Lost Luna, plus works from young masters in Christie's auction
Christie’s, the world’s leading art business and the leading auction house in Asia, announces that “Las Damas Romanas (Roman Maidens)” by Juan Luna will be among the leading highlights in the upcoming fall sale of Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art on Nov. 30.
This extraordinary work was until only recently presumed lost as its whereabouts were unknown over a century since it was painted. Its reappearance on the market now makes it one of only a small number of drawings, watercolors and oils by Luna that have surfaced in the past quarter of a century.
An important example of his early work, “Las Damas Romanas” was painted in 1882 while Luna was a student of the Spanish Academy in Rome and was completed between his prize-winning works “Death of Cleopatra” that won a silver medal in the Madrid Exposition of 1881 and “Spoliarium” that garnered the first gold medal in the Madrid Exposition of 1884. “Las Damas Romanas” itself won a Diploma of Honor at the Munich Art Exposition of 1886.
Depicting two Roman girls sporting with their hunting dogs, with flocks of doves symbolizing the divine, this work is in essence a picture of the abundant richness of life, with humankind shown in harmony with Nature. The artist observed and sketched classical Roman architecture and artifacts as studies and this work is a culmination of these observations.
Christie’s is delighted to play a role in the recovery of “Las Damas Romanas” and is honored to present this tour de force to collectors this season. This extraordinary work will be offered alongside 120 other works of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian Modern & Contemporary Art, a category that is provides and distinctive element in the art market of Hong Kong and contributes to the full richness and flavor of the art from Asia that Christie’s offers each season.
