Stolen Art DealerA very wide battle scene in earth colours: cavalry clash and troops charge on the left and in the centre before a fortified town, while on the right Asola's envoys present a standard to the Venetian governor.
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Catalogue No. 1808 · Christie's · London
The Siege of Asola
About $2.8 million in today’s money: 32 years of the typical US household’s income. Source
- Artist
- Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, 1519-1594)
- Title
- The Siege of Asola
- Date
- mid-1540s
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 198.2 x 469 cm (78 x 184 1/2 in.)
The Siege of Asola is a very wide oil on canvas, about two metres high and 4.7 metres across, by Jacopo Tintoretto. Christie's says it has been dated to the mid-1540s. Cavalry clash and troops charge across the left and centre before a fortified town, in earth colours. On the right, envoys from Asola present a standard to the Venetian governor. An inscription refers to a decree of 12 October 1518.
The painting was once in the Palazzo Giovanelli in Venice and later with Contini Bonacossi in Florence. By 1969 it was in the Stanley Moss collection in New York, and by 1982 in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection. It was on loan to the Brooklyn Museum from 1983 to 1989, and to the Muzeum Narodowe in Poznan from 2002 to 2014.
Christie's sold it in London on 8 July 2014, as lot 42 of the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale, with proceeds to benefit the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation. The estimate was £500,000 to £800,000. It sold for £1,142,500, or $1,955,960 including the buyer's premium, according to Christie's results.
The sale
- Auction house
- Christie's, London
- Date
- 8 July 2014
- Lot
- 42
- Estimate
- GBP 500,000-800,000
- Sold for
- $2 million (including buyer’s premium) · GBP 1,142,500
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Provenance
undated
Palazzo Giovanelli, Venice
undated
Contini Bonacossi, Florence
by 1969
Stanley Moss Collection, New York
by 1982
The Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection
1983-1989
New York, Brooklyn Museum, on loan
2002-2014
Poznan, Muzeum Narodowe, on loan
2014-07-08
Sold Christie's, London, Old Master & British Paintings Evening Sale, lot 42 (Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection, proceeds to benefit the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation)
Sources
- Christie's lot page: Jacopo Robusti, called Jacopo Tintoretto, The Siege of Asola
- Christie's press: Results, Old Master & British Paintings Evening Sale, 8 July 2014 (sale 1537)
Prices include the buyer’s premium, in US dollars at the time of sale, unless marked as a hammer price.