PARIS.- For this year's first sale of Old Master and 19th century paintings and drawings on 16 June, Sotheby’s France is once again highlighting women artists. Artemisia Gentileschi, Louyse Moillon and Anne Vallayer-Coster were all painters who marked the history of art, to whom Sotheby’s France has already paid tribute by bringing back onto the market magisterial works remained for decades in private collections. The world records achieved by Sotheby’s for these three artists* illustrate the point to perfection. This year is no exception, as the catalogue acclaims the skill of three women painters: firstly, Louyse Moillon, with a still life worthy of the greatest compositions by Caravaggio's followers, then the Italian artist Sofonisba Anguissola and the Polish artist Anna Dorothea Therbusch. Three other Caravaggesque works also feature in the catalogue, together with two anthropomorphic portraits by a follower of Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

As well as Orientalist works and landscapes, the section dedicated to 19th century paintings and drawings contains a moving family portrait by François-Joseph Kinson and a watercolour by Eugène Delacroix, made during his stay in London. A neo-Impressionistic painting by Etienne Dinet stands out for its naïve charm and technical virtuosity, while a Symbolist work by Henri Martin, an artist much admired by Puvis de Chavannes, evokes an entrancing atmosphere.

Old Masters Paintings
Three women painters considered major artists of their times
Appearing on the market for the first time, this Basket of Damsons (estimate: €450,000-650,000) is an important painting in Louyse Moillon's work – firstly because of its date, 1629, when the artist, aged 19, produced one of the very first signed and dated still lifes known in France. It is similar to the Still Life with Peaches, also from 1629, which was sold for €1,033,500 in 2013 at Sotheby’s in Paris. Here Louyse Moillon establishes her prominence as a woman painter with a work of considerable charisma. Through a striking staging worthy of Caravaggio-style compositions, the artist depicts the fruits with almost dramatic intensity, while rendering their satin-like skins with great delicacy. This intimist still life illustrates not only the talent but also the strength of character of a young woman who, like her elder, Artemisia Gentileschi, made her mark on the history of art.

A Mannerist Italian woman painter who specialised in portraits, Sofonisba Anguissola was one of the rare female artists of the time to enjoy an international reputation. She was summoned to the court of Philip II of Spain, where she was appointed lady-in-waiting to the Queen and official painter to the Royal family. This Portrait of Maximilian II of Austria (estimate: €12,000-15,000) shows the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Habsburg and Anne of Bohemia. He was subsequently elected King of the Romans on 24 November 1562, then King of Bohemia and Hungary, and Emperor of the Romans.

In a Rococo style, The Arrival of the Love letter; The Reading of the Love letter (estimate: €12,000-15,000), by Anna Dorothea Therbusch née Lisiewska is dazzling for its powdery colours and the voluptuous tranquillity of this scene, where a young girl with bared bosom eagerly awaits a missive from her beloved. The Polish artist, who was born in Berlin in 1721, was appointed official painter to the court of Duke Charles Eugen von Wurttemberg in Stuttgart in 1761, then to the court of Carl Theodors von der Pfalz in Mannheim in 1763, entering the French Royal Academy four years later. After that she worked for Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine II.

Three Caravaggesque Scenes
Rediscovered works fresh on the market
This Adoration of the Shepherds (estimate: €60,000-80,000) is a fine example of so-called "European Caravaggism". Fresh on the market, this was painted in around 1640, and marvellously illustrates Caravaggio’s influence for chiaroscuro, and the dramatic changes he brought about in the pictorial artistic precepts of late 16th and early 17th century Europe. The classic religious subject, the composition tightly focused on life-size figures, the rusticity of an intimist scene (which seems to include the spectator), is abruptly deprived of its sacred aura and brought down to the level of ordinary people: these were all pictorial principles invented by Caravaggio. This painting is similar to a work on the same subject now in the Church of Pieta dei Turchini in Naples, which was formerly attributed to one Giovanni Do.

This Christ at the Column (estimate: €60,000-80,000) is a discovery in the work of Pietro Novelli, who was indisputably the most important and influential artist of the Sicilian Seicento. In 1630, he began to receive major commissions from Sicilian dignitaries. As well as a distinct touch of the Caravaggesque aesthetic, this work betrays the influence of Van Dyck, who stayed in Palermo in 1624. Through his Rubens-like exuberance and Venetian palette, Van Dyck undoubtedly gave an original and innovative impetus to Novelli's art, which made a lasting impression on his work.

This extremely fine Saint Jérome emerging from the darkness, also new on the market, is characteristic of Mattia Preti's expressive Luminism (estimate: €30,000-40,000). It has remained in the same illustrious family since the 18th century, passing down directly from one of Louis XVI's ministers. Here Preti has produced a sublime meditation on death. Saint Jerome raises a helpless gaze to the trumpet announcing the Last Judgement, while a celestial light reveals his body in all its mortal fragility.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo:
Two anthropomorphic portraits by a 17th century follower of the artist
The universal images of this catalogue include a pair of early 17th century anthropomorphic portraits of Spring and Summer (estimate: €200,000-300,000) by a follower of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The two works have inscriptions in Spanish: Estio and Primabera, indicating where they came from. This indication, combined with the woven motif symbolising the house of Habsburg, bear witness to the popularity of the originals, which once formed part of the Spanish Royal collections.

Arcimboldo was discovered in the light of Surrealism, when Salvador Dali saw him as the "father" of the movement. Arcimboldo's work has come down through the centuries without losing any of its evocative power.

19th Century Paintings and Drawings
The Portrait of the Duchesse du Berry with her daughter Louise by François-Joseph Kinson (estimate: €70,000-100,000) shows the grave face of a woman mourning her husband with dignity. Charles-Ferdinand d’Artois, Duc de Berry, had just been assassinated by an opponent of the Bourbons, who hoped in this way to strike a blow at the power of the monarchy. This moving painting thus brings a suffering family together. The painter, Kinson, presented it to the Duchesse and Louis XVIII on 11 September 1820, drawing tears of emotion from the king. Overwhelmed by this tribute, Louis XVIII raised Kinson to the rank of Chevalier de l’Ordre Royal of the Légion d’Honneur. The Duchesse was pregnant at the time of the murder and when this portrait was painted. She asked for the work to be placed in her apartment on the day she gave birth in order, as she said, to give her courage.

During his stay in London in 1825, Eugène Delacroix was struck by the poverty of the city, which he depicts in this watercolour Le mendiant anglais (estimate: €30,000-50,000). In his monograph devoted to the painter, Adolphe Moreau describes this work as follows: "He is seen in profile facing left, wearing a long frock coat full of patches, his head wrapped in several kerchiefs and his toes poking through the shapeless tatters of his shoe. He walks slowly in torrential rain, holding his hat, streaming with water, in his hand."

This Petit garçon au chien by Etienne Dinet (estimate: €25,000-35,000 €) was painted at the Château d'Héricy near Fontainebleau, the artist's family estate. Although Etienne Dinet was one of the leading Orientalist artists at the turn of the 20th century, here he explores an Impressionistic palette in the vein of Auguste Renoir. Any viewer would be enchanted by the candid blue gaze of the child, the tender pink of the flowers echoing his chubby cheeks, and the technical virtuosity lavished on the thick coat of the languid and contented dog.

Le philosophe ou l'inspiration du poète (estimate: €50,00080,000) by Henri Martin, is deeply imbued with Symbolism. Here the artist highlights his taste for the muses. Many of the public commissions he received involved feminine allegories. In 1893, his native city of Toulouse requested a series of artistic allegories for the waiting room of the Capitole; a similar commission came from Paris City Hall in 1895. This painting is reminiscent of Gustave Moreau and Puvis de Chavannes, with the unexpected appearance of a graceful, sensual figure. It comes between the luminous personifications of the Arts he produced a few years later for Paris City Hall (Painting, Sculpture, Literature and Music) and the illustrative drawings he was also providing for Victor Hugo's play Angelo between 1885 and 1895. Martin's poetic, disquieting work made an impression on his master Puvis de Chavannes, who, upon seeing one of his paintings exhibited at the Salon, exclaimed "This is my heir!"


*World records for Louyse Moillon on 27 June 2013 (€1,033,500), Artemisia Gentileschi on 26 June 2014 (€865,500) and Anne VallayerCoster on 26 March 2015 (€903,000) at Sotheby’s France