Minister of Culture attends Sotheby’s private unveiling of rare masterpieces by Botticelli, Rembrandt
Sotheby’s Dubai hosted Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, as their Guest of Honour yesterday evening (Tuesday) at their private view of masterpieces by Botticelli and Rembrandt.
Al Kaabi unveiled the paintings alongside Sotheby’s Chairman for the Middle East, Edward Gibbs; Head of Sotheby’s Dubai, Katia Nounou; and Sotheby’s Worldwide Co-Chairman of Old Master Paintings and Drawings, George Gordon.
The two works will be offered at auction in New York in January 2021 with a combined estimate in excess of US$100 million and rank as the highest value paintings ever to be brought to the Middle East by an auction house. They are on view to the public at Sotheby’s Dubai in DIFC today (Wednesday) from 10am – 6pm.
Al Kaabi, said, “It is no exaggeration for me to say that I was overjoyed to be part of the unveiling of paintings by two of the all-time greats in art, ahead of their auction next month. I thank Sotheby’s for bringing these exceptional specimens of human creativity to the UAE and giving connoisseurs of art here an opportunity to savor them. Botticelli and Rembrandt, though different from each other in terms of their places of origin, times they lived in, and their representational styles, are among the masters who transcended their mortality through their art.
“By giving art lovers in the UAE an opportunity to see ‘in flesh and blood’ the works of these legends, Sotheby’s is immensely enriching our cultural life. I do hope that art lovers from across the country will set aside time to see the masterpieces and truly experience what art critics call ‘Hyperkulturemia,’ the overwhelming sensations that grip one at seeing great works of art.”
Katia Nounou, said, “We would like to extend our gratitude to Noura Al Kaabi for joining us for the UAE unveiling of these paintings by two titans of art history – Rembrandt and Botticelli. Over the course of Sotheby’s many decades working with collectors in the region, and more recently our varied cross-category exhibitions in the DIFC, we have always found that clients in the Middle East have a deep appreciation for the very best in art history. The Botticelli is the highest-estimated Old Master in Sotheby’s history and so it was important to us to mark this historic moment by bringing the painting to the UAE, a country devoted to both celebrating what has come before and forging a path into the future.”
George Gordon, stated, “Botticelli and Rembrandt are two of the most familiar names in Western art history, whose highly coveted works adorn the walls of the greatest institutions across the world. My last visit to Dubai was to accompany another great work by Rembrandt, which now hangs in the Louvre Abu Dhabi, an extraordinary setting for an exceptional work. It is now both a real pleasure and a great honour to bring two more museum-quality masterpieces to Dubai, both of them only now emerging after years treasured in private collections.”
The Ultimate Renaissance Portrait It was in Early Renaissance Italy that portraits of notable individuals first came to be considered high art. Florentine master Sandro Botticelli was at the forefront of this transformation, depicting his subjects in the second half of the 15th century with unprecedented directness and insight – decades before Leonardo da Vinci painted his enduring Mona Lisa.
Botticelli was celebrated in his own time and sought out, from an early age, by the richest of patrons for commissions that only they could afford. But while he created some of the most arresting and penetrating portraits in the history of Western Art, only around a dozen examples have survived today – with almost all of them now residing in major museum collections.
Sotheby’s will offer one of Botticelli’s very finest portraits, Young Man Holding a Roundel, with an estimate in excess of $80 million, which will establish it in art market history as one of the most significant portraits, of any period, ever to appear at auction.
One of the Greatest Works by Rembrandt at Auction Measuring just 6 ½ by 8 ⅜ inches (16 x 21cm), Abraham and the Angels is a profoundly beautiful, gem-like painting on panel from 1646 that stands among the finest works Dutch Golden Age master Rembrandt van Rijn ever to come to auction. The painting last appeared at auction in London in 1848, when it sold for ₤64, and returns to the block this January with an estimate of $20/30 million.
Of the total 136 biblical paintings Rembrandt produced, the present work is one of only five remaining in private hands, with the large majority in prominent museum collections. Among these biblical paintings, only 29 depict Old Testament scenes, with the present panel representing one of only two examples in private hands.
In October 2018, Sotheby’s unveiled a rare oil sketch portrait by Rembrandt in Dubai, which was acquired on behalf of the Louvre Abu Dhabi for their permanent collection.
Sotheby’s Dubai was officially launched by the global auction house in March 2017. The gallery is located in the heart of the Dubai International Financial Centre, at Level B2, Gate Village Building 3. The company hosts a programme of year-round events, including selling and non-selling exhibitions, events and talks reflecting the spectrum of Sotheby’s international sales and extensive client services.
WAM
