There are hundreds of exceptional artworks adorning the stands at TEFAF Maastricht this year. Everyone will have their own favourites, but we urge any visitor to seek out these works, which happen to be some of ours…Digby Warde-Aldam selects the first set of TEFAF Treasures
The beach at Lacco Ameno with the ‘mushroom’ at Casamicciola, Ischia (1843), Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé. Giacometti Old Master Paintings
The Beach at Lacco Ameno with the ‘Mushroom’ at Casamicciola, Ischia
Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé
Oil on canvas, 40 x 61 cm
Giacometti Old Master Paintings, Rome
On a visit to Ischia, Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé sketched out an image of a bay dominated by a distinctive, mushroom-shaped rock formation. When he returned to Paris, he completed the rest of the painting in minute detail, but deliberated on how to paint the rock. Then, stuck at an artistic impasse, he laid down his brushes and declared the picture ‘finished’. Quite accidentally, the result is a fascinating work, a statement of economy that calls to mind the blank spaces in Katsushika Hokusai’s most famous images.
Le Corbeau (The Raven)
First edition of the French translation by Stéphane Mallarmé with illustrations by Édouard Manet
Edgar Allan Poe
Librairie Thomas-Scheller – Bernard & Stéphane Clavreuil, Paris
Mallarmé’s translation of Poe’s uncanny masterpiece is a work of monumental importance to French literature. As if that wasn’t significant enough, he roped in Manet to provide the illustrations, which are just as spectacularly disturbing as the tome itself. This first edition, with the plates of Manet’s drawings in two states, is as rare as ravens’ teeth, and it’s just as lugubriously beautiful as you’d hope.
Egyptian fragment with profile of god or pharaoh (30th Dynasty-Early Ptolemaic Period, c. 350–300 BC) Charles Ede, London
Egyptian fragment with profile of god or pharaoh
30th Dynasty – Early Ptolemaic Period, c. 350–300 BC, grey fine-grained granite
Charles Ede, London
The outline of the mysterious fragment is oddly perfect, like an upturned map of South America. A near-immaculate right angle running along the brow of the head it depicts draws attention to the face. The figure’s mouth seems to be curling into a smile, the head leaning forward as if to contribute to a conversation. We can only wonder as to what story it once told.
TEFAF Maastricht is at the Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Centre from 13–22 March.
Related Articles
TEFAF Treasures: Maggie Gray
TEFAF 2015: Susan Moore previews the Maastricht fair
Beyond TEFAF: what else is there to see in the region this month?
Click here to buy the current issue of Apollo for more TEFAF highlights
TEFAF Treasures
The beach at Lacco Ameno with the ‘mushroom’ at Casamicciola, Ischia (1843), Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé. Giacometti Old Master Paintings
Share
There are hundreds of exceptional artworks adorning the stands at TEFAF Maastricht this year. Everyone will have their own favourites, but we urge any visitor to seek out these works, which happen to be some of ours…Digby Warde-Aldam selects the first set of TEFAF Treasures
The beach at Lacco Ameno with the ‘mushroom’ at Casamicciola, Ischia (1843), Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé. Giacometti Old Master Paintings
The Beach at Lacco Ameno with the ‘Mushroom’ at Casamicciola, Ischia
Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé
Oil on canvas, 40 x 61 cm
Giacometti Old Master Paintings, Rome
On a visit to Ischia, Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé sketched out an image of a bay dominated by a distinctive, mushroom-shaped rock formation. When he returned to Paris, he completed the rest of the painting in minute detail, but deliberated on how to paint the rock. Then, stuck at an artistic impasse, he laid down his brushes and declared the picture ‘finished’. Quite accidentally, the result is a fascinating work, a statement of economy that calls to mind the blank spaces in Katsushika Hokusai’s most famous images.
Le Corbeau (The Raven)
First edition of the French translation by Stéphane Mallarmé with illustrations by Édouard Manet
Edgar Allan Poe
Librairie Thomas-Scheller – Bernard & Stéphane Clavreuil, Paris
Mallarmé’s translation of Poe’s uncanny masterpiece is a work of monumental importance to French literature. As if that wasn’t significant enough, he roped in Manet to provide the illustrations, which are just as spectacularly disturbing as the tome itself. This first edition, with the plates of Manet’s drawings in two states, is as rare as ravens’ teeth, and it’s just as lugubriously beautiful as you’d hope.
Egyptian fragment with profile of god or pharaoh (30th Dynasty-Early Ptolemaic Period, c. 350–300 BC) Charles Ede, London
Egyptian fragment with profile of god or pharaoh
30th Dynasty – Early Ptolemaic Period, c. 350–300 BC, grey fine-grained granite
Charles Ede, London
The outline of the mysterious fragment is oddly perfect, like an upturned map of South America. A near-immaculate right angle running along the brow of the head it depicts draws attention to the face. The figure’s mouth seems to be curling into a smile, the head leaning forward as if to contribute to a conversation. We can only wonder as to what story it once told.
TEFAF Maastricht is at the Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Centre from 13–22 March.
Related Articles
TEFAF Treasures: Maggie Gray
TEFAF 2015: Susan Moore previews the Maastricht fair
Beyond TEFAF: what else is there to see in the region this month?
Click here to buy the current issue of Apollo for more TEFAF highlights
Want stories like this in your inbox?
Sign up today to receive Apollo highlights direct to your inbox – and be the first to know about Apollo events, special offers, and what’s in the latest issue
There’s never been a better time to subscribe to Apollo magazine. Start your subscription now with a month free plus an Apollo tote bag.
Share
More to read
How should private collectors and public museums work together?
This year’s TEFAF Art Symposium looked at an old but not unproblematic relationship
What not to miss during Asia Week New York
This may be hard to believe, but not all the best art is in Maastricht this week.
TEFAF Treasures
An early Mondrian hidden among Old Masters; Auerbach’s striking self-portrait; and a curious Collector’s Cabinet