A De Chirico for 12 million euros and a portrait of Artemisia Gentileschi for 7.5, one of the most expensive pieces at TEFAF / The Great Fair of Fine Arts and Antiques is restoring its pulse with an overwhelming offer spanning 7,000 years
Art, luxury and money have gone hand in hand for centuries. Now they meet again at TEFAF (Fair Europe of Fine Arts), the most important art, antiques and jewelery fair in the world. Galleries, dealers and collectors meet again in Maastricht, in the south of the Netherlands. In its 35th edition, TEFAF is regaining a certain normality and all the enthusiasm after the pandemic and circumnavigating the crisis, turning March into June and with a seven-day edition instead of eleven, but with an overwhelming offer spanning seven millennia.
It offers over 20,000 pieces, from ancient Egyptian figures to canvases by Goya, Picasso, De Chirico, Gentileschi, Cubert or Miró at prices suitable for highly solvent bags. One of the most expensive, a De Chirico for 12 million euros, a fantastic self-portrait by Artemisa Gentileschi for 7.5 million or two Goya paintings for six million. There are many pieces for more than or about a million euros from authors such as Morales, Ribera, Lucas Jordán, Munch, Miró or Baskiat. Another star is a Van Gogh which is not for sale and which receives thousands of visitors in the lobby.
With art as a haven in times of crisis, and without the powerful Russian buyers, off the circuit due to sanctions against Putin’s regime, organizers know that sales figures could be unbeatable in Maastricht, the world capital of the art market until June 30. In addition to its offerings, the fair is unparalleled in scope and relevance, with 242 galleries – five Spanish – and antique dealers from 20 countries. “There’s a buzz of excitement about this return to the real world,” said director Hidde va Seggelen.
TEFAF welcomes the fair this year in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. In the Poplars room near Nuenen, a canvas by Vincent van Gogh from 1885 is presented, the restoration of which, sponsored by the fair, will be carried out for the public in the original museum. It is a dark landscape of the Dutch stage that would amount to more than 25 million euros in the market.
Like a magnet, ‘Il Ritorno del figlio prodigo’ (‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’) by Giorgio De Chirico (1888-1978), a 1924 oil on canvas painted on both sides, attracted the camera and the gaze, and for which the gallery owner asked 12 million euros. At his side a Picabia of 1.1 million euros and a Marí Blanchard of 600,000 euros.
The Swiss gallery Jean-Francois Heim offered a self-portrait of the Italian Artemisia Gentileschi for 7.5 million, a pioneer in portraying empowered women and protagonists and with fines on the market. In this work the artist portrays herself as ‘Cleopatra on her deathbed’. Painted around 1620, the attribution is recent and belongs to a Belgian private collection.
Christopher Bishop Fine Art, from New York, offered a tasty ‘sleeper’, rediscovered by the gallery owner, a drawing Jan Lievens that is sold for 1.4 million euros. It popped up in 2020 in a small room in Massachusetts, where it was advertised as a 1652 drawing of “an unidentified gentleman.” Its estimate was just over $200, but Bishop ended up paying half a million for the drawing. that was made. missing since 1888. It is the ‘Portrait of Admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp’ copied by history and is one of the most appreciated prints in the Netherlands
The offer from Spanish gallery owners is first class. The Madrid Caylus offers for 6.2 million the magnificent ‘Portrait of Juan López de Robredo’, room embroiderer of Carlos IV, painted by Francisco de Goya between 1798-1799, one of his best periods as a portraitist. He is waiting for offers for this Goya that can travel to any country, but as soon as it opened he sold Luis de Morales’ ‘Virgen de la Leche’ for 1.5 million. Alonso Cano, a genius of the Spanish Baroque, has a Saint Francis of Assisi for 180,000 euros.
“Maybe it’s easier to sell a Goya for six million than a piece for $3,000,” said Enrique G. Calderón, a gallery owner who called for “the necessity of the Mcenzago law in Spain.” In addition, the British Stair St. Gallery offered two other ‘goyas’, an early one, ‘Adoration of the Cross’, and a very late one, ‘San Pablo’, for €2.3 million and €6 million.
Artur Ramon, from Barcelona, is offering ‘Portrait of Thor Lütken’, an early work by Edvard Munch, painted in 1892, a year before ‘The Scream’ for less than a million euros. It alternates its range of archaeological pieces with contemporary art, with a 1996 Barceló, ‘Des citron cupupés’, for 750,000 euros. He also has a Chilida lurra for 175,000 euros and a small Sorolla for 90,000 euros.
Founded in 1760 and with offices in Madrid, London and New York, the veteran Colnaghi Gallery is home to ‘The Triumph of Galatea’, a large-scale mythological scene by Neapolitan Luca Giordano. The oil, dated 1675, comes from a Venetian collection and is for sale for 1.1 million euros. For 800,000 it is possible to purchase a San Jan Batiststa from José de Ribera.
Also from Barcelona, Mayoral competes with paintings, drawings and sculptures by Miró, Picasso, Dalí, Tàpies and Chillida. In his selection, three pieces with a value of approximately one million euros stand out: ‘Cuadro 26’, an arpillera by Manuel Millares, dated between 1957-1958; ‘Femme entourée d’un couple des oiseaux’, a watercolor by Joan Miró from 1964, and ‘Gris amb tres ratlles roses’, where Antoni Tàpies’ and from the same year.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
