Vittorio Matteo Corcos, 1859-1933, born into a Jewish family, he was an Italian painter, known for his portraits. Many of Corcos' paintings depicted young men but above all attractive and finely dressed women, in moments of rest and leisure. He moved to Paris from 1880 to 1886 as well as dedicating himself to painting he also collaborated on newspaper illustrations. But they were also the years in which female traits earned him the appellation of «peintre des jolies femmes». In 1881 he exhibited the painting at the Salon At the brasserie. Returning to Florence, he became friends with Telemaco Signorini, Silvestro Lega, Giovanni Pascoli and Renato Fucini, but continued to paint almost exclusively portraits. In 1904, he traveled to Potsdam to paint Emperor Wilhelm II and other members of the German monarchy. He also painted portraits of Mussolini (1928); Countess Annina Morosini; Countess Nerina Volpi MacCandlish; Doctor Leye. Furthermore: Portrait of Alice Barley; Portrait of Madame Jerville; Portrait of Margherita of Savoy; Portrait of Garibaldi; Portrait of Giosuè Carducci; Portrait of Queen Amalia; Self Portrait; Arab in prayer; Wounded Nero; Honeymoon; The print lover; The anniversary; Brown fairy; Blonde fairy; Spring; The Princess of Piedmont at Racconigi Castle (1932).
Investment judgment ⭐️⭐️⭐️ But how much is his work worth? His favorite works on the market are certainly the "finely" female portraits, where the value holds over time, just look at the recent awards published below and the latest reported dating back to 2013. He was a painter who created many works, consequently on the market we find several female and male portraits of different pictorial quality, so it is not difficult to find some with estimates even under 10 thousand euros, but often remain unsold. Therefore it is always useful to evaluate the purchase of good quality paintings, while the passage in auction over time is proof of a good investment only on the most interesting works. Landscapes and male portraits – if not strongly characterized by a meaning or a precise provenance – are not very appreciated by current collectors who less prefer XNUMXth century art.
However, he remains a 800th century painter who will be able to re-evaluate himself again compared to others of the same period, provided that we are dealing with female portraits characterized by quality and pleasantness.
Hammer price: €55.000 Price including charges: €68.750 Starting price: €12.000 Estimate: €15.000 – €20.000 XNUMXth century paintings 02/02/2021Pandolfini Casa d'AsteFirenze, Signed and dated -90 lower left.
Clearing price: €33.225 (£30.000) Price including charges: €41.863 (£37.800) Estimate: €33.225 – €55.375 (£30.000 – £50.000) European & British Art. From 02/12/2020 to 09/12/2020 Online AuctionSotheby'sUnited Kingdom. Signed dated “V. Corcos / 89” top rightOrigin: Private collection, GermanyCondition: The canvas has been relined. There is a pattern of hairline craquelure overall, and the paint surface has a somewhat abraded appearance. Ultra-violet light reveals numerous spots and strokes of retouching, notably in the background, and some spots in the figure's arms, chest, and hair.
Clearing price: €468.107 ($550.000) Price including charges: €585.133 ($687.500) Estimate: €425.551 – €595.772 ($500.000 – $700.000) European Art Part I 15/10/2020 Christie's New York, States. Signed and dated 'V. corcos/96.' bottom right. Provenance: Anonymous salt; Sotheby's, London, 17 November 1993, lot 229, as Waiting by the Fountain. with Richard Green, London. Acquired directly from the above by the present owner, November 1994.
Hammer price: €11.000 Price including charges: €13.860 Estimate: €8.000 – €15.000 Antique and XNUMXth century art 12/12/2019 Capitolium Auction House Brescia BS, Italy. Signed lower right Origin: Former Edmond Vigny Collection, Geneva; private collection, Verona.
Hammer price: €140.000 Price including charges: €175.000 Estimate: €80.000 – €120.000Treasures Found - Impressionist and modern masterpieces from an important private collection 29/10/2019 Pandolfini Auction House Milan, Italy. Signed “De Nittis” lower rightNotes: A. Malinverni, in Corcos. Dreams of the Belle Époque, exhibition catalog (Palazzo Zabarella, Padua, 6 September – 14 December 2014) edited by I. Taddei, F. Mazzocca, C. Sisi, Venice 2014, p. 100; pp. 191-192 no. 43 Origin: London, AE Vaughan Collection, Esquire London, Red Cross Charity Sale, 1943 Christie's, London, 1975 Exposure: corcos. The dreams of the Belle Epoque, Palazzo Zabarella, Padua, 6 September – 14 December 2014, n. 43.
Clearing price: €9.000 Estimate: €10.000 – €15.000Authors of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries 16/02/2019 Pananti Gallery Auction House Florence, Italy. Signed and dated lower right.
Clearing price: €180.000. Price including charges: €222.600 Estimate: €200.000 – €300.000 Gemälde des 19. Jahrhunderts 24/10/2018 DorotheumVienna, Austria Signed dated 'V. Corcos 83' Origin: Acquired by Theo van Gogh for Goupil & Cie, which renamed itself Boussod, Valadon & Cie in 1884, Paris; Charles Field Haseltine, Philadelphia; Acquired by the grandfather of the current owner in the 1960s; Private Collection, Italy.
Clearing price: €49.287 (£42.000) Price including charges: €61.344 (£52.275) Estimate: €8.214 – €11.735 (£7.000 – £10.000)19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN ART 06/06/2013 Christie's London. Signed.
Hammer price: €90.000 Price including charges: €110.100 GEMALDE DES 19. JAHRHUNDERTS 16/10/2013 Dorotheum Vienna, Austria Signed “V. corcos".
Cover image: detail. In the work "The Goodbye" perhaps less known than others of hers, an elegant and refined woman is depicted in a white dress with a hat, gloves and umbrella. Her rosy-skinned face already turns its gaze elsewhere, almost hinting at the train of her thoughts that are taking their leave from that place with serenity, still lingering a little longer, before going, resting lightly on a chair the bent knee. In the distance we can sense the presence of a boat, from the black smoke puffing from the chimney, which will take the elegant lady away from those places across the sea.
