REYNOLDS, Joshua - Lot 118

REYNOLDS, Joshua Catalog of the capital, genuine and valuable collection of pictures London, Christie, 1795 THE EXCEPTIONAL COLLECTION OF JOSHUA REYNOLDS: WHEN A PAINTER COLLECTS PAINTING ORIGINAL EDITION In-4 (270 x 209mm) ANNOTATIONS: prices in ink, in margins BINDING: brown calf spine, long title page, marbled paper boards PROVENANCE: J. Beardsloe (handwritten bookplate) -- "S.M. Smith, given to him by J. Beardsloe Esqr., Manchester, November 6th. 1838" (handwritten note) Some foxing This sale featured ninety-eight paintings by Poussin, Raphael, Rubens, Tintoretto, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, van Dyck, Carracci, Titian and others. The public display of such a collection was an event. England, which probably possessed the finest collections of paintings in Europe, was also the country most lacking in permanent exhibition venues. Magnificent private galleries were scattered throughout the United Kingdom's manor houses, with access reserved for the happy few. It was not until 1813 and 1815 that the British Institution organized two major public exhibitions, the first devoted to the work of Reynolds, "for the improvement of British art", the second, more general, "for the satisfaction of the public" (F. Haskell). The political upheavals on the Continent were certainly not conducive to auctions, and it is difficult to give any significance to the bidding prices at this "auction". Nevertheless, we can make a few observations that have more to do with the history of taste than the mercurial; for example, a painting by Téniers sold for twice as much as Rembrandt's "Vision of Daniel" or "Susanna and the Elders". The majority of these paintings are now conserved in public institutions. Of particular note is a portrait of Mona Lisa attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (no. 96). BIBLIOGRAPHY : Francis Haskell, L'Amateur d'art, Paris, Le Livre de Poche, 1997 -- missing from Getty Research Institute