Portrait of Francesco Borgia by Francesco Hayez goes up for auction in Cologne

On May 21 in Cologne, the Lempertz auction house will close its week devoted to ancient art with a sale of paintings and drawings that brings together 250 lots, offering a broad traversal of European art history from the Northern Renaissance to the Italian 19th century. The auction, divided into two sessions, offers a heterogeneous selection that includes Flemish Mannerism, Italian vedute, history painting and still life, outlining a path that interweaves genres and schools.

Among the protagonists of the section devoted to 19th-century Italian art is Francesco Hayez with Portrait of Count Francesco Borgia, estimated at between 30,000 and 40,000 euros. The work is one of the highlights of the auction. Commissioned by Borgia himself, it testifies to the centrality of the portrait in the production of the artist, defined by Stendhal as “premier peintre vivant.” Hayez, known for his monumental historical paintings inspired by classical art, consolidated a significant reputation even during his lifetime thanks in part to the quality of his portraits. In the painting at auction, the count is depicted in a half-length pose while staring directly at the viewer, in a composition that combines sobriety and psychological intensity.

Also in the Italian sphere, the climate of the Risorgimento finds expression in Dario Querci’s work, Cola di Rienzo Delivers a Speech to the Roman People in Front of the Church of San Giorgio in Velabro, offered at an estimate between 25,000 and 30,000 euros. The painting, which won an award at the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair, reflects the political commitment of the artist, who participated in the insurrections of 1848 and joined Garibaldi in 1860. The figure of Cola di Rienzo, a protagonist of the late Middle Ages, is here reinterpreted as a symbol of nineteenth-century liberal nationalism, in line with the historical reinterpretation that saw him as a forerunner of the Risorgimento.

The section devoted to the Dutch seventeenth century is represented by Pieter de Hooch ’s Woman Sewing by a Window with a Maid and a Child, estimated at between 120,000 and 140,000 euros. The work reflects one of the most distinctive aspects of the artist’s painting, namely the depiction of domestic interiors and intimate relationships, particularly that between mother and child, which constitutes one of the most significant contributions to Dutch painting of the period.

Standing out among the still lifes is Jan Davidszoon de Heem’s work, A Sumptuous Still Life with Silverware, a Wanli bowl of fruit, oysters on a silver plate, and a lute in the foreground, with an estimate of between 300,000 and 400,000 euros. The painting showcases a sensory richness that harkens back to the prosperity of Antwerp, combining symbolic and material elements in a composition that echoes the theme of vanitas, understood not so much as a warning about the fleetingness of life as a conscious celebration of its preciousness.

The auction also includes a sheet by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Winter Landscape with Frozen Canal and Ice Skaters on the recto and The Bird Trap on the verso, estimated between 40,000 and 60,000 euros. This is a drawing painted on both sides, offering one of the most characteristic depictions of Flemish winter imagery, with scenes of everyday life set in an icy landscape.

Special attention is given to Italian painting between the 16th and 17th centuries. Lots include Jacopo Palma il Giovane’s Adam and Eve, estimated between 50,000 and 70,000 euros. The artist, trained between Urbino and Rome, became a central figure in Venetian painting after his return to the city in 1570. In the painting, Adam occupies the foreground while Eve dominates the composition in the center, depicted nude with long blond hair, in a pose reminiscent of Titian’s depictions of Venus. The work may have been conceived as part of a religious cycle or as an independent work intended for a private collector.

Also in the 17th-century field, Domenico Fetti is featured with Melancolia, estimated at between 150,000 and 200,000 euros. The painting fits into the iconographic tradition of melancholy, rediscovered during the Renaissance, and offers a complex reading that interweaves Christological elements and layered symbolism. The work has also been interpreted as a possible homage to Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, known for his melancholic nature and role as a patron at whose court Fetti worked.

Still life also finds space in Fede Galizia ’s production with Bowl of Peaches and Pears, estimated at between 80,000 and 100,000 euros. The artist, active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, was already internationally known at a young age for her ability to combine the Lombard naturalistic tradition with Caravaggio’s use of light. In the painting on auction, the simplicity of the composition is accompanied by a luministic rendering that enhances the naturalness of the fruit arranged in a metal bowl.

Closing the selection is a work by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Head of a Man in Three-Quarter Profile, estimated at between 100,000 and 120,000 euros. The painting was identified as autograph thanks to studies by George Knox, who related it to an etching of the same subject made by his son Domenico. The attribution adds to the interest in a work that is part of the Venetian artist’s portrait production.

Portrait of Francesco Borgia by Francesco Hayez goes up for auction in Cologne

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