genre scenes at the crossroads of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Luminism. With a tendency to combine realism and lyricism, Sorolla established himself as the undisputed leader of the Modern Spanish School. He is also known for his mastery of the colour white and his work in Luminism, a style which aims to emphasise atmospheric rendering. The work presented here is an oil on cardboard from 1882-86, titled The Alchemist.
Another standout lot is The Adoration of the Magi by Matteo Cristadoro, a painter active in Sicily at the end of the 17th century. As confirmed by an inscription in Latin on the wood, this religious scene is dated 1657 and was created on behalf of Pierre Marie Piagga in Palermo. Matteo Cristadoro was a painter, but also a priest and a scholar, whose best-known painting, God the Father Painting the Immaculate Conception (1659), is now kept in the Abbey of San Martino delle Scale, near Palermo.
Representing the Northern Schools is the Dutch painter Peter van Schendel with The Apple Merchant, an oil on panel testifying to the artist's talent for depicting the play of light and shadow. Like Georges de La Tour, Van Schendel specialised in nocturnal scenes, which made him famous. While he did not always win the hearts of critics, his works captured the attention of King Leopold I and his mastery of the candle-lit stage has earned him the nickname 'Monsieur Chandelle.' The canvas presented here is a superb example of his speciality, and references his habit of going to night markets to paint.
The catalogue will also include a selection of exceptional furniture, including a Mazarin desk in red tortoiseshell veneer dated around 1900. The desk is covered with interlacing patterns, fantastic animals and a dancing jester. The décor recalls the work of the ornamentalist Jean Bérain, active in the second half of the 17th century.
Another notable piece is this centre table in carved gilded and black lacquered wood. The marble top is supported by four ephebes, which are connected by a crisscrossing tree of life. Standing 87 cm high, the table is an Italian work made around 1700.
Finally, Asian arts will be showcased with a selection of graphic works, figures of deities, sculptures and decorative objects. The flagship lot of the category is an eight-leaf Chinese screen in Coromandel lacquer, made in the 19th century. At a height of 2.45 meters, it features a marvellous polychrome decoration of various scenes of warriors, musicians, nobles and deities.
The sale will be held at HVMC on 16 April, and the exhibition will be open from Monday 12 April to Friday 16 April. For all the information relating to the health security measures in force, we invite you to visit the auction house's website.
