As the world’s stock markets plunge Rubens’ "Massacre of the Innocents" drives the art market through the roof
[2002年07月15日]
On Wednesday 10 July 2002, “The Massacre of the Innocents” by Peter Paul RUBENS became the most expensive old master painting ever sold at auction. It was only recently identified as a Rubens having previously been attributed to the lesser-known Jan van den Hoecke. Once the painting’s authorship was clarified a record price was clearly on the cards, particularly as Peter Paul RUBENS’ index has been in stunning form lately: +540% since 1997.
This oil-on-panel work was offered at auction with an estimated price of GBP4-6m. But the atmosphere in the New Bond Street auction rooms was electric and the hammer finally came down on a price of GBP45m. Peter Paul RUBENS can now claim the second-highest price ever paid at auction for an artwork.
The anonymous buyer also paid the highest price ever in the UK. For years, the US has had a virtual monopoly on records. For the last 12 years, the only place to sell an exceptional Van Gogh (Vincent VAN GOGH), Renoir (Pierre-Auguste RENOIR) or Cézanne (Paul CÉZANNE) has been New York. This outstanding auction confirms the trend towards holding prestigious sales in Europe. In the first auction season of 2002, nearly 46% of the world’s million-Euro plus sales took place in the UK, compared to 35% in 2001.
The rise in value also underlines investors’ growing enthusiasm for old masters, whose hammer prices have been spiralling upward for some years. That said, while occasional sales have grabbed the headlines with exceptional prices, at other Sotheby’s and Christie’s sales in London old masters with a good chance of a record have fallen flat on the auction floor. Among the biggest disappointments were four exceptional works which failed to find a buyer: a REMBRANDT VAN RIJN portrait (estimate GBP10-15m), a Giovanni Antonio CANAL view of Rome (estimate GBP2.5-3.5m), another by Bernardo BELLOTTO (estimate GBP1.5-2m) and a view of Nijmegen by Van Goyen (A. VAN GOYEN) (estimate GBP0.7-1m).
That Wednesday, though, the sound of Sotheby’s hammer in London reverberated through the whole art market.
TOP 10 Auction Records for Painting (copyright © Artprice)
Hammer Price
in Euros Hammer Price
in Local Currency Artist Title Date Place Auction House
72,364,880,
USD 75,000,000
Portrait du Docteur Gachet
(1890)
15-may-90
New-York
Christie’s
70,159,500
GBP 45,000,000
The Massacre of the Innocents
(1609-1611)
10-july-02
London
Sotheby’s
68,505,420
USD 71,000,000
Au Moulin de la Galette
(1876)
17-may-90
New-York
Sotheby’s
58,014,480
USD 50,000,000
Femme aux bras croisés
(1901-1902)
08-nov-00
New-York
Christie’s
55,482,520
USD 65,000,000
Portrait de l’artiste sans barbe
(1889)
19-nov-98
New-York
Christie’s
52,064,770
USD 55,000,000
Rideau, cruchon et compotier
(c1893-1894)
10-may-99
New-York
Sotheby’s
45,734,700
FR 300,000,000
Les noces de Pierrette
(1905)
30-nov-89
Paris
Binoche-Godeau
43,272,120
USD 45,000,000
Femme assise dans un jardin
(1932)
10-nov-99
New-York
Sotheby’s
39,425,710
USD 41,000,000
Nu au fauteuil noir
(1932)
09-nov-99
New-York
Christie’s
0
