London-based Old Master and Early British Paintings Specialist Alexis Ashot on what to look out for.

 

The phrase was originally used by British contemporary artists and writers of the 18th century – people like Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and JMW Turner, who were “Young British Artists” of their day – to describe the earlier artists they admired: van Eyck, Titian Botticelli, da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt, to name just a few.

 

There has been a noticeable rise in demand for the Renaissance period – 15th/16th-century artists such as Botticelli, Bellini, and da Vinci – and for the Northern European School, like Brueghel and Cranach.

 

Invest in a good book on the subject, visit museums to see what you like, then come to an Old Masters preview at Christie’s! And don’t be afraid to buy – whatever your level, this is a relatively safe place to invest.

 

There’s scope for treasure hunting and making “discoveries.” There are major artists who are waiting to be reassessed – as Vermeer once was, having lain almost completely forgotten for 200 years until his “rediscovery” in 1868.

 

 

PIETER BRUEGHEL II (1564/65-1637/38), THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI IN THE SNOW, OIL ON OAK PANEL TRANSFERRED ONTO CANVAS, LAID DOWN, 14½ X 22 ¾ IN (36.7 X 57.7 CM), CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD 2015

‘Trophy’ has become the new buzz-word in luxury real estate. According to the latest issue of Luxury Defined—our recently released study on the global prime property market—more properties than ever before were both sold and listed for sale at US$100 million or higher in 2014. As the number of billionaires globally reached new heights, so too did the price benchmarks for their trophy homes, as the world’s most affluent focused more and more on acquiring “collectible” residential assets in prized locations. At the less stratospheric price segments, the overall global luxury real estate market experienced steady growth in 2014, with US$1 million plus home sales up by an average of 16 percent year on year.

 

Now in its third year, Luxury Defined not only examines the world’s top 10 cities for prime property, but also analyzes an additional 70 key regional markets, exploring the dynamics and drivers shaping the globe’s high-end real estate market. Key findings from the white paper furthermore revealed that second home resort markets were red hot in 2014, leading the growth in luxury property sales, indicating an across-the-board recognition among high-net-worth individuals in the fundamental value of prime property ownership.

ALESSIO BONI, IWAN BAAN