Maastricht, The Netherlands — European art trade fair. TEFAF, Was the first major victim of the coronavirus pandemic international art market. It’s also the last one to return to normal.
On Friday, VIP attended the preview of the first face-to-face TEFAF Maastricht since March 2020, when the fair had to take place. Close early This is because the exhibitor tested positive for the virus.
The Long-established eventWas considered one of the world’s leading arts, objects and furniture trade fairs for centuries, but was canceled in 2021 and postponed for three months this year to an unfamiliar summer time.
“I’m glad I came back.” Sam fog, London-based medieval art dealer and one of several exhibitors infected with the virus in the 2020 edition. Fogg spent more than six weeks in the hospital after the unlucky event. “I think I caught it from an Italian dealer and then gave it to my staff,” he added. “But I’m fully recovered now.”
Mr Fogg said he was grateful that the fair, run by the dealer’s nonprofit foundation, managed to do something about it. Change the schedule of the 35th edition Only 3 months from the original date. The event was shortened from 11th to 6th and the exhibitor list was reduced by about 14% from 280 to 242. TEFAF will return to the regular March slots next year, rather than sandwiching it between the Swiss Art Basel fairs. , Similarly postponed version Brafa With Brussels masterpiece In London as this year.
“It’s a busy time,” Fogg said. “But we sold some things. It’s not a bad start.”
The recognition that the pandemic has changed their business significantly has eased the exhibitors’ sense of returning to normal business. A new wave of young Instagram-savvy buyers is entering the market, especially for young painters in increasing demand for contemporary art. With advances in digital technology at major auction houses, many wealthy collectors are happy to spend a fortune on 21st-century works not found in real life. Older, less fashionable pieces that need to be verified for authenticity, condition, and source are difficult to sell online.
“They must be seen directly,” said a London-based dealer. Stuart RockheadHe added that representatives of major American museums visited his TEFAF booth to see the rare sculptures of the Virgin and Child of Alabaster in France in the 1530s. He didn’t reveal the name of the museum, but said he bought the work for a seven-digit price.
The presence of curators, conservator-restors and donors from museums in Europe and the United States is an important attraction for dealers to exhibit at TEFAF Maastricht. According to the TEFAF Media Office, representatives from about 20 US-based institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, attended the fair.
“American museums are ready to buy,” said a New York-based dealer. Nicholas HallSpecializes in high-end old master photography. Hall showed a wonderful “Saint Cecilia and the Virgin and Child of Ursula” from around 1495 by the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio. According to Hall, it was commissioned for sale from a private collection in the United States and was booked by another American collector before the fair. Prices ranged from $ 10 million to $ 15 million.
Since TEFAF’s equivalent sister fair in New York in the fall Abandoned (Although it still hosts a spring trade fair for modern and contemporary works), TEFAF Maastricht is now “the only opportunity for dealers to bring together a group of photographs comparable to the old master sales of an auction house,” Hall said. I am saying.
Certainly the self-portrait of Artemisia Gentileschi as Carpaccio of Hall, Cleopatra Heim Basel’s $ 8 million and late Goya canvas “St. Paul”, based in London Stair Santi At $ 6 million, it seemed to represent a more impressive product Sotheby’s When Christie’s An old master auction in London in July.
Unlike VIP spectators at modern trade fairs such as Art Basel and Freeze, TEFAF’s wealthy customers are primarily Scandinavian, Caucasian, male and middle-aged, with no visible designer sneakers. Nevertheless, it gives the opportunity to find buyers of the exceptional part of the trade that cannot be sold online at the less fashionable end of the trade.
DewittA company specializing in tapestry restoration and trading, based in Mechelen, Belgium, offered a magnificent early 16th century Flemish panel woven with exotic animals in a walled garden. Previously owned by Prince Saddleuddin Aga Khan, it was a brightly preserved color, about $ 500,000, a fraction of the value of the 16th or 19th century when inflation was taken into account.
Or a similarly spectacular, recently rediscovered 1697 silver large piece that was included in the collection of Baroness Betty de Rothschild in the 1910s by Transylvanian goldsmith Sebastian Han the Elder. There was a jug.Luxuriously decorated in the mythical scene, it sold for about $ 400,000 at the German exhibitor’s booth. Senger Bamberg..
“As people roam here, they realize that paying $ 3.5 million for a young female artist’s work isn’t a big investment,” said New York-based dealer Christoph van de Wege, TEFAF. Exhibitors in the modern and contemporary division of Japan said. “We’ll see what these artists will look like in 50 years,” added vande Weghe.
Instagram’s young sensation paintings cost more than $ 500,000 and are a daily occurrence at today’s contemporary art auctions. The TEFAF Maastricht is the ultimate shop window for the rare centuries-old that can be purchased for the same kind of money. An ongoing challenge for TEFAF and its exhibitors is to find a new generation of buyers to be aware of and care about.
