The Triumph of Alexandria, a newly discovered drawing by Italian Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna, was sold for US$11.65m at Sotheby’s New York. It established a new auction record for a drawing by the artist and places the work as the 5th most expensive Old Master drawing sold at auction. It also marks the most expensive Old Master drawing sold in the United States.
Andrea Mantegna’s The Triumph of Alexandria
Andrea Mantegna’s The Triumph of Alexandria
The Triumph of Alexandria measures only 26.6 x 26.6cm, about an A4 paper size. It is the only preparatory drawing that has survived for Mantegna’s Triumphs, his celebrated series of nine monumental paintings. The Triumphs represent a single triumphal procession through ancient Rome, recreating the military glory of Julius Caesar, the greatest of all Roman generals.
The paintings, now at Hampton Court Palace, were acquired by King Charles I (1600-1649) in 1628, when he famously secured a significant portion of the celebrated collections of the Gonzaga family, Dukes of Mantua and leading patrons of Mantegna. Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi that sold for US$450m also belonged to King Charles I (1600-1649)
The drawing is a study for ‘The Standard Bearers and the Siege Equipment,’ which is the second canvas in the Triumphs series of nine paintings
The first canvas in the Triumphs series
The present drawing is among approximately 20 known drawings by Mantegna. All except two are in the collections of major museums, such as the British Museum in London, and only two other drawings by Mantegna have appeared at auction in the last half century.
The drawing is a study for ‘The Standard Bearers and the Siege Equipment,’ which is the second canvas in the Triumphs series of nine paintings. The drawing theatrically recreates a section of the processional that includes gigantic statues on carts, a model of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and oversized siege weapons.
A model of the Lighthouse of Alexandria on the drawing
The drawing, before it was reattributed to the Italian Renaissance master, first appeared in a small auction in Germany and sold for less than US$1,000. The work was totally unknown to scholars until its inclusion in the Mantegna and Bellini exhibition in London and Berlin. It caught the attention of Cristiana Romalli, Senior Director and Italian specialist in Sotheby’s Old Master Drawings Department. Romalli said: ‘By examination under special filtered infrared light, we were able to detect the hidden figure of Helios, revealing a major change in the composition that proves Mantegna’s authorship. This change in fact defined his whole approach to the finished painting that we see today.’
The hidden figure of Helios can be founded in the drawing under special filtered infrared light
Mantegna was known for his mastery of perspective. For example, Lamentation over the Dead Christ, a masterpiece that represents an absolute peak in Mantegna’s production. It shows expressive force, severe composure and masterly handling of the illusion of perspective, making it one of the best-known symbols of the Italian Renaissance.
Lamentation over the Dead Christ
While the rediscovered drawing by Andrea Mantegna led Sotheby’s Old Master Drawings, Master Painting Evening Sale achieved a satisfactory total of US$61m, the highest total for a Master Painting Sale at Sotheby’s New York since 2012. The top lot of the sale fell to Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s Madonna of the Rosary with Angels, which sold for US$17.35m after premium.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, the greatest painter of the Venetian Rococo, painted this signed and dated Madonna of the Rosary with Angels in 1735, during his early mature period. Measuring over 8 feet tall, the work is distinguished as the largest and most valuable offering of the Venetian artist's work to come to market. Major works of such astounding quality by Tiepolo are rare on the international market, for much of his work was carried out in frescoes and altarpieces that remain in situ or are located in museums.
Another notable lot from the sale was Sir Peter Paul Rubens’s The Virgin and Christ Child, With Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist, which sold for US$7.1 m. The painting appeared at auction for the first time in over 70 years after having remained in private collections. Previously unrecorded, the work represents a critical addition to Rubens scholarship and will appear in the forthcoming new volume of the Corpus Rubenianum catalogue raisonné.
Featured lots
Andrea Mantegna (1430/31-1506). The Triumph of Alexandria
Pen and brown ink
Size: 26.6 x 26.6cm
Estimate: US$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Price realised: US$11,645,000
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770). Madonna of the Rosary with Angels
Oil on canvas
Created in: circa 1735
Size: 246 x 156cm
Estimate: US$15,000,000
Price realised: US$17,349,000
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). The Virgin and Christ Child, With Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist
Oil on panel
Created in: circa 1612
Size: 121.6 x 95.5cm
Estimate: US$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Price realised: US$7,098,000