VIENNA.- The Old Masters auction on 29 April 2025 includes a selection of art historical discoveries, by some of the most celebrated artists of their time.

The sale reflects the vibrant, competitive and intellectually charged atmosphere of Renaissance Florence in the early 16th century and the artistic innovations that took place in the Netherlands during the same period.


Discover the Master of Light and Form: Delve into the World of Luca Cambiaso with This Essential Paperback.


A rare complete set of four paintings depicting The Four Seasons show the extraordinary collaborative work of two of the most influential Flemish painters of their time: Joos de Momper II created the expansive and finely rendered landscape compositions and Jan Brueghel the Elder completed the narrative with his intricate details of the figures and animals. Only one other full set of the Four Seasons by the artists is known (estimate €600,000-800,000).

It is hard to imagine a time before landscape painting existed - the sale includes one of the early pictures to represent a narrative set within a landscape. Herri met de Bles was one of the pioneers of this new pictorial genre. His work illustrates episodes from the Vision of the Apocalypse of St John on Patmos within a maritime scene including rocky cliffs, the sea and a busy harbour and an elaborately described city (€80,000-120,000).

One of the most exciting discoveries in the auction is an important late work by Luca Cambiaso (1527-1585), unseen for over 100 years. This large canvas depicting the mythological tale of Diana and Callisto, has, until now, been unknown to art historians. Recent in-depth research has revealed that this painting was probably part of the legendary collection of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague (€600,000-800,000).

A further highlight in the auction is a tiny but enigmatic Study of a Head by Raphael, in black ink on paper and dated to c.1507. Raphael had arrived in Florence in late 1504, during one of the most dynamic periods in art history. This preparatory sketch reflects his immersion in the intense artistic rivalry of the time, as he absorbed the styles of both Leonardo and Michelangelo. This study provides invaluable insight into the artist’s creative process during his formative years. This tiny sketch was once part of the collection of the famous British portrait painter, Sir Thomas Lawrence (€120,000-180,000).

Another fascinating piece is a remarkable non-finito preparatory study in black ink on panel, produced in Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop by Fernando Llanos and possibly in part by the master himself, which is dated to 1504 on the reverse. The composition of this work depicting Christ as Salvator Mundi relates closely to Leonardo’s celebrated painting of the same subject, which was famously sold in New York in 2017 (€100,000-150,000).

A beautiful life-like bust of The Risen Christ in terracotta by Andrea Sansovino, one of the most important Florentine sculptors of his day, who had a strong influence on the work of Michelangelo, will also be offered in the sale (€40,000-60,000).

Romantic Views and Dramatic Scenes

Dorotheum’s Classic Week will also offer a wide selection of 19th-century Austrian and other European Paintings on 28 April 2025.

A highlight is Ivan Aivazovsky’s romantic View of Constantinople by Moonlight (c. 1860), which is a distillation of the artist’s subtle view of the sea and sky and light. The small-format painting, created around 1860, is valued at between 250,000 and 300,000 euros.

Nature takes centre stage in this Spring auction: The figures and blossoming fruit trees in Theodor von Hörmann's Spring Painting from 1886 are bathed in strong life-giving light (€35,000-60,000); a painting by the Austrian Stimmungsimpressionist,Olga Wisinger-Florian, offers the viewer a detailed still life of field flowers (€25,000-30,000), while drama and wild beauty of the natural world is supplied by the Biedermeier painter Friedrich Gauermann with his works entitled At the Farrier (€80,000-140,000), and A Bull fighting a Bear (€70,000-90,000). Further top lots include A Young Lady with a Wreath of Flowers by Wladyslaw Czachórski (€140,000-180,000), bathed in bright light, and the dramatic genre painting of Runway Horses by Józef von Brandt (€120,000-180,000).



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