SLEEPERS & KEEPERS
An analysis of outstanding and under-valued Old Masters that are expected to gain in worth
WINTER 2025:
HERMANN SALOMAN CORRODI (1844-1905)
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In this section, we review an artist from the world of Old Masters whom we regard as currently undervalued in terms of critical recognition and in the price of that artist's works. This is a field of research dedicated to the recovery of value; one of earth-bound foraging and mining; of buried roots and frostbitten blooms in need of exposure, light, a proper setting and permanent stewardship. It is an area of study distinct from the lofty mists and worldly ethers of the "art market report", a false and ghoulish thing that exists only in art-dabbler fantasies and corporate philanthropy departments.
There is no "art market" for Old Masters and there is no "art market research" that can predict in any meaningful way the highs and lows of this category. If you are told, for example, that Dutch 17th century painting bottomed out fifteen years ago and hasn't substantially recovered since, you will get a myriad of explanations, very clearly written with the input of astute fine art insurance agencies, as to the complex geopolitical and demographic turmoil resulting in this phenomenon, when in fact one sentence of explanation will suffice instead: we haven't seen anything exceptional since. This is the only reason Old Masters sell or they do not--the ratio of the truly exceptional to the merely excellent. The most that such costly investigations can offer are hindsight summaries of the ebb and flow of human aesthetic caprice, c'est tout. In this regard, anyone who follows the news of auction sales relatively consistently can inform themselves intelligently enough on the big picture patterns of art commerce in general. Where Old Masters are concerned specifically, it is only those erratic blockbuster sales that bring anything novel to the scene. But no stately, private bank or consultancy report of such nature has ever foreseen the direction of the Old Masters market though nearly all of them tell us, every year, on cue, that this category is dead and dying, each passing year more dead-er than the last. And yet still here we are, cartwheeling down the velvet corridors of TEFAF Amsterdam once more like we've discovered a fabulous new candy shop, a place packed with people who still dress for occasions and one hundred or so top Old Masters gallerists' stalls, exhaustively outfitted, expensively world-weary, nearly every one of them seductive in some way, and the most Wunderkammern among them doing the briskest business. This is your blessed "market": Something is really outstanding, or it is not; and if really outstanding, it is either going to sell now, or it will sell somewhat later. This is the extent to which the movements of Old Masters may predicted. The so-called Sleepers, however, occupy a different category of evaluation. For it frequently happens that a lesser-known name within the vast constellation of the Old Masters universe suddenly shoots across the market firmament with a supernova luster for reasons as mysterious as the workings of the heavens themselves. This is always unpredictable. The only measure of predicting which artist will quite likely rise in market value is if his works--on the basis of technical excellence expressing emotional force--are undervalued, and that is all. Sorolla is a good example of this. The ability to select "Sleepers" takes an educated eye and patience. advising us in this regard is a leading authority and art historian in Milan, a consultant to leading European advisors, and who holds a prestigious position as long time consigliore to a prominent Old Masters collector in Milan. This issue's selection is Hermann David Saloman Corrodi (1844-1905), who is commonly and mistakenly called an “Orientalist” painter--he is broader than that. Corrodi grew up in an artistic family, having first acquired his artistic training in his father’s studio in Geneva and subsequently at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. A very prolific artist, he received many commissions from the British and Austro-Hungarian royal families, was personally acquainted with the Queen, and was internationally acclaimed. His marriage to an Italian aristocrat allowed him to summer in Rome and spend winter in Baden-Baden where he also received numerous commissions. Corrodi was also a passionate traveler and his eclectic, luminous paintings took inspiration from the capitals of Europe to the deserts of the Middle East and Africa. 13-2014 * Corrodi’s decline in market value has taken place over roughly the last ten years; the beauty of his works remains as stunning as ever[...]" Please subscribe to continue rest of the article. 
Hermann Corrodi, Monks on Their Ascent Up Mount Athos, 1905, oil on canvas, 232 cm x 130 cm. Private Collection
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Above: Hermann Corrodi, Evening Meeting of the Fishermen at the Tavern of Mergellina in Naples, 1905, oil on canvas. Private collection
Hermann Corrodi Fishermen in a Laguna in Venice
Hermann Corrodi Caravan in a Sandstorm
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Hermann Corrodi, Evening Meeting of the Fishermen