NEW YORK, NY.- Old Masters, New Voices is a themed panel series hosted annually by the Old Master Paintings department at Sotheby’s, inviting contemporary scholars, artists, and specialists to take a new look at the influence of Old Master Paintings. This year’s panel, coinciding with Sotheby’s Master Week sales on January 29, will focus on the role played by food in the history of Western Art. From the sumptuous feasts so delicately reproduced in 17th century painting, to the use of food in 21st century performance art, the panel discussion will explore the ways in which artists have used food throughout history.

Theme Focuses on Food and Feasting in the History of Western Art
Christopher Apostle, Sotheby’s Senior Vice President and Head of Old Master Paintings Department and George Wachter, Sotheby’s Executive Vice President and Co-Chairman of Old Master Paintings Worldwide invite the public to join Old Masters, New Voices 2015 panel discussion, moderated by Michael Wilson, former Editor in Chief of La Cucina Italiana. The panel includes:

· Deborah Krohn, Associate Professor at the Bard Graduate Center, specializing in Italian Renaissance Decorative Arts, Material Culture and Culinary History

· Silvia Malaguzzi, Art Historian and author of Food and Feasting in Art

· Jennifer Rubell, contemporary artist

An exceptional selection of European paintings from the late 13th century to the early 19th century will be presented by Sotheby’s on 29 January 2015. Master Paintings: Part I will open the day with a small gold ground of the Crucifixion with Saint Francis painted by the Master of the Latin Bible 18, from circa 1285, the earliest work in the sale. Additional highlights include important works from the Dutch Golden Age assembled by noted collectors J.E. Safra and Bernard Palitz, as well as recently discovered paintings by John Constable, El Greco and Pontormo. Highlights from the 18th century include the earliest dated version of Giovanni Paolo Panini’s Interior view of the Pantheon in Rome, and an Allegory of Music by Antoine Coypel, which was previously known only through an engraving. The day of auctions will also include Selected Renaissance and Mannerist Works of Art Assembled by Fabrizio Moretti, and the sale of Master Paintings & Sculpture: Part II will be led by an extraordinary terracotta group of a Bacchant and Three Bacchantes by Clodion.

Sotheby’s Masters Week Sales:
Old Master Drawings
Master Paintings I
Selected Renaissance and Mannerist Works of Art Assembled by Fabrizio Moretti
Master Painting and Sculpture II
Old Master & 19th Century European Art