Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Early avant-garde scene offered in German auction
28 June 2021The colour scheme and composition of 'Blauer Junge mit Sense' (Blue Boy with Scythe) appear almost psychedelic, but in fact the 4ft 8in x 6ft 8in (1.41 x 1.72cm) oil painting was executed in 1911.
Bureau cabinet rated highly as Mainz ‘masterpiece’ example
31 May 2021Distinctive bureau cabinet form could have been intended for presentation to the guild.
Gallé vase captures Lake Como at dusk
31 May 2021One of the highlights at Quittenbaum’s sale in Munich on June 8 is a Gallé vase from the period 1920-36.
Hopes for a John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope chain reaction
31 May 2021Along with his famous Pre-Raphaelite colleagues Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and George Frederic Watts, John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope was often influenced by the tales of classical antiquity and the paintings of Italian Old Masters.
Cathedral connection at sale of ‘Viennese Cosmopolitan's’ collection
31 May 2021Over many decades, a ‘Viennese Cosmopolitan’ amassed a collection of works of art which are now being sold in the second auction of Tiberius in Vienna.
Artist Zacharie Noterman goes ape
31 May 2021A south German collector is parting with a painting by Zacharie Noterman, which is coming under the hammer at Metz in Heidelberg on June 18-19.
Take your opportunity to own a game of chance
31 May 2021Wendl in Rudolstadt is holding its 100th sale and among the unusual collectables is a 19th century game of chance, known as Kakelorum, from c.1830.
Barbarity brings faith for Arthur Segal
31 May 2021Having spent seven years in Berlin, the Romanian artist Arthur Segal left Germany at the outbreak of the First World War.
Portrait influenced by Caravaggio on offer at Dorotheum
31 May 2021Among the many paintings on offer at the Old Master sale held by Dorotheum are numerous works that document the vast artistic influence of Caravaggio.
Photography via a painted focus
31 May 2021The early 20th century German photographer August Sander has a legendary status, not least for his long-running series of documentary portraits, published under the title 'People of the 20th Century'.
Dragon vases fire up Zurich interest
10 May 2021Porcelain on offer in Swiss saleroom catches the eye of international bidders.
Watchmaker to the royal family
10 May 2021Little is known about the biography of the German watchmaker Sigismund Rentzsch, who came to London in the early 19th century, where he set up a workshop.
Swiss and German fine art highlights
10 May 2021Recent stand-out lots from salerooms in Basel, Zurich, Constance, Stuttgart and Dresden
Goldscheider lamp offered at Plauen sale
10 May 2021'Orangepflückerin' (Orange Picker) lamp by Goldscheider up at auction in Germany.
Lapis lazuli lion from the Elamite Empire
10 May 2021Hermann Historica in Grasbrunn, on the outskirts of Munich, is holding its extensive spring auction from May 26-28 and June 1-2.
Russian artists who preferred the Parisian scene
12 April 2021For the first time in almost 30 years, Wendl (21% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt was forced to hold a sale without a public view and in an empty room.
Bayrle underlines his commercial value
12 April 2021The highest price at the sale of Modern and Contemporary art at Döbritz (22% buyer’s premium) in Frankfurt on March 6 was achieved for a mixed-media composition by the German artist Thomas Bayrle.
Model 1080 could be a sound investment
12 April 2021In 1935, Swiss designer Paul Fuller, who had emigrated to the US after the First World War, joined the Rudolf Wurlitzer Company as their chief designer.
Odysseus casts his gaze down on a tea-salon
12 April 2021A cast zinc figure of Odysseus is one of the prominent works of art at the Prussian Sale that Lempertz is holding in Berlin on April 24.
Ritual figure from Rapa Nui and sells in Germany
12 April 2021Tribal art specialist Zemanek-Münster will be holding a spring auction on April 24 in Würzburg.