The auction week to be held from 14th to 16th October at Vienna's Palais Dorotheum, German-speaking Europe's largest auction house, will feature a number of particular highlights: A rediscovered major work by the Italian grand master Guido Reni, exceptional works by Johann Georg Platzer, Waldmüller, and Brueghel, as well as a historical clock by the „Father of English Clockmaking“, Thomas Tompion.

FORTUNA REDISCOVERED
Guido Reni's brilliant late-period work at auction on 15th October 2013

Fortune favoured Dorotheum with an exciting discovery: Fortuna herself, in female form, is the subject of a painting by Guido Reni – possibly the most attractive offering of the auction of Old Master Paintings on 15th October 2013 – "Fortune with a purse".

Spilling from the purse are pieces of gold, as well as pearls and ear rings. Fortuna holds a sceptre and palm leaves in her hands, symbols of secular power. The putto by her side, representing chance, tries to restrain her by pulling her long, wavy hair. Fortuna's immaculate body is set against a background of clouds and framed by a scarf. Even in own day, Guido Reni was a celebrated painter many considered the equal of Raphael, and his contemporary, Gianlorenzo Bernini, once called his paintings paradiscial.

The painting, which also exists in a version „Fortuna with crown“, was considered lost until not long ago.  "This rediscovery has returned to us one of the most brilliant masterworks of Guido Reni's late period", to quote Dorotheum expert Mark MacDonnell (estimate € 800,000 – 1,2 Mio.).

Several other great names of Bolognese Baroque painting, such as Il Guercino („The Death of Adonis“, € 300,000 – 500,000) and Annibale Carracci, also appear at this auction. Carracci, who shared commissions in Rome with Reni, painted „The Virgin in prayer“ with a combination of soft-outlined charm and quick, seemingly casual brush strokes (€ 300,000 – 400,000). The popular theme of Neptune, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, ruler of the ocean famed for her beauty, reappears in a masterly composition by Paris Bordon (€ 100,000 – 150,000). Hans Rottenhammer and Jan Brueghel I., in their joint composition handle the same subject quite differently. Whereas Bordon shows the two lovers by themselves, they presented the "Preparation for the Wedding of Poseidon and Amphitrite" as a many-figured, almost surreal scene (€ 250,000 – 350,000).

Representing an undisputed highlight of Austrian painting, the oil on copper cabinet painting "Concert in a Palace" by Johann Georg Platzer, comes from a baronial collection in Prague, via a Viennese private collection (€ 120,000 – 150,000).

Gillis Valckenborch's „The Gods’ Banquet“ (€ 150,000 – 200,000) offers a true feast for the eye, containing a plethora of scenes and tales. Set in a pastoral environment, Pieter Brueghel's II tondo, "Rich man casting roses before swine" portrays a variation on the proverbial "casting pearls before swine" (€ 100,000 – 150,000).
 
LADIES OF THE SALON AND LOVE LETTERS
Auction of 19th Century Paintings on 16th October 2013

A particular piece of eye-candy at the auction of 19th Century Paintings on 16th October 2013 comes in the form of a portrait of a young lady with a small dog, by the famous Italian salon painter Vittorio Matteo Corcos, painted in 1895.

The painting amply illustrates why Corcos enjoyed such fame in his own day: Kneeling on a bed, the charming beauty gazes directly at the viewer, while a small dog tries to climb up to her. The animal – probably a terrier, popular society dogs favoured for their faithfulness – is almost as chic as its owner. The young lady's tulle dress is made of satin and typical of the luxurious style of the era (€ 100,000 – 150,000).

Oozing pure luxuriousness, Queen Marija Karadjordjevic of Yugoslavia, wife of King Alexander I., sat for Paja Pavle Jovanovitch, who depicted her casually toying with a pearl necklace (€ 60,000 – 80,000).

Illuminated by a warm glow, the faces of two women stand out in the dark as they read a lover's letter. At the centre of Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller's 1849 painting is the expertly illuminated, translucent letter itself (€ 200,000 – 250,000).

The auction also features another figurehead of 19th century Austrian painting: Friedrich von Amerling's three-quarter length portrait of his brother, Joseph Amerling, as a youth (€ 15,000 – 20,000). The „Woodland Flowers“ by the Biedermeier painter Franz Xaver Petter once again demonstrate his consummate skill (€ 50,000 – 70,000). Several picturesque landscape include a city view of Venice by Friedrich Christian Nerly, a view from Normandy by Viktor Zarubin, and an idealised view of Ischia by Carl Ludwig Kaaz.

CLOCKMAKING ON THE HIGHEST LEVEL,
LIFELIKE SCULPTURES and SPLENDID INTERIORS
Auction on 14th October with English clock by Thomas Tompion of 1690

The auction on 14th October 2013 presents furniture, carpets, glass and porcelain, sculpture, as well as table- and long case clocks.

By no lesser hand than that of Thomas Tompion, the „Father of English Clockmaking“, the bracket clock „Thomas Tompion“ No. 175, was made in England around 1690. Tompion was renowned and esteemed not only for the level of his craftsmanship but also for his technical innovation. He received commissions from royalty, nobility, and wealthy merchants. In 1680, he started numbering the clocks he created. Number 175, now featured at the Dorotheum auction, is estimated at 200,000 to 300,000 Euro.

One of the statues at the sculpture auction comes with an interesting tale attached: As one of the foremost sculptors of his lifetime, Giovanni Giuliani (1664 Venice – 1744 Heiligenkreuz) counted many important people and institutions among his clients, including the Liechtenstein family, the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz, or Count Kaunitz. In 1711, partly because of financial difficulties, he joined Heiligenkreuz abbey as a lay brother, where until his death in 1744, he ran a workshop producing numerous clay models as well as stone and wood sculptures with the help of apprentices and journeymen. Faces and hand, however, remained the prerogative of the master himself. This 138 cm tall sculpture of carved limewood, probably St Anne with the infant Jesus, is particularly impressive owing to the life-like features of the aged woman, a grandmother, who cradles the lovely infant in her arms (€ 40,000 – 60,000).
Decorated with splendid Italian landscape scenes, a 108 cm tall vedute vase from St. Petersburg, will be one of the highlights of the porcelain auction (€ 90,000 – 140,000, ill. to the right). "Paris and the three Graces", a biscuit porcelain masterpiece of 1830 from the Imperial Manufactory Vienna, displays its beauties in the manner of classical antiquity (€ 20,000 – 30,000). Formerly in a Napoleonic collection, an italian Baroque commode dates to the middle of the 18th century (€ 65,000 – 80,000). Also of italian provenance, a pair of semi-circular neoclassical console tables (€ 10,000 – 15,000).

Auction Week 14 - 16 October
Works of Art (Furniture, Carpets, Sculpture, Glass, Porcelain) Mon, 14 October 2013 2 p.m
Old Master Paintings Tu, 15 October 2013 6 p.m.
19th Century Paintings Wed, 16 October 2013 5 p.m.
Jewellery Wed, 16 October 2013 2 p.m.
Viewing: from 5th October 2013