Kobel's Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 49 2023

The fifth edition of the Berlin Amtsalon, which Christiane Meixner visited for the Tagesspiegel of 2 December, could be described as an alternative fair format: "And of course the representative stairwell, the long official corridors and halls are buzzing as in previous editions. Nevertheless, it is noticeable that there are fewer galleries this time. The ground floor, usually the visual prelude, has become a cloakroom. A shift is needed for 2024, the light, curiosity-driven version, so that the 'Amtsalon' doesn't run empty."

The recent discovery of a sketchbook by Caspra David Friedrich, which Grisebach put up for auction in Berlin at short notice and for which Berlin is promptly seeking cultural property protection, is considered a minor sensation, as Ursula Scheer explains in the FAZ: "This document is too important for Germany's cultural identity to simply be auctioned off, according to the Berlin cultural administration. It wants to have the 'Karlsruhe Sketchbook' entered in the register of nationally valuable cultural assets of the state of Berlin and has initiated a corresponding procedure shortly before the auction. However, a decision on the matter is not expected until May 2024. Until then, an export ban applies." Niklas Maak summarises the results at Grisebach in the FAZ: "Despite ­ attention, new monster technical term: ­ Kulturgutschutzbehaftung, Friedrich's little book was knocked down at 1.45 million euros, slightly below the upper estimate, to a bidder who wishes to remain anonymous for the time being. Things did not always go so well that evening. In times of crisis, buyer behaviour varies. Either there are bidding battles, or the lots go back in large quantities. Egon Schiele's early work 'Drei Ruderboote' (Three Rowboats) from 1912 reached 270,000 euros, almost double the lower estimate; a 'Große Daphne' by Berlin sculptor Renée Sintenis grew to 400,000 euros, double the upper estimate; Lyonel Feininger's abstracted 'Wolken überm Meer' (Clouds over the Sea), which seems to possess a strange intrinsic luminosity, was knocked down at 1.9 million euros (high estimate 1.2 million euros)." Susanne Schreiber tries to analyse the very mixed results for Handelsblatt: "The juxtaposition of top prices and declines in unusually high numbers characterised the auction rooms both nationally and internationally this autumn. It is a clear sign of uncertainty in a world shaken by two wars and numerous crises. This does not leave collectors and investors unaffected."

A similar picture emerged at the Van Ham evening auction in Cologne, which Susanne Schreiber also traces in the Handelsblatt: "Light and shade were side by side at the evening auction at the Van Ham auction house in Cologne on 29 November. There was a work worth millions, which is rather rare in Germany, and a world record. But 40 per cent of the bidding fell through. The hammer came down at 850,000 euros for the top lot. The beautiful landscape painting 'Monte Carlo' by Max Beckmann from 1936 went to a private collection for 1.1 million euros with a buyer's premium. Meanwhile, the extremely narrow vertical format 'Der Akrobat' by Heinrich Maria Davringhausen more than doubled its estimate. The magical-realist work from 1920 remains in Germany for the record price of 580,800 euros. This fits in with the increased demand for works of so-called New Objectivity, which has already been noted several times."

Bucking the trend, Karl & Faber in Munich achieved good results with old art, notes Sabine Spindler in the Handelsblatt: "Elsewhere, sales of old masters and 19th century art are currently stalling. At Karl & Faber in Munich, on the other hand, sales of artworks from earlier centuries, including old master prints, increased. According to a press release, the long-established auctioneer realised more than 6 million euros including premiums and taxes in this segment in its 100th anniversary year. That is a 50 per cent increase on the previous year."

Photos taken by Wehrmacht soldiers in Poland caught Niklas Maak's unpleasant eye for the FAZ at the Berlin auction house Bassenge: "When auctioneers only see their hammer, there's nothing to be surprised about: Where pictures are just commodities, you can even sell photos that Wehrmacht soldiers took of Jews with the same cold phrases as a portrait of David Bailey (lot 4305), especially if the photos are 'in very good condition' in contrast to the people they show. One wonders whether someone in the auction house at least briefly dropped their coffee cup when they saw what was in the catalogue; whether artificial intelligence is now writing the auction catalogues, or whether the AI has perhaps already learned more empathy and tact than a normal German auctioneer who bids at least six hundred euros for the Jews in Poland. One also wonders why an auction house doesn't simply refer consignors trying to turn grandpa's front album into money to a historical museum, where such contemporary documents can be found historically contextualised between knapsacks and field post."

French institutions like to be at the forefront of artwashing authoritarian Gulf states. Bernhard Schulz reports on the latest project for Monopol: "The offshoot of the Centre Pompidou is to be built in the oasis city of AlUla by around 2029, according to other sources as early as 2027. This is located in the north-west of the country, around 600 kilometres from the port city of Jeddah, where cruise ships have been allowed to dock since last year and release day visitors into the old town. [...] AlUla is destined to become a 'destination', preferably for wealthy Westerners. To this end, agreements have been in place since 2018 with France, which is helping to develop the tourist destination."

The Zabludowicz Collection is closing its largest and most prominent location in London, reports Alex Greenberger at Artnews. A conclusive explanation is not provided.

On the occasion of the recent sale of a Warhol from the Marx Collection, Nicola Kuhn reflects in the Tagesspiegel: "Since then, there have always been sales from museums, even in the case of permanent loans, which ultimately only have a retention period of at least 15 years. The public museums first had to learn to structure their contracts differently if they didn't want to be seen as a conduit for the market, but wanted to be able to cleverly show the paintings of private owners for which they didn't have their own acquisition budget."

Artreview's Power 100 is headed this year by Nan Goldin, followed by Hito Steyerl, one of seven Germans on the list. The first white man is Larry Gagosian in 12th place.

A German collector who bought three antiquities at an auction in the USA has been ordered by a court to give up two of them, reports dpa: "The coffin mask is undoubtedly a national cultural asset of Egypt that falls under the Cultural Protection Act. According to the expert report, the mask was produced in a region that is part of Egypt's current territory and where looted excavations took place between 2011 and 2017. As the coffin mask was first auctioned in Paris in 2017, it is likely that it originates from looted excavations."

The so-called "Isleworth Mona Lisa", which has been known since 1913, has been circulating in the press for decades. It is an alleged predecessor painting of the Mona Lisa in the hands of shady investors, which not so surprisingly has surfaced once again because it is currently being exhibited in a Turin institution with the illustrious name Promotrice delle Belle Arti gallery. As usual, some quite reputable publications such as the Times (paywall), Artnews and Artnet are still copying blithely from themselves and each other, and apparently no-one bothers to invest even five minutes in their own research or to think for themselves. If they did, they would have to realise that the Società Promotrice Delle Belle Arti in Torino is a highly unsuitable place to present such a sensation to the world public. The venue does not even have its own website, and the internet address given on the poorly designed Facebook page is for sale.

The situation is similar with an allegedly spectacularly seized painting, which is said to be by Sando Botticell and is also said to be worth 100 million euros. The story originated in Italy, where it was published by La Repubblica (paywall) and Artribune, among others, with reference to a press release from the cultural administration of Naples, which has miraculously disappeared from their website and can only be viewed or downloaded from the Google cache or as PDF. From there, the report travelled to the world (CNN) and also to German media such as t-online, Deutschlandfunk or WDR. Some representative of the authorities also seems to have claimed to the local press that the painting could be worth over 100 million euros. The highest auction price for a work by Botticelli is 92.2 million US dollars.