Favour for Flowers

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The rose is a natural wonder and a puzzle for artists because of the complexity of its details and of its color shades.

Since the seventeenth century painters are striving to represent them in vases or thrown into a basket. Possibly accompanied by other flowers, roses were then the glory of Ambrosius Bosschaert, Abraham Mignon, Jan Davidsz de Heem, mostly in vertical compositions.

In the nineteenth century, Henri Fantin-Latour introduces more complex compositions in a horizontal viewing. On 7 November 2007, Sotheby's sold a basket of roses by this artist, 53x65 cm, $ 1.6 million including expenses. It was beautifully presented on a light background. On a dark background, a similar work, 62x74 cm, was sold 740 K € premium included on June 17 in Paris by Mathias.

In California, the specialist of painting roses was Franz Bischoff. On August 3 in Los Angeles, Bonhams and Butterfields is selling one of his compositions made in 1912, 100x125 cm. Roses are divided into two groups, in a vase and thrown from a basket. The originality of this lot is that the vase which served as a model is sold with the painting.

The expected price, $ 600 K, appears to be high for this artist.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Very good result for this painting: $ 675 K without fees, $ 800 K premium included. Bischoff does not have the reputation of Fantin-Latour, but the quality of his work was acknowledged in the market.