ZURICH.- An impressive work by Arnold Böcklin, “„Der Kampf auf der Brücke“ (“The Battle on the Bridge”), will be offered in the auction of 19th Century Paintings on 29 March at Koller Zurich. Inspired by Rubens’ “Battle of the Amazons”, this dynamic composition depicts a struggle between a Germanic tribe and a Roman army, and is estimated at CHF 250 000/350 000. Two particularly luminous works by German artists stand out among the 19th century works on offer, a view of Venice with the Doge’s palace by Carl Morgenstern (CHF 60 000/80 000) and a merry company before Mount Vesuvius in Naples by Oswald Achenbach (CHF 30 000/40 000). The collection of Dutch film maker Jef Rademakers included many highly representative works of 19th century Dutch Romanticism, over one hundred of which will be offered in the 29 March auction. Two of the numerous highlights are a “Winter Landscape with koek en zopie (‘cookie and hootch‘) by night“ (CHF 30 000/40 000) by Andreas Schelfhout, and a Pronkstilleven still life painted by David Emil Joseph de Noter in 1847 (CHF 20 000/30 000).

Among the Old Master Paintings to be auctioned on 29 March is a portrait by Lucas Cranach and his workshop of Cranach’s patron, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony (CHF 90 000/120 000). Frederick was not only an influential political figure of his time, but a major supporter of the visual arts, employing such luminaries as Cranach and Albrecht Dürer. Dutch Golden Age painter Jan van Noordt executed an amorous scene depicting the encounter between Don Juan and Pretiose in an original manner: the libertine is not depicted as a callous womanizer, but with soft and vulnerable features (CHF 100 000/140 000). Recently discovered in a private collection, the Temptation of St Anthony by Jan Wellens de Cock is a significant addition to the Flemish artist’s oeuvre, the composition of which was until recently only known through an engraving in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. (CHF 50 000/70 000).

Exotic fauna with a feminine touch
The Books, Manuscripts & Autographs auction on 26 March will feature the magnum opus of Maria Sybille Merian, a magnificently illustrated work on the flora and fauna of Surinam, “Dissertatio de generatione et metamorphosibus insectorum Surinamensium“ (CHF 60 000/90 000). Published in 1726, this treatise brought the daughter of the celebrated engraver Matthäus Merian the Elder posthumous fame in her homeland. A richly illuminated book of hours from Flanders, circa 1460, highlights the selection of manuscripts, and comes to the market after almost five decades in a private collection (CHF 70 000 / 90 000).