Bonhams Outdated Grasp Work 5 Jul 2023

London – The gardens of the Villa Medici in Rome have turn into identified for his or her perfume. In sure months, the lemon timber, lavender and oregano flowers, combine with woody aroma of the close by cedars and the perfume of the traditional stones within the warmth of the solar. The altering of the seasons is especially felt, making Allegory of the months of March and April, with the Villa Medici – which is amongst the highlights of Bonhams Outdated Grasp Work on sale on Wednesday 5 July at New Bond Road, London – notably apt. Attributed to Sebastian Vrancx (Antwerp 1573-1647) the work has an estimate of £100,000 – £150,000.

Lisa Greaves, Head of Bonhams’ Outdated Grasp Portray Division, commented: “Allegory of the months of March and April, with the Villa Medici almost certainly fashioned a part of six work, every illustrating two consecutive months of the yr, which have been acquired by William Smith in Rome in 1626, on behalf of Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel. Their imagery derived from the calendars of medieval Books of Hours through which the evolving yr was captured in altering seasonal actions of each agricultural labourers and their leisured masters. The work in our Bonhams sale is especially spectacular, capturing the turning of the seasons in a approach that just about transports you to a previous time outdoors the Villa Medici.”

Writing within the present concern of Bonhams Journal, Susan Moore, notes: “Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel was arguably essentially the most illustrious collector and patron of the humanities Britain has ever identified. He amassed each type of artwork, together with a peerless assortment of Outdated Grasp drawings, distinctive work, and classical Greek and Roman sculpture and gems…Because the prints made after this explicit collection counsel, they’d been commissioned from the extremely profitable painter, printmaker, and draughtsman Paul Bril (c.1554-1626).”

Different highlights of the sale embrace:

• Jan Brueghel the Elder (Brussels 1568-1625 Antwerp), Hendrick van Balen (Antwerp 1575-1632) and Denis van Alsloot (Malines 1570-1628 Brussels), Orpheus charming the animals. Estimate: £100,000 – £150,000.

Simon Vouet (Paris 1590-1649) Portrait of a younger man, bust-length, in a ruff, presumably a portrait of the artist (along with an engraving of Simon Vouet by Ottavio Leoni, unframed (2) ). Estimate: £60,000 – £80,000

• Attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Youthful (Bruges 1561-1635 London), Portrait of a woman, half-length, in an embroidered gown with yellow lace, holding a cat, inside a painted oval. Estimate: £50,000 – £70,000.

• Bartolomé del Castro (energetic Palencia, first half of sixteenth Century), Scenes from the Lifetime of Saint John the Baptist: The Baptism of Christ; John the Baptist within the wilderness; and Salome Asking Herod for the Head of Saint John the Baptist. Estimate: £60,000 – £80,000.

• Vincenzo Leonardi (Rome 1589-1657), Research of a purple heron (Ardea purpurea). Estimate: £25,000 – £35,000.

• Wenceslaus Hollar (Prague 1607-1677 London), View of Strasbourg from the northeast. Estimate: £6,000 – £8,000.