The Bremen entrepreneur Hinrich Bischoff (1936-2005) devoted himself to expanding his collection of Old Masters' paintings with specialist knowledge and passion. As the grand finale of the 2020 auction year, the Cologne auction house Lempertz, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, will auction 22 works from this outstanding collection.
The highlight is as exceptional as the Bischoff Collection itself: the last 'night painting' by the exceptional French painter Georges de La Tour to be held in private hands. The rest are kept in important museums, such as the Met and the Louvre, where de La Tour's most famous work, Magdalena with the Oil Lamp, can be admired.
On 8 December, the artist's La Fillette au Braisier ('Girl, Blowing into a Braiser') from around 1646-48 will be offered at Lempertz with an estimated price of €3-4 million euros (£2.7-3.6 mil).
The painting The Money Lender by the Dutch artist Marinus van Reymerswale is also in the spotlight. In general, originals by the master are few and far between. The Money Lender is therefore one of the most important work of Marinus van Reymerswale to be offered internationally in the last 30 years.
Other paintings in the Bischoff Collection are by painters such as Philips Wouwerman, Sebastian Vrancx, Ossias Beert, Melchior de Hondecoeter and Quinten Massys. The latter is represented in the auction with a sensitive depiction of the praying Madonna.
The rest of the Lempertz auction series at the beginning of December is dedicated to modern and contemporary art, which will be offered in an evening sale on 8 December and a day sale on 9 December. Here are the top highlights.
Erich Heckel is featured with the painting Women in the Forest from 1922, which impresses with its fresh colours. The slender figures of the models can be found not only in his paintings and drawings, but also in his sculptural work.
With Untitled (Bathers) in 1962, Karel Appel followed in the footsteps of his many predecessors in art history who dedicated themselves to this popular topic. While the bathers themselves and the round sun are clearly recognisable, other pictorial elements leave room for speculation.
During his exile in Switzerland, Alexej von Jawlenksy not only abstracted his head paintings, but also the view from the window of his studio. From this series of 'Variations on a Landscape Theme' comes Purple Gold (Autumn).
The oil painting Moulin de la Galette à Montmartre from the late work of Maurice Utrillo is also featured in the sale. As is often the case, the painter has captured a vision of his homeland, the famous artists' quarter in the north of Paris.
In one of Serge Poliakoff's late works the contrasts and clearly delineated structures that are otherwise familiar from his hand have given way in favour of a harmonious colour scheme bordering on monochrome.
Here is a work by Roy Lichtenstein that one might not initially perceive as the work of his, as it lacks the comic style for which the pop artist is world-famous. The Valve ('Das Ventil') already suggests that he was on the way there in 1954.
Lichtenstein's Pop Art colleague Andy Warhol pays homage to the Norwegian Expressionist in this serigraph in colour, Madonna and Self-Portrait with Skeleton's Arm (After Munch). In fact, it is from a small series of unique colour variants.
The collage Mein Kölner Dom, Wrapped by Christo bears witness to a project that never came in fruition. Together with his wife Jeanne-Claude, he planned the wrapping of the world-famous church building in 1980. The artist couple associated a very special event with the cathedral city on the Rhine: it was the site of their first joint project in 1961.
Lempertz will also host Asian art auctions on 15 and 16 December. The beginning of the December auctions, however, will be the 'Photography' auction on 7 December, which will also include a catalogue exclusively containing early photographs of the city of Rome.
