MAURITSHUIS SCORES PAINTING BY REMBRANDT’S TEACHER, AND NATIONALMUSEUM ACQUIRES TWO 18TH-CENTURY DRAWINGS

Plus, University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries acquires a rare 15th century French Gothic coffer, and Nelson and Happy Rockefeller’s collection sells at auction.

Deena ElGenaidi

Pieter Lastman, “De prediking van Johannes de Doper [St John the Baptist Preaching]” (1627), 60 x 92 cm (image courtesy Schilderij and Mauritshuis)

The Mauritshuis in the Netherlands has acquired the painting “St John the Baptist Preaching” (1627) by Pieter Lastman, “Rembrandt’s most influential teacher.” The painting was purchased from a US owner with funds from the Friends of the Mauritshuis Foundation and a private donor. “We have been on the lookout for an outstanding example of Lastman’s work, due to the impact he had on the young Rembrandt,” said Emilie Gordenker, Director of the Mauritshuis. “We are extremely grateful to everyone who made our wish come true, especially the private donor and the Friends of the Mauritshuis.”

Nationalmuseum in Sweden has acquired two 18th century portrait drawings: a self-portrait of Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (1778) and a portrait of an unknown woman by Johann-Ernst Heinsius. The drawings were acquired through grants from the Hedda & N.D. Qvist Memorial Fund and the Magda and Max Ettler Fund, as the Nationalmuseum receives no state funds with which to acquire work.

Andrea Soldi, Isabella Duchess of Manchester (1738) (image courtesy Whitfield Fine Art and the Foundling Museum)

The Foundling Museum in London has acquired a painting by 18th century artists Andrea Soldi of Isabella, Duchess of Manchester. Soldi was a key supporter of the Foundling Hospital, founded in 1739, and she signed founder Thomas Coram’s petition in 1730. Funds for this acquisition were provided by Art Fund, the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Friends of Thomas Coram, and individual donors. The painting will go on view in the Foundling Museum’s Picture Gallery.

University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries has acquired a rare 15th century French Gothic coffer thought to have been used for holding and transporting religious texts. While thousands of manuscripts and books have survived from medieval Europe, just a little over 100 book coffers are known to exist. The coffer, acquired from a dealer, was purchased with the help of Art Fund, the Bodleian’s Kenneth Rose Fund, and the Friends of the Bodleian. The inside lid of the coffer contains an image from circa 1491, along with a Latin prayer that was used as a chant on special feast days. The box is currently on display in the exhibition Thinking Inside the Box in the Bodleian’s Weston Library, where it will remain until February 17. The coffer will be available to researchers as well.

Christie’s sale of Important American Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, and Prints in New York brought in a total of $7,926,500 on January 17–18. The sale’s top lot, Ammi Phillips’s “Girl in a Red Dress with a Dog” (c. 1830–35), sold for $1,692,500.

Henry Darger, "148 At Jennie Richee During fury of storm are unsuccessfully attached [sic] by Glandelinians/149 At Jennie Richee narrowly escape capture but Blengins come to rescue, double sided," detail, cropped, watercolor, carbon transfer, ink, graphite and collage on pieced paper, 108 1/4 x 23 inches (image courtesy Christie's)

Henry Darger, “148 At Jennie Richee During fury of storm are unsuccessfully attached [sic] by Glandelinians/149 At Jennie Richee narrowly escape capture but Blengins come to rescue, double sided,” detail, cropped, watercolor, carbon transfer, ink, graphite and collage on pieced paper, 108 1/4 x 23 inches (image courtesy Christie’s)

Christie’s Outsider and Vernacular Art sale in New York brought in a total of $4,261,625 on January 18. The sale’s top lot, Henry Darger’s “148 At Jennie Richee During fury of storm are unsuccessfully attached [sic] by Glandelinians/149 At Jennie Richee narrowly escape capture but Blengins come to rescue, double sided,” sold for $684,500.

A massive pair of painted enamel plaques, Qianlong Period (1736–95), 29 3/4 inches high each (image courtesy Christie’s)………………

https://hyperallergic.com/480994/mauritshuis-acquires-painting-by-rembrandts-teacher-and-nationalmuseum-acquires-two-18th-century-