Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Tiepolo at the double
10 January 2022It is thought that Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) executed at least a hundred drawings featuring the Punchinelli, the hook-nosed, humpbacked clowns which were central to the commedia dell’arte. Jonathan Franks reports.
Artist supervised by Matisse met a tragic end in wartime
29 November 2021The German painter Rudolf Levy was born in north Germany, but was at home in many parts of Europe.
New direction in von Bechtejeff’s career
29 November 2021Although he was born and died in Moscow, the decisive phase of Wladimir von Bechtejeff’s artistic development can be dated to his time in Germany.
German Expressionist Arnold Topp headlines Munich auction
29 November 2021For many decades, the name Arnold Topp meant little to art collectors.
Venice in large format in Vienna
29 November 2021Star of the show at Dorotheum (28/25% buyer’s premium) in Vienna on November 9 was a large-format Venetian scene, painted by Luigi Querena in 1865.
Russian icon inspires bidding battle in Germany
29 November 2021Russian interest drives €125,000 result in Germany.
Late 18th century clock to turn heads in German auction
29 November 2021A late 18th century clock at auction in Germany has links to a French architect.
Four seasons in rock crystal form
27 September 2021One of the unusual lots in the glass sale at Dr Fischer in Heilbronn on October 16 is a mid-17th century wooden casket, the sides and top panel of which are fitted with engraved rock crystal panels.
Mystery chess set gets bidders on board
27 September 2021A handful of collectors joined the competition when Mehlis (23% buyer’s premium) in Plauen offered a 19th century ivory and ebony chess set.
Brueghel’s ‘own view’ of everyday Dutch rural life
27 September 2021Numerous international bidders set their sights on a tondo by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638).
Work by French artist Jacques Villeglé on offer in Berlin
27 September 2021Born in 1926 as Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé, the French artist Jacques Villeglé has had a long and varied career.
Ornate work of clockmaker Lévy Frères emerges in German sale
27 September 2021From the middle of the 19th century, Parisian clockmaker Lévy Frères, which had established a workshop in the late 1820s, was a highly successful manufacturer of timepieces in the neo-rococo style.
Standing figure makes bidders sit up and take note
27 September 2021A rare standing figure from the Yuat River area of Papua New Guinea was the star of the show at a Brussels auction.
Lion sculptures and corkscrews among eclectic delights at German auction
27 September 2021An eclectic mixture of works from the vast collection of the multi-talented German artist Charles Crodel formed a substantial part of a Hamburg auction.
Showing caution over ‘El Greco’
27 September 2021Experts split over El Greco attribution but Holy Family painting offered in Germany gets away
Rome inspiration for Klinkosch's boxes
27 September 2021For most of the second half of the 19th century the Viennese silversmith Josef Carl Klinkosch produced all types of silverware and objects of vertu.
Munich fair switches from summer to autumn
27 September 2021The stage was set for the 12th edition of Highlights in Munich at the beginning of July, but at short notice the local authorities prevented the event from going ahead, due to concerns about Covid.
Slashed and rejected canvas now worth €120,000
09 August 2021If Marie Bashkirtseff had her way, the portrait she painted of her cousin in the late 1870s would never have survived, let alone made it to auction.
Pocket globes point to Bavarian event
09 August 2021The organisers of the Bamberger Kunst-und Antiquitätenwochen (art and antiques weeks), which run until August 22, thought long and hard about whether to hold this year’s event in light of the pandemic.
Carpet weaves Genovese families link
09 August 2021An unusual feature of a large fragment of an Ushak carpet which was sold by Rippon Boswell (24% buyer’s premium) in Wiesbaden on May 29 was the alliance coat of arms of two powerful Genovese aristocratic families, the Doria and the Centurione, in the top corner.