At the auction of Gonnelli in Florence, the sale dedicated to Ancient, Modern and Contemporary Art recorded strong interest: 666 lots, 75% sold, and a total of €520,000.
How did the Gonnelli auction in Florence conclude?
The auction of Gonnelli was spread over three days and showed broad demand, with results distributed across multiple categories and price ranges. The average increase compared to estimates reached 180%, a figure that confirms the resilience of the auction market.
The highest lot was Giardino delle rose by Galileo Chini (lot 378), awarded at €27,940 against an estimate of €15,000. The work, created for the tea room of Caffè Donnini in Florence, attracted strong interest for its historical and artistic value.
Which results stood out among ancient prints and paintings?
In the sector of ancient prints, several passages stood out. La Temperanza by Philips Galle started at €380 and reached €5,588. Campus Martius, in two volumes, estimated at €6,000, reached €12,700, while the complete series of Paestum reached €15,240 from a base of €6,000.
Moreover, the four volumes of Antichità romane, second edition of 1784, in gray editorial binding from the Piranesi printing house, closed at €25,400 against an estimate of €20,000. Among the ancient paintings, Apollo scortica Marsia, by an anonymous author of the 18th century (lot 116), rose from €320 to €4,318 after an intense bidding.
That said, a good result was also achieved by the Taccuino of Overbeck (lot 131), awarded at €6,096 from an estimate of €4,800. In cartography, the most contested lot was number 175: a large cadastre of the Gherardesca family’s properties in the territories of Bolgheri, Castagneto, and Castiglioncello. The price rose from €4,000 to €16,510.
How did modern art, futurism, and contemporary perform?
Among modern prints, Torero I by Bernard Buffet (lot 242) reached €1,270 from €300. Bovi al carro (Maremma) by Giovanni Fattori (lot 262) rose to €1,524 from €500, while Natura morta by Giorgio Morandi (lot 286) stopped at €3,810 from €2,000.
Moreover, good results came from the engravings of Félicien Rops, presented in the exhibition visitable until May 29. Lot 304, with 3 engravings from the portfolio Les Sataniques, was sold for €1,651 against an estimate of €300. Lot 306, with 4 erotic-themed engravings, reached €1,524 from €180.
Staying in the same segment, lot 311, with 2 engravings from Les Diaboliques, reached €1,143 from €240. Lot 313, La vice supreme, rose to €1,079 from €150. For modern painting, Pietro Annigoni achieved €11,430 with Autoritratto of 1982 (lot 338), starting from €5,500.
Among other positive outcomes are Testina di bambino con Cappuccio rosso by Silvestro Lega (lot 440), accompanied by an autograph authentication by Llewelyn Lloyd, which went from €3,800 to €5,080. A good performance also for lot 494, Studio per un’illustrazione della novella Devi Enna by Guido da Verona e Busto, and for Busto by Mario Sironi, from 1926, sold for €6,096 from an estimate of €4,800.
In the Futurism sector, Motociclista futurista by Enzo Benedetto (lot 519), awarded at €1,651 from an estimate of €300, and Automobili rossa e blu in corsa by Federico Seneca (lot 530), rose to €2,413 from €1,200.
What emerges from the contemporary section and comics?
The section of contemporary art confirmed solid resilience. Mr Dob, a vinyl sculpture by Takashi Murakami (lot 596), rose from €200 to €1,651. Also good was Due strisce by Riccardo Guarneri (lot 573), which went from €1,800 to €2,286.
Moreover, Porte napolitaine by Ernest Pignon-Ernest (lot 608) grew from €1,500 to €3,048. Senza titolo by Carol Rama (lot 612) reached €1,905 from €1,200, while La vittora by Jean Tinguely (lot 618) closed at €1,397 from an estimate of €800.
In the sector of original boards for comics, animation, advertising, and cartoons, the works signed by Benito Jacovitti stood out. Ebbene che hai fatto? Ti sei bisticciata? (lot 632), with an anthropomorphized marine environment, went from €300 to €2,286. Panoramica: tempi moderni (lot 633), from 1939, the year in which the author, at sixteen, published his first panorama in Il Brivido, rose from €480 to €2,540.
Finally, Divina Commedia, Inferno (lot 634) reached €3,302 from an estimate of €480. Overall, the Florentine sale showed a wide range of offerings, selective interest, and results distributed across the entire chronological arc, from ancient prints to contemporary production.
Image: Jean Tinguely, La vittora, Courtesy asta Gonnelli
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
