ZURICH.- The Old Master Paintings auction on 27 September features a striking mid-16th century portrait of a jester by the Master of 1537, possibly Frans Verbeeck (before 1530–circa 1570). The artist has depicted the jester in a pose which illustrates the old Dutch proverb: “iest door de vingers zien” (to see something through one’s fingers), meaning to turn a blind eye to the wrongdoings of others. This expressive and highly attractive oil on panel is expected to fetch between CHF 500,000 and 700,000 (lot 3012). Among the numerous high-quality works in this auction is a series of Italian gold-ground paintings, such as a crucifixion from the Marche School, 15th century (lot 3005, CHF 40,000/60,000), and a Madonna and Child by the Master of Marradi, circa 1500 (lot 3009, CHF 60,000/100,000). A highly elegant Mannerist work by Pier Francesco di Jacopi Foschi depicts the Madonna with Child and John the Baptist, their intertwining bodies artfully arranged within the pictorial space (lot 3025, CHF 400,000/600,000). Foschi was one of the most successful artists of his time, but faded into obscurity before being rediscovered in the 1950s. Seventeenth-century still lifes are well-represented with works by Peter Binoit (lot 3042, CHF 80,000/120,000) and Balthasar van der Ast (lot 3046, CHF 180,000/280,000).

19th-century Romanticism from the Rademakers collection
Following the successful auction of the first part of the collection of Dutch filmmaker Jef Rademakers in March, the second part will come to auction in Koller’s 19th Century Paintings sale on 27 September. Featuring Dutch and Belgian works of the Romantic movement, some salient works are Theodorus Jacobus Abels’s “Village by a river in moonlight” (lot 3214, CHF 12,000/18,000) and “Night work at the docks” by Adolphe Schaep (lot 3210, CHF 15,000/20,000). The Rademakers Collection was recently the subject of two travelling exhibitions which included a show at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, and has been published in the corresponding exhibition catalogues.

From Naples to Munich
The works offered in this sale cover a wide range of 19th-century schools, such as a painting by one of the pioneers of French Impressionism, Jean-Baptise-Camille Corot, “Naples – le Mont Saint-Elme et partie de la ville,” 1828 (lot 3236, CHF 70,000/90,000). Corot painted this landscape from his impressions gathered during his travels in Italy from 1825–1828. It has been exhibited often, and once belonged to the influential art dealer and gallery owner Paul Durand-Ruel. The pair of realist works by Italian artist Giovanni Piancastelli depicting late-nineteenth-century emigrants leaving and returning to the Roman countryside, “Emigrazione dell' Agro Romano - Partendo und Tornando” were likely exhibited at international art exhibitions in Rome and Munich in 1883 (lot 3207, CHF 180,000/250,000). On a lighter note, a humorous depiction of monks examining racy engravings, “Secret Study” (lot 3226, CHF 40,000/60,000), is by Eduard Grützner, one of the most important Munich genre painters of the late nineteenth century.

A forerunner of computer technology
The Books auction on 24 September features two highly unusual and remarkable items: the world’s first and possibly only books produced on a silk loom programmed by punched cards. This technological and artistic tour de force was realized by Lyon manufacturer Joseph-Alphonse Henry between 1878 and 1887. Based on an automated weaving process invented by the Lyonnais weaver Joseph-Marie Jacquard, the use of punched cards to produce complex patterns is a forerunner of early computers’ data processing programs. The first book, Alphonse de Lamartine’s Les Laboureurs (lot 301, CHF 80,000/120,000), was exhibited the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1878. Only three copies are known today, including one which is in the Louis-Philippe Museum in the Château d’Eu, France. The one offered here was the first example produced of the three. The second woven book offered in the auction, a book of hours entitled Livre de Prières and dating from 1886–87, is more elaborately illustrated, and its creation likely required between 300,000 and 400,000 punched cards (lot 302, CHF 40,000/60,000).

One of the most important works of the incunabula period before 1500 is the “Schatzbehalter” (Treasure Keeper) by Stephan Fridolin (lot 3236, CHF 70,000/90,000). The early New High German sermon cycle is dedicated to the life and suffering of Jesus Christ and is illustrated by 96 woodcuts from the Nuremberg Wolgemut-Pleydenwurff workshop. The illustrations owe their special status not least to their richness of detail in depicting costumes, weapons, interiors and landscapes. This devotional and edifying book was printed in 1491 by Anton Koberger in an edition of approximately 150 copies. It is extremely rare to find examples in private hands today.