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| TEFAF + Nouveau Amsterdam + Rotterdam Modern By Augustus Mayhew Today's Amsterdam and Rotterdam present two diverse urban approaches, however much the fate of both cities has been the upshot of World War II. Amsterdam was spared the concentrated bombing that destroyed much of Rotterdam's traditional building heritage. Even so, less than monumental Art Nouveau-Art Deco style buildings have been too often disregarded in favor of the more Dutch traditions. While in Rotterdam, the high-rise capital of The Netherlands, where nearly half the population is non-Dutch and more than 150 languages are spoken, glass-and-steel canyons make for Blade Runner-like street scenes. But before a look at Nouveau Amsterdam and Modern Rotterdam, and as the sound of the most often heard Dutch cant "Yeah-Yeah-Yeah" echoes in my mind, here is the most recent tally from TEFAF at Maastricht and my jaunt to the renovated Rijksmuseum. TEFAF @ Maastricht 14 March-23 March 2014 As we drove by the Maastricht airport, I noticed a dozen or more private jets on the runway, waiting perhaps for the €1.4 million Buddha statue to be crated or the Breughel the Elder painting to be wrapped. None of the jets appeared large enough to accommodate the de Gaulle desk from Galerie Downtown, Paris, that unconfirmed reports have placed with a prominent buyer from Greenwich-Palm Beach. I found a reluctance for some of TEFAF's dealers to utter a syllable about the details of a transaction. When I returned to the Laue-Mehringer Benapi stand to gather details on the spiral-designed Venetian glass plate, the sales clerk informed me it had sold and she could no longer share the price, the terms, or the identity of the buyer. The mystery of just how many masterpieces sold for how much remains unknown. That is, until next year, when TEFAF's more than 275 exhibitors converge in Maastricht and display their wares for what will undoubtedly again be heralded as the world's most beautiful and momentous art fair. |
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| Here are a few of the official reported sales: During the past several days, sales in the antiques section, the largest and most eclectic division at TEFAF, were described as "plentiful." The Met secured a c. 1690 parcel-gilt ostrich ewer with its basin from J. Kugel Antiquaires, Paris. A private collector bought a pair of 17th-century globes by Willem Blaue from Daniel Crouch Rare Books, London, that will be exhibited at the Rijksmuseum. Galerie Kevorkian, Paris, reported the sale of a portrait of a Safavid Nobleman, by Shaykh 'Abbas, which was the subject of bidding by two museums. Aronson Antiquairs, Amsterdam, reported the sale of a pyramidal flower Delft flower vase, c. 1690, for a high five-figure sum to the National Gallery of Victoria, the oldest public museum in Australia. In the paintings section, The Weiss Gallery, London, reported a number of deals including one if its highlights, a signed oil-on-panel painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515-1586) titled Lucretia, c. 1537-1540, asking price of €2 million euros. A small canvas by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875), painted c. 1826-1827, titled Ruins of the Claudian Aqueduct, Rome was sold by Daxer & Marschall, Munich. Douwes Fine Art, Amsterdam, sold View of Lausanne, c.1870, by Matthijs Maris (1839-1917) to The Gemeentemuseum, The Hague. The director of the museum, Benno Tempel, declined to give the price but commented, "Nobody knew where this picture was, and I found it here, at TEFAF." A life-time bronze cast, 1950, titled Piccolo Cavallo by the Italian sculptor Mario Marini (1901-1980) was sold by Landau Fine Art. |
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| Amsterdam |
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| Rjiksmuseum Museumstraat,1 |
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| Several weeks ago, I had arranged a confirmed 3 p.m. photo/press appointment at the Rijksmuseum. When I arrived, the reception desk was unaware of the appointment, although I showed them my confirmation and identification. They would not call or e-mail or text the person who had arranged the appointment. They would not allow me to speak with the museum's press/marketing/media staff. After more than 15 minutes, I felt as if they were going to have security guards usher me out of the building for being an imposter. The next day, when I was already in Maastricht, I received an apology from the museum's public relations/marketing department, inviting me to drop by the next time I was in Amsterdam. In Maastricht, I spoke with two other press who also had similar tales from the Rijksmuseum. The "reception" staff's harsh unyielding tone gave way to a quaint sense that I had arrived at Fawlty Towers. |
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| Nouveau Amsterdam Amsterdam American Hotel, 1898-1900 Leidsekade 97, Leidseplein W. Kromhout & W. G. Jansen, architects. |
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| Theater Tuschinski, 1918- 1921 Regulierbreestraat, Rembrandtsplein H. L. deJong, architect |
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| Grand Hotel Amrath, 1913 Het Scheepvaarthuis - The Shipping House. Van der Meij, architect. Shipping House offices to Amrath Hotel conversion, Ray Kentie, architect. |
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| Rotterdam Modern SS Rotterdam 1959 |
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| Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, 1935 Museumpark 18-20 |
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| Chabot Museum, 1938 Museumpark 11 G. W. Baas and L. Stokla, architects |
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| Sonneveld House, 1933 Brinkmann & van der Vlugt, architect |
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| NAI-Netherlands Architecture Institute, 1993 Het Nieuwe Instituut, Museumpark 25 www.hetnieuweinstituuut.nl Jo Coenen, architect |
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| Museumpark, 1991-1992 Rem Koolhaas/OMA architect |
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| Kunsthal, 1992 Rem Koolhaas/OMA architect. |
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| Rotterdam Modern |
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| KPN Telcom Tower, 2000 Renzo Piano, architect Light installation, Studio Dumbar |
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| De Rotterdam, 2013 Rem Koolhaas/OMA architect |
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| Holland-America Line, 1901-1903 J. Muller, Droogleever Fortuin & C.B. van der Tak, architects Hotel New York, 1993 |
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| Photographs by Augustus Mayhew. Augustus Mayhew is the author ofLost in Wonderland – Reflections on Palm Beach. |