Big-name European galleries use China’s art expo as platform for new exposure

 

Jan hagemann (right) at Hans Hagemann China Gallery in Beijing. Photo provided by Jan Hagemann

 

By Chu Meng

The 2010 Beijing International Art Expo, featuring high-end art pieces brought by hundreds of international and Chinese galleries, opened yesterday at the China World Trade Center.

The owner of Germany’s Hagemann Gallery, famous for its classical European oil paintings, displayed the masterpiece “La Route de Verrieres,” by Alfred Sisley at 30 million yuan,  it is the most valuable item at the Expo.

The son of the owner, Jan Hagemann, opened his family gallery’s China branch in Beijing in 2006. Since, he has commanded high prices for his family’s collection of classical and original Western oil paintings from the 17th to 19th century.

“The Beijing International Art Expo has proven to be a valuable platform for both world collectors and galleries,” Hagemann said.

As faithful participants in every Chinese art fair of the last four years, Hagemann knows such events are ideal for international collectors and galleries seeking to enter China’s collection market.

The Hagemann family became famous in Germany thanks to Jan’s father’s Flemish school and French impressionist collections. Most collections feature works from world famous artists such as Rubens Peter Paul, Anthony Van Dyck and Rembrandt HaImensz van Rijin.

“But what makes Hagemann special is the way my father started his collection,” Jan said.

His father, Hans, was an avid hunter who kept taxedermied trophies on the walls of the family living room. However, his mother was none too pleased with the creatures and convinced Hans to go to the art gallery and pick out something more tasteful.

At the local gallery, Hans immediately fell in love with “Still Life of Fruits and Flowers” by 18th century Dutch painter Jan van Os. Deer heads and other specimens were soon replaced by classical paintings.

“I opened the Hagemann Gallery in Beijing to bring big-name works collected by the family to China to expose them to a broader audience,” Jan said. “It was a challenge to bring our first famous work by Camille Corot here. [But] the appreciation was overwhelming.”

Jan is also interested in exchanging oil paintings. He has fallen in love with the Chinese arts, and is currently completing renovations of an ancient castle near Cologne, Germany, that will become a center for Chinese art.