Since the Kunsthandlung Julius Böhler first exhibited at TEFAF in 1993 time has flown by. This year Julius Böhler looks back on thirty-two successful fine art fairs in Maastricht. At the same time this will be
its last appearance at TEFA.
It is not easy to say farewell but Florian Eitle-Böhler will maintain his links to the art trade and will gladly make his expertise and extensive contacts available to private collectors in the future as well.
This year at TEFAF Julius Böhler is presenting an exceptional work of art that has a close connection with the Böhler family history: the so-called
‘Böhler Madonna’. It is a figure of the Virgin and Child created c. in 1313 by Giovanni Pisano (c. 1248 Pisa – 1318 Siena), court sculptor to Emperor Henry VII, and restored around 1490, probably by Benedetto da Maiano (1442 Maiano near Fiesole – 1497 Florence). This extraordinarily rare and precious figure has been in the family’s ownership for 120 years.
In 1904, Julius Böhler, Florian Eitle-Böhler’s great-great-grandfather, acquired the Madonna at an auction in Brussels. At that time, the estate of the major Belgian art collector, Léon de Somzée (1837–1901), was put up for sale. Back then, the figure, that had been in Somzée’s possession since the 1860s, was still considered to be the work of an unknown artist. Professor Max Seidel, the internationally recognised expert on Giovanni Pisano, solved the exciting mystery surrounding the attribution of the sculpture. Professor Seidel’s comprehensive study on this work has been published to coincide with TEFAF.
Link zum eBook
TEFAF Maastricht, MECC Maastricht, booth 212/214
Thursday 7 & Friday 8 March (for personal invitation holders)
Saturday 9 – Thursday 14 March 2024
Opening times: 11 am – 7 pm
