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European Art

Heroines, Temptresses beckon at Heritage Auctions Dec. 9

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Kees van Dongen (Dutch, 1877-1968), ‘Femme au buste nu,’ circa 1920, oil on board. Estimate: $300,000-$500,000. Heritage Auctions image
Kees van Dongen (Dutch, 1877-1968), ‘Femme au buste nu,’ circa 1920, oil on board. Estimate: $300,000-$500,000. Heritage Auctions image

 

DALLAS – Kees van Dongen’s Femme au buste nu is among the many exceptional works of art to celebrate women in their many guises, from antiquity to the modern day in Heritage Auctions’ European Art Auction on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

Included in the sale are depictions of women in a spectrum of roles ranging from the archetypical mother tenderly caressing her infant to the larger-than-life heroism of the warrior depicted in Clorinda Rescuing Olindo and Sophronia (below), by Jacopo Amigoni which captures Clorinda astride her magnificent steed from Torquato Tasso’s epic poem of the Crusades (est. $80,000-$120,000).

 

Jacopo Amigoni (Italian, 1682-1752), ‘Clorinda Rescuing Olindo and Sophronia,’ circa 1740, oil on canvas. Estimate: $80,000-$120,000. Heritage Auctions image
Jacopo Amigoni (Italian, 1682-1752), ‘Clorinda Rescuing Olindo and Sophronia,’ circa 1740, oil on canvas. Estimate: $80,000-$120,000. Heritage Auctions image

 

“Homage to feminine beauty reached a pinnacle of popularity among painters during the 19th century,” said Ariana Hartsock, consignment director of Fine & Decorative Arts at Heritage.

Splendid works such as Nude Draped in Pink by Theodor Matthei (est. $25,000-$35,000) and By the Skating Pond by Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer (est.$20,000-$30,000) provide prime examples of the technical refinement these artists strove to achieve.

 

Theodor Matthei (German, 1857-1921), ‘Nude Draped in Pink,’ 1887, oil on canvas Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Heritage Auctions image
Theodor Matthei (German, 1857-1921), ‘Nude Draped in Pink,’ 1887, oil on canvas
Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Heritage Auctions image

 

Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer (Dutch, 1839-1902), ‘By the Skating Pond,’ oil on canvas. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Heritage Auctions image
Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer (Dutch, 1839-1902), ‘By the Skating Pond,’ oil on canvas. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Heritage Auctions image

 

Soon after the turn of the century more realistic portrayals of women became prominent, and in Baignade dans la Cure, Maximilien Luce’s women casually lounging on a grassy riverbank is a delightful example of this more natural presentation (est. $50,000-$70,000).

 

Maximilien Luce (French, 1858-1941), ‘Baignade dans la Cure,’ 1909, oil on canvas Estimate: $50,000-$70,000. Heritage Auctions image
Maximilien Luce (French, 1858-1941), ‘Baignade dans la Cure,’ 1909, oil on canvas Estimate: $50,000-$70,000. Heritage Auctions image

 

The 20th-century woman is represented in more liberated poses, leading with Kees van Dongen’s brazen seductress Femme au buste nu, (est. $300,000-$500,000).

Additional highlights include:

  • The Virgin Nursing the Christ Child by The Master of the Parrot (Flemish, active Antwerp circa 1520, est. $10,000-$15,000);
  • Le Fauteuil de Rotin, 1977 by Jean-Pierre Cassigneul (est. $60,000-$80,000);
  • A Street in Wanchai, Hong Kong by Edward Brian Seago (est. $50,000-$60,000);
  • Danseuse au voile, 1918, an original plaster by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (est. $40,000-$60,000).
  • Flower Market at La Madeleine, circa 1950-60, one of seven French street scenes and landscapes by Edouard-Léon Cortès (est. $30,000-$50,000).

LiveAuctioneers.com will facilitate absentee and Internet live bidding.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

European Art