On 9 November, the Parisian auction house Artcurial will unveil their exceptional Mona Lisa during their ‘Old Masters & 19th Century Art’ sale. The painting, created around 1600, demonstrates the early fascination surrounding Leonardo da Vinci and his masterpieces. Although there are many copies, imitations and homages to the original, this version of The Mona Lisa is one of the most beautiful and faithful ever discovered.
The 1911 theft and subsequent return of The Mona Lisa from the Louvre made the painting famous world-wide, but it was already well-known and admired in the 16th and 17th centuries. The rare painting appearing at auction was created in the early 17th century in Fontainebleau, making it a relatively early piece.
It is meticulously executed in a distinct style, painted in oil on an oak panel, and it provides a historical testimony to the importance of the acquisition of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa by the King of France, François I, at the start of the 16th century. French artists were immediately captivated by the masterful brushwork as well as her enigmatic smile, and she has since become “the most famous woman in the entire history of painting”, as Matthieu Fournier, Associate Director of Old Masters and 19th Century Art, explains in Artcurial’s video about the work.
Leonardo da Vinci perfected the art of sfumato, and accounts from the 16th and 17th centuries show a unanimous admiration for his soft, subtle shading and accomplished style. While artists admired these technical and aesthetic qualities, collectors coveted the beautiful and skillful piece. This caused copies of the Italian masterpiece to flourish, particularly at the beginning of the 17th century, around the time the painting appearing at auction was created.
Set against a rugged landscape, it exudes mystery. It is much more than a painting, it is a distillation of Western art.
The painting is incredibly faithful to the original in its composition and brushwork, and the artist was particularly careful to depict the skin tones of the hands and face with great delicacy. However, they still kept a certain sense of their own style while recreating the masterpiece, which makes it an interesting and unique interpretation.
The 17th-century Mona Lisa is very well-preserved, which makes it possible to appreciate what the original may have looked like when da Vinci painted it. The colours are more saturated and the landscape is sharper, which gives the painting a fresh, vibrant look.
The Mona Lisa’s appeal remains strong today, both for the public who flock to the Louvre and the artists who continue to take inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci. Some portraits are revernential and some are iconoclastic, but they are always immediately recognisable.
The Mona Lisa from the French School will be on display from 5 to 8 November at Artcurial in Paris, before it goes under the hammer on 9 November during the ‘Old Master and 19th Century Art’ sale.
In addition to The Mona Lisa, there will be more than 150 lots of exceptional paintings, drawings and sculpture ranging from captivating Northern Renaissance scenes to engaging Rococo portraits. Some of the featured master artists include Jean-François Millet, Marten van Cleve, Abel Grimmer, Eugène Delacroix, Hyacinthe Rigaud and François Boucher.
One impressive piece is a 16th-century painted panel depicting the Virgin Mary nursing Christ. It is strongly influenced by The Virgin of Lucca painted by Jan van Eyck around 1435, which currently resides at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. The painting is rich with symbolism, such as the lily of the Annunciation and the grapes that represent the Passion, all depicted in careful and lush detail.
Another noteworthy painting that will appear during the sale is Michel Dorigny’s Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry, created in the 17th century. The Muses were a popular subject in art during the reign of Louis XIII, and this oak panel was originally presented among eight similar panels of the other muses. Many of the other panels are currently held in museum collections, so this sale provides an exciting and rare opportunity for collectors.