Crazy For... Grisaille

photo: Roger Davies for Elle Decor
Suzanne Rheinstein's beautiful new book, At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past, contains many pictures of her fabulous New York pied-a-terre, pictured above. Interest in the book has, in turn, sparked a renewed interest in a very old, and to the Auction Addict's mind, very beautiful technique, known as grisaille.

Battesimo Della Gente, by Andrea del Sarto, 1511-1526

Hieronymus Bosch, Christ Carrying the Cross,
 1495-1515

Grisaille, pronounced "griz-eye," is a term for painting in monochrome, or near monochrome, colors. It really came into its own during the Renaissance, where artists such as Andrea del Sarto began to use the technique in frescos. Often times, grisaille will be used for the background, in order to further minimize it and give the foreground figures added prominence. To my mind, however, pure grisaille is pure bliss.

Grisaille, the most common type of monochromatic painting, refers to a shades of gray, but there is also brunaille, shades of brown, and verdaille, shades of green. An example of the latter appears below. Careful examination of all of these techniques shows much a more nuanced palette than the name implies. as evidenced in Bosch's painting, left.

But, Auction Addict, what is the point of all of this information,you might be wondering. How does this help me? I just want to bid! Patience, my dearlings, the tutorial is nearly over. I provide all this background simply, because I believe that one appreciates ones accoutrements much more when one knows their provenance. And so, after a few more historical examples...

Ingres, Odalisque en Grisaille, 1824-1834, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

including the Ingres, above, which is right at my dear Metropolitan Museum in New York (go, go!), and the aforementioned verdaille, sure to delight any

Jean Baptiste Pillement (1728-1808), A Procession of Figures
 Riding on Elephants with Temples Beyond

chinoiserie fans, right...


















and a few other contemporary ones...

photo: Max Kim-Bee

Veranda magazine's May, 2011 issue features Furlow Gatewood's Georgian house with its grisaille wallpaper panel, left.

Michael S. Smith, Houses

Designer Michael Smith ensures that a small guest room has maximum impact by enveloping the space with grisaille Zuber wallpaper.







Without further ado, let's get to examples of grisaille that you can bid on right now!

English Colonial School, Under the Gazebo, 19th c,
 at auction May 21st.

First up, is a charming grisaille watercolor that also has, to my mind, a breath of the Orient about it, at auction on May 21st by the Crescent City Auction Gallery in New Orleans, with an estimate of $125-150.

Next up, a grisaille woodblock by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957),

Kawase Hasui, grisaille woodblock, at auction
May 21st.

a prolific Japanese printmaker, which is up for bidding on May 21st through Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati, with an estimate $500-700.

If all these exceed the budget in this tightpurse times, consider the next set of work, a pair of Japanese landscapes printed on fabric, also offered by Crescent City Auction Gallery on May 21st with a smile inducing estimate of $100-200, starting bid of $50. Just look at those chic red frames. (The work has a bit more color than a true grisaille, but hopefully you won't begrudge me this offering.)

Japanese School, Landscape Scenes, 20th c, at auction May 21st.

18th century Chinese export porcelain bowl,
at auction June 9th.

Grisaille does not necessarily mean painting. Porcelain works are often done by artists en grisaille, to beautiful effect.


















This stunning Chinese export porcelain bowl, up for auction at William Bunch Auctions and Appraisals, in Chadds Ford, PA on June 9th, is decorated en grisaille with gold accents and is circa 1730-1740. The estimate is $400-600. (Note that they have several more pieces available as well.)

Speaking of gilt, I'm in love with these opulent French Empire lamps en grisaille with scenes from Robinson Crusoe, being offered by Jackson's Auctions in Iowa on May 25th (estimate $400-600) and wish I had the boudoir to merit them (not that that has stopped me before).

French Empire lamps en Grisaille, at auction May 25th.

I think this series of eight landscapes, offered by Brunk Auctions in North Carolina on May 29th with an estimate of $600-800, is absolutely stunning and would really make a room.

Eight 19th century landscapes, at auction May 29th.

On eBay, there's lots of pricy grisaille and lots of bad grisaille, but I did find this chic Victorian watercolor being offered by billspics out of Britain with a "Buy It Now" price of ~ $96 plus ~ $11 shipping.

19th c Victorian watercolor on eBay.

And finally, for those collectors with a generous purse and modern sensibilities, there is this wonderful Alex Katz lithograph, entitled Gray Umbrella, 1979-1980, being auctioned by Phillips de Pury & Co on June 8th, with an estimate of $2-3,000. Grisaille lives on!

Alex Katz, Gray Umbrella, 1979-1980, at auction June 8th.