OLD PAINTINGS

AUCTIONS OF OLD PAINTINGS

Antique painting is great art, noble and rooted in the academies. In this quest for perfection from the 15th to the 19th century, many were called but few were chosen. Prestigious names but many forgotten pupils and followers. Many preparatory works but too few masterpieces to be inventoried... and yet many treasures still slumber in collections or estates that are unaware of them.

For over 40 years at Millon Auctions, the Old Masters or Old Paintings department has been one of the highlights of our auctions.

The Old Masters in Paintings department brings together a variety of talents and profiles to meet the demands of this art form. Specialist Alix Laurent-Bellevue heads the department, along with Claude Corrado and Ludivine Pladepouseaux.

 

Millon Italia, headed by Vittorio Preda, is also one of our branches specialising in the classical centuries.

 

The Ancient Paintings auction department

Grand art noble, academic, works painted from the 15th to the 19th century bring museums within reach of the hammer. The sales feature numerous preparatory works, sometimes masterpieces discovered in collections or estates that had no idea such treasures existed.

To bring these masterpieces to the fore, or to rediscover the hands behind these painted works, two prestigious Parisian appraisal firms are working alongside the Old Master Paintings department. Eric Turquin and René Millet take part in iconographic research and catalogue writing to share their knowledge.

 

Old Master Paintings sales calendar

The Maîtres Anciens auction department presents the old master paintings entrusted to it in three sale formats.

Each sale is tailored to the quality and provenance of the works and attracts both amateur and professional collectors.

• Les Masters Maîtres Anciens are prestigious auctions held twice a year. These sales bring together the very best of the paintings entrusted to us, with attributions to the great masters, quality provenance and irreproachable state of conservation. Only a small number of works are selected for these sales, enabling the experts to give them special attention in order to bring them to the fore and sell them for the best price.
• Collections and Estates auctions are held five times a year. For these sales, a catalogue offers a chronological overview by School and Century. The descriptive sheets always indicate the medium (canvas, panel, etc.), the attribution (work by, attributed to, school of, workshop of, in the taste of, etc.), as well as the dimensions and state of conservation of the painting.
• The Intérieurs and Caractères sales are held several times a year. These sales enable paintings to be presented in their original setting, i.e. accompanied at the time of sale by the entire house, château or flat from which they came. The presentation of old paintings takes into account the spirit of the previous owners, giving cachet and character (as the name of the sale so aptly indicates) to the work you wish to acquire.

 

Old paintings discovered and to be discovered

Most of the works presented at our auctions arrive via the Inventories department at Millon Paris. This department deals with Collections and Estates and each year discovers more than 1,000 paintings that the Old Masters department then showcases.

Renowned artists can be found in our sales: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Francesco Guardi, Jean baptiste Greuze, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Anthony van Dyck, Jan Brueghel, Simon Vouet, Charles Le Brun, Nicolas Poussin, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Hubert Robert, Jean Baptiste Oudry, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, Joshua Reynolds, Canaletto, Jean Marc Nattier, Hyacinthe Rigaud, etc

Our auctions also feature works from the Northern, German, Italian, Spanish and French schools, sometimes attributed to or associated with a particular studio or artist. These more mysterious works sometimes achieve surprising results, with the collector's discerning eye helping the bidding to soar! So don't hesitate to present your old paintings to our experts and auctioneers, their conclusions may surprise you.

 

Some fine results from sales of old paintings

Below you will find a selection of our department's best sales results:

• A Florentine School, workshop of Andrea Del Sarto sold for 70,000 euros. This work on poplar panel depicts the Holy Family and came from the collection of Marshal de Quinsonas-Oudinot
• A portrait known as Henri de Beaumanoir de Lavardin en habit à crevés, French school circa 1630, entourage of Simon Vouet, was pre-empted at the auction. Sold for €45,000, this oil on canvas will go to the Musée du Mans.
• Diane chasseresse - L'Assemblée des Dieux, painted by Adriaen van Stalbemt, sold for 20,000 euros
• Portrait of an actor, by Jean-Baptiste Van Loo, sold for 58,000 euros.
• La déploration sur le christ mort, Attributed to Bernardino Campi, sold for 10,000 euros. This paintingbears a signature in the lower left-hand corner "J.de Vos Pix. 1684"

 

Services offered by the Antique Paintings department

Old Master paintings offer a wealth of discoveries and opportunities. Every year, the press reports on a great master's work discovered by chance in an inventory. This is why the Old Masters department pays particular attention to requests for estimates, which are always free and confidential at Millon.

You may be in possession of the next key work in our sales that will send museums and collectors into a frenzy. To find out, please contact us.

Our estimates are free and confidential and our specialists will advise you on how to sell at the best price.