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THE MAGAZINE UPCOMING AUCTIONS INTERNATIONAL
Master of Frankfurt (1460–c. 1533), "Allegory of Love", oil on panel
24.8 x 128.3 cm. Estimate: CHF250,000/350,000.
22 March
Wolfgang Joop’s collection
of Old Master paintings
This month, Koller Zurich plays host to celebrated German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop’s collection of Old Master
paintings. Seventeen oil paintings from Joop’s villa at Potsdam are to be auctioned. The highlight will undoubtedly be
this "Allegory of Love", a panel by the Flemish painter known as the Master of Frankfurt. There has been much discussion
over the identity of the artist, whose name derives from the fact that two of his most important works are located
in Frankfurt. Some now believe him to be Hendrick van Wueluwe, and most agree that the artist in fact came from
Antwerp. The painting in question shows an allegory of love set within a kind of Liebesgarten, a theme popular at the
time, where women use snares to entrap men. The composition is divided by a stream, showing the winged, unsnared
figures on the left gesturing towards those on the right, who have succumbed to love. In so doing they have
lost not only their wings, but also themselves; their gazes and gestures are focused solely on the objects of their affection.
Thirteen years ago, when it was sold at Christie’s, it fetched £146,750. On 22 March, with the highest estimate of
the collection (CHF250,000/350,000), it is sure to prove popular with Flemish art enthusiasts. Other desirable lots at the
auction will include Jean-Baptiste Pater’s captivatingly elegant "Fête Champêtre" (CHF80,000/120,000) and a selection
of 17th century Dutch still lifes – not to be missed by collectors of the genre. P. B.
46 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 23
HD