Fine art went viral this week with the opening of an exhibition of old masters at Victoria Beckham's clothing shop in London. In case you're thinking this is some sort of virtual-reality prank, it really isn't. Fourteen seriously valuable paintings by such renowned artists at Peter Paul Rubens and Lucas Cranach the Elder were taken from Sotheby's and hung on the walls of the Mayfair emporium for five days, ahead of the old masters evening sale at the London auction house next week.
Marketing genius or celebrity tackiness? I’m inclined to think the former. “The exhibition juxtaposes the classical appeal of old masters with the modern aesthetic of the Dover Street boutique, showcasing this long-established genre of art in a new light,” Sotheby’s says.
Certainly the shop has been as carefully curated as any contemporary gallery. Designed by Farshid Moussavi, it features white walls, polished-concrete floors, a beetle-shell-green glass wall in the changingroom, a series of cabinets all made from a single American walnut tree, and a heart-shaped Damien Hirst in the VIP personal-shopping area.
But what does all that have to do with old masters? As Beckham explains, "It was my first visit to the Frick in New York last year that really opened my eyes to old masters and is where my fascination began. To have now been given the opportunity to start to learn about them . . . and have these portraits hanging within my retail space is literally a dream come true. I hope their installation in such a contemporary setting is as inspiring to my customers as it is to me."
Indeed. Gorgeous photographs of Beckham in front of the canvases, sporting a beautifully draped green gown, will doubtless inspire some of those customers to hop over to Sotheby's and bag themselves an accessorising masterpiece. Rubens's Portrait of a Venetian Nobleman (worth an estimated €3.5 million to €4.5 million), say. Or Cranach the Elder's Portrait of a Man with a Spotted Fur Collar (€1.7 million-€2.3 million).
Or, if they're a bit strapped for cash, Portrait of a Lady in Profile from the circle of Leonardo da Vinci, on offer for a mere €230,000-€340,000. (Actually, if you hurry, Beckham's spring-summer ready-to-wear collection is on sale, at 50 per cent off.)
Old-master portraits may be among the most prestigious works in the fine-art world, but they’re often not the prettiest. Hence the brilliance of juxtaposing them with the world of social media and its often cruel portrayal of celebrities – not least Beckham herself.
In addition, the best portrait painters capture not only how sitters perceive themselves but also how they wish to be perceived. Which, however you choose to look at it, is the very definition of a selfie.
“Portraiture,” says the Sotheby’s old-master specialist Chloe Stead, “is a genre of art the appeal of which has endured throughout the centuries, so it’s great to be able to shine a spotlight on all the tremendous history and romance that can be wrapped up in a single face.”
Speaking of which, the designer’s husband – a bit of an old master himself – turned up at the opening of the Dover Street exhibition. Victoria and David Beckham were duly photographed in front of the masterpieces in a pair of slick matching suits.
Now where did they get that idea? Oh yes. Earlier this month Beyoncé and her hubby, Jay-Z, shot the video for their new single as The Carters, Apeshit, at the Louvre in Paris, posing in front of the Mona Lisa in his-and-hers pink-and-blue ensembles. Leonardo must have been horrified. And that's da Vinci, not DiCaprio.
Sotheby's is holding its old-masters evening sale on Wednesday, July 4th, at 7pm, at its auction room on New Bond Street in London; sothebys.com
