Fine Art

A French Old Master drawing, a 20th century work by a specialist animal painter and an American Abstract Expressionist work were among the pictures that have performed strongly in auctions across the German regions and in Austria recently.

Two versions of Edgar Degas’ (1834-1917) statue of Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans exist. The traditionally recognised example, one bronze of which stands in the Tate Modern, was the only one known for many years and is a posthumous cast of Degas’ wax sculpture.

With this year marking the centenary of the sculptor’s death, Auguste Rodin is much in the news. While the Grand Palais in Paris is marking the event with a major exhibition, Fraysse et Associés sold a 2ft 1in (64cm) high lifetime cast bronze figural group for €1.55m (£1.35m) at Drouot on March 22.

Technology has replicated the Dutch master’s work in a move the artist might have welcomed.

Two exhibitions mark the 25th anniversary of Welsh art specialist Martin Tinney Gallery.

It may have been under 2in (5cm) high, but a tiny ink drawing by Aubrey Beardsley sold for a sizeable $10,000 (£8000) in a sale of Illustration Art held by Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in New York on March 21.

Tornabuoni Art London’s upcoming exhibition Recto/Verso, which runs from April 20-June 17, offers visitors a chance to see more of Italian post-war art than ever before.

Shown here is one of 25 coloured litho plates that illustrate Sir Charles Doyly’s Views of Calcutta and its Environs, a large folio work published in 1848.

Making its third saleroom appearance in 30-odd years, the portrait in oils of Isaac Newton shown here is one of at least a dozen made in his lifetime.

A painting from the early career of French artist Auguste Herbin (1882-1960) appeared on the market for the first time in nearly a century at Gildings’ Market Harborough salerooms on March 28.

Salisbury is latest auction house finding a sense of optimism despite some patchy areas

A good mix of traditional and modern pictures drew decent bidding at Mallams’ (20% buyer’s premium) on March 16.

Demand for the delicate 20th century dynamic prints of the Grosvenor School has softened since the string of recordbreaking sales and prices taking place several years ago.

This 17th century Hispano Filipino sculpture of the dying Christ will feature in the next auction at Anteo Subastas in San Sebastián in Spain on April 25.

On March 30 Nagel in Stuttgart is devoting a specialist sale to modern and contemporary art from the collection of Roland Hänssel, who founded the art publishing house Manus Presse in 1961.

Balthasar Van der Ast (c.1593-1657) is considered by many to be one of the most important Dutch still-life painters of the 17th century.