A newly discovered painting, David with the Head of Goliath by Jacopo Vignali, was one of the stand-out lots at Bonhams' Old Master Paintings sale in London today (17 December) achieving £162,750. The top lot was A Battle of the Third Anglo Dutch War, probably the London at the Battle of the Texel, August 1673, a particularly dramatic and large-scale composition by Willem van de Velde the Younger, which sold for an impressive £275,250 against an estimate of £60,000-80,000.
The sale made a total of £2,021750.
Bonhams Director of Old Master Painting Andrew McKenzie said, "David with the Head of Goliath represents the height of Vignali's achievement. The theatrical and powerful work presents both an exceptional composition, and a delicate crafting of the subject. This was a very exciting find and I'm pleased it achieved such a great result. We are also delighted to have set a new auction record for a work on paper by George Romney, one of the most highly regarded British artists of the 18th century."
The Biblical story of how the shepherd boy David slew the mighty giant Goliath with a well-aimed shot from his sling has long appealed to religious and secular audiences alike as an example of the little man defeating the odds. In David with the Head of Goliath, painted in 1624, Vignali put a contemporary interpretation on the subject, marrying rich and colourful fabrics with the innovative pictorial drama that Caravaggio had recently made popular throughout Italy.
The sale also saw a new auction record for a work on paper by the artist George Romney. Cimon and Iphigenia (recto); and Three Lapland Witches (verso), achieved £87,750 against an estimate of £20,000-30,000.
Other highlights of the sale include:
• The Adoration of the Magi by a follower of Carlo Saraceni. Sold for £212,750 against estimate of £5,000-7,000.
• Tuscan School, 16th Century. Recto: Saint Jerome in Penitence; Verso: Landscape with Further Studies of Three Children. Sold for £181,500 against an estimate of £5000-7000.
• East Bergholt Common by John Constable R.A. (Suffolk 1776-1837 Hampstead). Sold for £100,250. (Estimate: £80,000-120,000).
• School of Seville, circa 1630-1660, Still life with a knife resting on an earthenware jug, a copper cauldron beside a tin plate with a slice of bacon on a stone step, with three oranges, two pig's trotters, a mortar and pestle and a small paper packet, probably containing spices, on a stone table. Sold for £87,750. (Estimate: £50,000-70,000).