Art Market Magazine - Visit zone-secure.net
Art Market Magazine - Visit zone-secure.net
Art Market Magazine - Visit zone-secure.net
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THE MAGAZINE AUCTION RESULTS<br />
58 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 23<br />
€204,468<br />
In the footsteps of Caravaggio<br />
On 10 February in Saint Cloud (Le Floc’h auction house), art lovers went<br />
wild over this 17th century painting by an Italian school, formerly attributed<br />
to Nicolas Régnier. No fewer than twenty telephone bidders set off<br />
in pursuit of this oil on copper, a "Portrait of a huntsman". Estimated at no<br />
more than €1,600, it was finally chased up to €204,468, despite a few chips<br />
and restorations. The subject betrays the influence of Caravaggio, and<br />
echoes many of his characteristics. For example, we find the master's taste<br />
for working class figures. Here this is by no means a gentleman hunting<br />
with hounds, but a humble man holding a dead fox by the neck. His<br />
evident surprise, bordering on apprehension, in having his bag discovered<br />
even suggests that he is a poacher... To accentuate the realism and<br />
dramatic tension of the subject, the Italian painter employs the<br />
chiaroscuro typical of Caravaggio, emphasising the contrasts with the<br />
bright colour of the shirt draped around the huntsman's torso:<br />
an aggressive red evoking the animal's death. Sophie Reyssat