- 53
Nicaise de Keyser
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Nicaise de Keyser
- The Orient and the Occident
signed and dated N De Keyser 1854 lower left
- oil on canvas
- 172 by 130cm., 67¾ by 51¼in.
Provenance
Sale: Christie's, London, 21 June 2002, lot 202
Galerie Michel Roche, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Literature
'Liste des oeuvres de N. de Keyser' in Henri Hymans, La vie et les travaux de Nicaise de Keyser, Brussels, 1889, p. 39, mentioned
Condition
Original canvas. Apart from some light hairline craquelure, which is not particularly visually distracting and is visible notably in the skin tones of 'the Occident', this painting is overall in good condition. UV light reveals some very minimal retouching for a painting of this size, notably to two repaired tears in the lower right quadrant (one C-shaped circa 5 by 7cm in the background, one vertical circa 4cm in the dark pigments of her fabric), to a spot of restoration below the architect's plan in the lower left, and a few tiny spots in the leaves in the centre left. The figures are virtually untouched. There is a small spot of frame rubbing in the extreme lower left corner, and the varnish has yellowed slightly consistent with age. Held in a decorative gold-painted wood and plaster frame, which appears to be of the period.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
De Keyser was one of Belgium's leading nineteenth-century academic painters. A pupil of the neoclassical painters Joseph Jacobs and Matthias van Brée at the Academy of Antwerp, de Keyser's international reputation was sealed with his epic history painting, The Battle of the Golden Spurs, depicting the French commander Robert II of Artois at the mercy of the Flemish infantry. Becoming Director of the Antwerp Academy in 1885, his patrons included the courts of Belgium, Sweden, Bavaria, and Württemberg.