It’s not often to see a Van Gogh painting offered in Hong Kong. It’s even rarer to see one with a royal provenance, but Christie’s has just such a painting and is offering it for their inaugural sale at their Asian headquarters at The Henderson on 26 September. Museums worldwide house other works from this series by Van Gogh.
Unseen by the public for over 30 years, Van Gogh’s Les canots amarrés is being sold by Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Art department as part of their 20th/21st Century Inaugural Evening Sale at The Henderson and is being estimated between HK$230 million and 380 million (US$30 million and 50 million). If successfully sold, it would handily set the record for the most expensive Van Gogh sold in Asia.
However, what makes this painting interesting is its seller, being among the property of The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Descended from the famed French Royal House, the Two Sicilies Bourbons ruled over southern Italy from 1816 to 1861, before being exiled. The modern descendants are often in the spotlight of the media, living their lavish lifestyles befitting of their titles.
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)⏐Les canots amarrés, oil on canvas
Created in the summer of 1887
Dimensions: 52 x 65 cm
Provenance:
- The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Estimate: HK$230,000,000 - 380,000,000 (US$30,000,000 - 50,000,000)
Auction House: Christie’s Hong Kong
Sale: 20th/21st Century Inaugural Evening Sale at The Henderson
Date: 26 September 2024
Vincent van Gogh began painting relatively later in life, starting at the age of 27. He would frequently move across different parts of Europe, with Les canots amarrés originating from his time in Asnières-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris.
His move to Paris came after living in his native Netherlands, where he had a chaotic love life, numerous arguments with his family, and a falling out with his brother and art dealer, Theodorus. The falling out was caused by Van Gogh’s focus on darker tones and themes, refusing to conform to the brighter tones of mainstream Impressionism.
When he moved to Antwerp, away from his family home in Nuenen, his physical condition further deteriorated, and he became an alcoholic. He was also not welcome in the mainstream art community and struggled at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts.
As such, his move to Paris was transformative, and while he got off to a rocky start, he began working on paintings that used Pointillism, whereby using small colored dots on the canvas they create a blend of various hues. As such, he began to get quite skilled with using complementary colors. During his period in Paris between 1886 and 1888, van Gogh produced 200 paintings.
Van Gogh⏐De Aardappeleters, painted in Nuenen, 1885⏐Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam⏐An example of Van Gogh's earlier darker works
This move to brighter works and new techniques was undoubtedly influenced by his time in Paris, the hub of Impressionism, which by this point had evolved into Neo-Impressionism. Van Gogh’s use of Pointillism came from this school of painting.
Les canots amarrés depicts the suburb of Asnières, where van Gogh lived. The location would become the site for around forty van Gogh artworks, including the works: Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières and Le Restaurant de la Sirène à Asnières both of which are held at museums.
At Asnières van Gogh’s work began incorporating vivid colours and brush strokes, used to depict the town’s features and scenery. Like other impressionists, his work captures the setting and life of the little town on the banks of the Seine River, a prelude for his future landscape works.
Van Gogh⏐Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières, 1887⏐Bürler Collection, Kunsthalle Zurich
Van Gogh⏐Le Restaurant de la Sirène à Asnières, 1887⏐Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Not only is the lot being sold museum-quality, but it is also a record-setting work for Van Gogh in Asia. Most often, Van Gogh's works are sold in New York or London, but research done in 2023 showed that over the last nine years, half of all of Van Gogh’s most expensive works have been bought by Chinese collectors.
This popularity of Van Gogh's works in China has been attributed to his “madness,” considered by Chinese collectors to be a positive as it led to such magnificent works and a sign of his genius as a painter.
In 2021, Sotheby’s became the first auction house to offer Van Gogh’s work in Hong Kong, selling Nature Morte: Vase Aux Glaïeuls. The lot was sold for HK$71 million (around US$9.10 million), setting the record for the most expensive van Gogh painting sold in Asia. This record, however, will be easily smashed should Les canots amarrés be sold and its estimated point.
Van Gogh⏐Nature Morte: Vase Aux Glaïeuls, 1886⏐Sold for HK$71 Million (around US$9.10 million) by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2021
What ultimately sets apart this work from other van Goghs of the era is its royal provenance. It has been put up for sale by the family of The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The house originated in France and produced great rulers such as Louis the Sun King. The house later had a Spanish branch which is where the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies originates from.
The house ruled over the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, a conservative and agrarian kingdom, until the Unification of Italy (1848-1871). In 1861 the Two Sicilies found itself annexed into the new Kingdom of Italy. The family then went into exile, still claiming the throne, and styling themselves as princes or princesses.
Currently, the position of the head of the house is disputed between the senior Spanish-affiliated Calabrian line and the junior Castrian line; the lot is believed to belong to the latter, led by the claimant Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro.
The current family of the Castrian Line of The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Like most defunct European royal lines who still have immense wealth, the members of the house often find themselves in the upper echelons of European high society. Duke Carlos’ wife, Princess Camilla, and their daughters have often found themselves the center of programming that focuses on the luxury and wealth of Europeans, as well as the subject of tabloids.
The lot is being put up for sale by the family’s trust and Patrick L. Abraham, a close associate of Princess Camilla, who was interviewed regarding the Princess' legal disputes with her sister, and their inheritance.
The coat of arms of The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies