Rupert Toovey’s Articles – Page 58

Toy Fundraiser at Horsham Museum

Toovey’s toy valuation event in support of the Horsham Museum & Art Gallery has become an extremely popular annual fundraising event. Toovey’s specialist toys valuer, Christopher Gale, will be at the museum on Saturday, 16th February 2018, between 10am and 12noon providing free auction valuations and advice on your toy trains, cars, Star Wars action figures, models, teddy bears, dolls and collectors’ toys.

A number of valuable toys have been discovered at previous events. Chris Gale who is donating his time explains: “A third of the seller’s commission for items subsequently auctioned by Toovey’s will be donated by us to Horsham Museum to help with its important work.”

For a morning of fun and free pre-sale valuations come to the Horsham Museum & Art Gallery, The Causeway, Horsham, RH12 1HE on Saturday 16th February, 10am to 12 noon. Toovey’s next specialist toy sale will be held on 19th March 2018.

National Trust’s International Exhibition at Petworth

The National Trust’s landmark exhibition Prized Possessions has just returned from The Mauritshuis museum in the Hague to Petworth House in Sussex.

The Mauritshuis houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which includes many of the finest Dutch Golden Age paintings including Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Nevertheless long queues formed to see Prized Possessions which speaks of the importance of the works on show in this exhibition.

Prized Possessions builds on the tradition established at Petworth House by house and collections manager Andrew Loukes of re-examining the collections and art of the National Trust. In the 17th and 18th centuries Dutch art informed English taste. It is wonderful to see these works displayed in the context of, arguably, England’s finest country house. Petworth has a fine collection of Dutch masters.

The exhibition reflects the diversity of subjects and styles in Dutch Golden Age art with wonderful religious scenes, landscapes still lifes and portraits. Prized Possessions has been curated by David Taylor and Rupert Goulding. The paintings on show are amongst the most celebrated and prized in the National Trust’s collections. The visitor to Petworth will uniquely also be able to see a selection of Dutch masters generously loaned by Lord Egremont from his private collection.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), Self-Portrait, wearing a Feathered Bonnet, c.1635, oil, signed and dated © National Trust

As you enter the exhibition gallery you are met by Rembrandt van Rijn’s remarkable ‘Self-Portrait, wearing a Feathered Bonnet.’ There is such life to the portrait. It displays the psychological insight and unsurpassed technique which underpins Rembrandt’s reputation as an artist. Here we see Rembrandt’s confidence at the height of his wealth and fame.

The portrait is typical of the popular tronie genre where the sitter is depicted in costume playing some sort of role. Rembrandt’s costume with its velvet bonnet decorated with ostrich feathers, the gorget armour and aristocratic hair lends the painting a timeless quality. His pose and the dramatic use of light seems to unite sitter and viewer.

The portrait is signed and dated 1635, the year that the artist and his wife Saskia moved to the fashionable Nieuwe Doelenstraat in Amsterdam.

Until recently the portrait was attributed to one of Rembrandt’s pupils, Govaert Flinck. However, recent scientific and historical research has established the painting as one of a large group of some forty autograph self-portraits by Rembrandt.

Simon Pietersz Verelst (1644-1721), Prince Rupert of the Rhine c.1680-82, oil © National Trust.

The portrait of Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619-1682) by Simon Pietersz Verelst is of contrasting style. The painting forms part of Petworth’s permanent collection and depicts Prince Rupert in middle age after the restoration of his cousin Charles II. He wears the robes of the Order of the Garter. Verelst employs light and colour beautifully to emphasise the opulence and power expressed in his attire.

The exhibition is a cabinet of exquisite paintings and the context of Petworth House and its exhibition rooms allows us to re-examine these prized possessions and their influence on English Country House taste with fresh eyes.

I am delighted that Toovey’s are once again supporting Petworth House’s exhibition program.

Prized Possessions is a jewel like exhibition and a must see. The show is sure to be a sell out so book early. For more information on the exhibition, to book tickets and for opening times visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

Lucie Rie and the Art of Studio Ceramics

The Austrian born Jewish potter Dame Lucie Rie., DBE (1902-1995) was arguably the most influential potter of the Post–War period with an international reputation. In 1938 Lucie Rie left Nazi Austria and made London her home.

Rie was first exposed to ceramics when she attended the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule art school. She would later record that from her first encounter with the potter’s wheel she was ‘lost to it’.

Her ideas and work was rooted in the Modern Movement and she quickly arrived at the simple thrown cylindrical forms which would define her pots and bowls. Rie experimented with ‘volcanic’ glazes which she would use to beautiful effect on her later stoneware.

When Rie first arrived in England her work did not receive the critical acclaim she had enjoyed in Vienna and across Europe.

The famous British potter, Bernard Leach, was amongst her critics. He characterized her work as too thin and lacking in humanity. Despite this rocky start the two potters would become good friends and Rie would profoundly influence British and International Post-War Studio Ceramics.

Lucie Rie stoneware teapot and cover with its dark brown/black shiny glaze beneath an applied bamboo handle was purchased from Heal’s in the 1950s

After the war in 1948 Rie began working in stoneware. She adapted Bernard Leach’s porcelain recipe and added lead to his black glaze to produce a wonderful silky black mirror-like glaze. The Lucie Rie stoneware teapot you see here was made for Heal’s in the 1950s. The brown/black glaze with the white tin glazed band is typical of her tableware. These pieces are highly sought after and Toovey’s sold this example for £3800.

Lucie Rie exercised great control in the making of her pots. Throwing rings were smoothed away and glaze applied with a brush and gum arabic to help it bond so that its subtlety and thickness could be precisely judged.

Despite Rie’s approach her pots never appear mechanical, rather there is a fluidity, a poetry to their form and decoration. The wide rims and flowing forms of her bowls and pots are a testament to the precision of her throwing.

Lucie Rie studio pottery stoneware bottle with flared asymmetrical rim and ovalled neck, covered in a pink and blue volcanic glaze

The Lucie Rie pot illustrated gains life from its dramatically flared asymmetrical rim as she departs from the round with an ovalled neck. Here she employs her deeply pitted volcanic glaze with a subtle and exquisite range of colour variations. This pot carries a pre-sale estimate of £5000-8000 and is one of a number of pieces by some of Britain’s leading studio ceramicists already entered for Toovey’s specialist Studio Pottery sale. The auction will be held on Friday 22nd March 2019 and further entries are still being invited.

Lucie Rie would exhibit internationally including the 1951 Festival of Britain, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and at Bonniers in New York.

The importance and influence of her work is unquestionable. Lucie Rie transformed modern ceramics. She is arguably the most important ceramicist of the Post-War period and her ceramics still command the attention of international connoisseurs.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

The Genius of Rembrandt Captured in Print

Rembrandt van Rijn – Christ at Emmaus: The Larger Plate, etching with drypoint on laid paper, circa 1654, posthumous fourth state

This year marks the 350th anniversary of the death of the Dutch master, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).

An artist of towering reputation, by the 1630s Rembrandt had become a highly respected artist. His fame and reputation as a painter ensured that his prints were seen as originals and not mere reproductions. In the 1630s and 1640s Rembrandt’s Amsterdam studio was very important attracting the attention and influencing a generation of artists.

Rembrandt achieved fame and success as a young man but would narrowly avoid bankruptcy in 1656 by an arrangement with the court to sell his house and its contents. The inventory of the sale still survives and provides an important insight into his collection and its influences on his work. It records that he owned Italian pictures, engravings after Raphael and other Italian masters, and a book said to have been illustrated by Mantegna.

Take for example Rembrandt van Rijn’s wonderful study of the story of the Supper at Emmaus from St Luke’s Gospel illustrated here. He exploits the creative process of printing to great effect. Drawing on the influence of the Italian artist Caravaggio Rembrandt employs the effects of chiaroscuro – strongly contrasted light and shadow affecting not only the composition but also the sense of volume.

It is a good inky impression. This is the fourth posthumous state indicating that it was pulled from the plate which Rembrandt himself had engraved in 1654 either at the end of his life or within a few years of his death. The composition and use of light is remarkable focusing our attention on the risen Jesus Christ as he reveals who he is to the two disciples who have unknowingly accompanied him on the road to Emmaus. As he breaks bread the story is united with the Last Supper and his Passion. Jesus’ expression as he looks on his follower is filled with empathy and tenderness. And in the shadows there is that marvellous dog.

Contemporary collectors of his prints afforded Rembrandt a freedom of expression which was sometimes lacking amongst the patrons of his paintings.

Etching allowed him to explore his deepening feelings for humanity which is ariculated with a freedom, insight and intimacy beyond the formal conventional portraiture of his time.

Rembrandt van Rijn – Studies of the Head of Saskia and others, etching on laid paper, circa 1636, with part of a Strasbourg Lily watermark

A good example of this is the etching, Studies of the Head of Saskia and others, from 1636. The love and tenderness with which he depicts her is readily apparent. Saskia, nee van Ulyenburgh, was the love of his life. Rembrandt’s art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, was Saskia’s cousin. Rembrandt was living and working with Hendrick and the couple met there in 1633 and were married soon after in 1634. Saskia died giving birth to their son, Titus, in 1642. Rembrandt was devastated.

Today Rembrandt’s works printed during his lifetime fetch thousands of pounds at auction. In contrast, despite his brilliance, Rembrandt died a pauper and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Toovey’s Director and specialist, Nicholas Toovey, is preparing his next curated auction of prints which will be held on 20th February 2019. He is always delighted to share his passion for prints with others and offer advice. He can be contacted on 01903 891955.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

Inspired by the Landscape

Inspired by the Horsham Museum & Art Galleries latest exhibition of local landscapes I have been trying to walk off my Christmas indulgence, with my terrier Bonnie in the beauty of the Sussex countryside. And what strikes me is how influential and important human stewardship and industry has been to the appearance and beauty of our landscape.

A great favourite of ours is the circular walk at the top of Chantry Hill at the back of Storrington. From the car park you follow the footpath to the west. The views carry your eye across the undulating hills of the Angmering Park Estate to the sea at Worthing and the Isle of Wight. Leaving the main path and heading North the ground steadily rises until the view opens onto the Sussex Weald. A few hundred yards to the east between Kithurst Hill and Chantry Hill you come upon a late Bronze Age / Iron Age cross dyke. The deep ditch and steep embankment still defines its boundary and affords the most wonderful views with Storrington below. As you walk in this man made earthworks you have a real sense of the ancient and your place in the procession of history. It is farming which has created and preserved the Downland landscape which surrounds it.

At Petworth Park the qualities of the picturesque are alive in Capability Brown’s man made landscape, preserved and maintained by The National Trust.

Bonnie delighted to be on the Bronze Age cross dyke on Chantry Hill

Bonnie and I love to walk through the park and around the lake. The house and park are united in the landscape. Here you come upon a series of constructed, vignette views onto sweeping areas of grass, curving lakes and beautifully conceived woodland clumps of trees. It is as though you are walking in a series paintings.

This aesthetic was born out of the rococo in reaction to the formal straight lines and topiary of the French royal gardens designed by André Le Notre (1613-1700), which had been made popular in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries by George London (d.1714) and Henry Wise (1653-1738). Together they had created the parterres not only at Petworth but also at Hampton Court Palace, Chatsworth and Longleat.

In early 18th century England there was a political desire, held by both the Whig government and Hanoverian King George I, to distance themselves from the excesses of the French Court at Versailles. This combined with a fascination for ‘unbounded nature’. In this climate Capability Brown’s park landscapes evolved in dialogue with his patrons. Perhaps this is why his idealised landscapes speak into the hearts and imaginations of the English and, in part, define us.

Sussex and her landscape continues to inspire successive generations of artists, writers and composers as she has over the centuries. I look forward to exploring the Sussex landscape and the continuing contribution of its contemporary stewards to the identity and heritage of the county.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.