Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Icon overpainting fails to deter bids
28 June 2021Determined international bidders knew exactly what they were looking for at a sale of icons and Russian works of art held by Dr Fischer (28% buyer’s premium) in Heilbronn.
How De Stijl shaped Schmidt’s ideas
28 June 2021In 1922, Theo van Doesburg, gave a course at the Bauhaus in Weimar, devoted to the artists’ group De Stijl he had co-founded some five years before.
Scroll painting given to a politician makes eight-times estimate in Zurich
28 June 2021Li Keran, who died in 1989, is considered to be one of the most influential Chinese Contemporary painters. He not only taught a generation of young artists; he is credited with the revival of Chinese landscape painting.
Brazilian ‘Patek Philippe’ triples estimate in Swiss auction
28 June 2021The sale in 1872 of a silver pocket watch manufactured by Patek Philippe in Geneva to the jeweller and retailer Gondolo & Labouriau in Rio de Janeiro marked the beginning of a highly successful and mutually profitable business partnership that lasted until 1927.
Exquisite silver from dealer’s collection offered at Lempertz auction
28 June 2021Bernard De Leye has been trading in silverware since 1977 and has been a regular participant at major antiques fairs in Belgium and France for many decades.
Bench owned by Dutch notables emerges in Stuttgart sale
28 June 2021In the course of the 19th century, the company founded by Henrik Fredrik Jansen became one of the most important manufacturers of furniture and furnishings in Amsterdam.
Marble Roman river god offered in Munich
28 June 2021Among the antiquities coming up for sale at Gorny & Mosch in Munich on July 9 is this marble figure of a river god, carved in the first century, during the Roman imperial period.
Early avant-garde scene offered in German auction
28 June 2021The colour scheme and composition of 'Blauer Junge mit Sense' (Blue Boy with Scythe) appear almost psychedelic, but in fact the 4ft 8in x 6ft 8in (1.41 x 1.72cm) oil painting was executed in 1911.
Bureau cabinet rated highly as Mainz ‘masterpiece’ example
31 May 2021Distinctive bureau cabinet form could have been intended for presentation to the guild.
Gallé vase captures Lake Como at dusk
31 May 2021One of the highlights at Quittenbaum’s sale in Munich on June 8 is a Gallé vase from the period 1920-36.
Hopes for a John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope chain reaction
31 May 2021Along with his famous Pre-Raphaelite colleagues Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and George Frederic Watts, John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope was often influenced by the tales of classical antiquity and the paintings of Italian Old Masters.
Cathedral connection at sale of ‘Viennese Cosmopolitan's’ collection
31 May 2021Over many decades, a ‘Viennese Cosmopolitan’ amassed a collection of works of art which are now being sold in the second auction of Tiberius in Vienna.
Artist Zacharie Noterman goes ape
31 May 2021A south German collector is parting with a painting by Zacharie Noterman, which is coming under the hammer at Metz in Heidelberg on June 18-19.
Take your opportunity to own a game of chance
31 May 2021Wendl in Rudolstadt is holding its 100th sale and among the unusual collectables is a 19th century game of chance, known as Kakelorum, from c.1830.
Barbarity brings faith for Arthur Segal
31 May 2021Having spent seven years in Berlin, the Romanian artist Arthur Segal left Germany at the outbreak of the First World War.
Portrait influenced by Caravaggio on offer at Dorotheum
31 May 2021Among the many paintings on offer at the Old Master sale held by Dorotheum are numerous works that document the vast artistic influence of Caravaggio.
Photography via a painted focus
31 May 2021The early 20th century German photographer August Sander has a legendary status, not least for his long-running series of documentary portraits, published under the title 'People of the 20th Century'.
Dragon vases fire up Zurich interest
10 May 2021Porcelain on offer in Swiss saleroom catches the eye of international bidders.
Watchmaker to the royal family
10 May 2021Little is known about the biography of the German watchmaker Sigismund Rentzsch, who came to London in the early 19th century, where he set up a workshop.
Swiss and German fine art highlights
10 May 2021Recent stand-out lots from salerooms in Basel, Zurich, Constance, Stuttgart and Dresden