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PRE-RAPHAELITES TO SYMBOLISTS: IMPORTANT DRAWINGS & PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION OF HARTMUTH JUNG (LOTS 1-11)The beginning of the new millennium coincided with Hartmuth Jung’s burgeoning interest in collecting works by the Pre-Raphaelites and Symbolists. A new job in investment banking brought him to London with increasing regularity allowing him to spend his leisure hours in the city’s celebrated museums, galleries and changing exhibitions. He immersed himself in the London art scene. His new interest in art soon grew to equal his established passions for history and literature. Sadly an early interest in archaeology had had to bow to pragmatism and a degree in Business but this in turn enabled him to begin collecting. An introduction to an Art Advisor helped define his personal taste as well as his knowledge.Understanding one’s taste is always extremely important in the formation of a coherent collection. It shapes it in a much more logical and organic way, giving a sense of unity and direction. This is the underlying feeling one experiences when visiting Jung’s collection. This process was substantially helped by the collector reading around his preferred subject and understanding the historical and cultural circumstances surrounding the art works that appealed him.No collecting criteria were applied from the perspective of media: Paintings on canvas and panel, as well as works on paper, pastels, black chalk and watercolours inhabit the collection: Each selected for their individual aesthetic merit and unquestionably with the rest of the collection in mind.One exhibition that particularly influenced Jung was that of the Collection of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Royal Academy in 2003. To a newly engaged eye that exhibition must have been an extraordinary revelation given the exceptional quality of the works assembled. Painters such as Leighton, Waterhouse and Rossetti, created immensely strong impressions fascinating and beguiling him. This Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist interest in female representation was equally inspired by an exhibition that same year at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands entitled Les Femmes Fatales.In addition to viewing art works at non-commercial galleries, Hartmuth began to visit leading gallerists in the field. Auctions were also a rich vein waiting to be tapped for additions to the Collection. He mined the auction houses of England and Continental Europe, but enjoyed some of his greatest successes in Paris and America. Each purchase carefully considered, the artist studied in detail, the work placed in context and condition appraised and assessed.Although the predominant subject matter in The Jung Collection is that of the female figure, there are a variety of other subjects inspired by his love of History and Literature such as the Baierl Decameron Scene and the Ricketts Chimeras. These pictures combine quality of draughtsmanship and striking compositions with strong narrative subject matter: they command the viewer’s attention and intrigue…The quality throughout is quite remarkable, with some of the most beautiful works being drawings. One that I have always admired is unquestionably the 1873 portrait of Alexa Wilding by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. This delicate pastel on paper, perfectly combines and balances the beauty, elegance and sensuality of the subject. Interestingly, although Rossetti employed Alexa as a model extensively throughout his career - there was never an intimate liaison with her. The extraordinary sensuality of this drawing might incline the viewer to conclude otherwise!A strong sensual and erotic tension is equally apparent in the beautiful 1872 chalk drawing by Edward John Poynter, painted only a year earlier than Alexa. Chained to a rock, Andromeda gazes downwards resigned to her cruel destiny. The outstanding quality of this Master drawing is arresting, making it a particularly desirable addition to Jung’s collection – and leading him to chase it well above the pre-sale estimate when it last appeared in these Rooms in 2001.The highly talented Carlos Schwabe is represented by a work entitled La Porte d'Or, an angel-like figure painted some 30 years later in 1907. Schwabe’s miniaturist style derives from his work as an illustrator. From Emile Zola to Charles Baudelaire, he worked on many literary masterpieces enriching them with his breath-takingly beautiful illustrations. His heightened sense of colour combined with his interest in Renaissance art contribute to a distinctively personal style which is both historical and contemporary.Although Hartmuth is parting with these assembled treasures from his collection – a few of which I have detailed above, he is still collecting. A dedicated Board member of no less than three museums, he is not leaving the world of art or collecting for some new passion! On the contrary he is expanding his interest beyond the beginning of the last Century. Collecting is a vehicle that allows those lucky few who can do so to expand their knowledge of art through education, purchase and study. That is what Hartmuth Jung has been doing for nigh on two decades: so far so good!Manfredi della Gherardesca

HENRY RYLAND (BRITISH 1856-1924)

Japonica

Details

HENRY RYLAND (BRITISH 1856-1924)
Japonica
signed 'H. RYLAND' (lower left)
pencil on buff paper
17 ¾ x 11 1/8 in. (45 x 28.3 cm.)

Provenance

with Julian Hartnoll, London.
with Neville Keating, London, where purchased by the present owner.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Sarah Reynolds Specialist, Head of Sale

sareynolds@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3284

Lot Essay

Henry Ryland combined the poeticism of the Pre-Raphaelites with the sculptural dynamism of the Neo-classicists. He exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy, the New Gallery and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colour, which firmly established his position at the forefront of the group of Neo-classical painters working in watercolour. The present drawing, unusual in his oeuvre for being highly finished in pencil, was made for the Autotype Company, and intended for reproduction.

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