Suppose you have a small capital in your pocket. And you go to the Tefaf for a day. It's a festive feeling: an art gift for yourself. But once inside, there's a good chance you'll be shocked. Because how to choose from 30,000 objects? In those 265 stands from renowned galleries from 20 countries: Argentina, United States, Canada, Italy, Japan? And which corner will you look in? Antiquities? Or modern, antiquarian, design? Will you go for a sculpture, a canvas, jewellery, chair or a book?
You stay calm and just start at the beginning. First things first. No, not at the audience. That's distracting. Not so much the many tight suits with the shiny shoes underneath. At most, it is the quantity of suits that stands out. But the dresses, worn by high-heeled ladies with red-tipped lips, cause more wonder. How can they walk on those all day anyway? The shoes are either elegant suede or colourful. The dresses come from shops you don't frequent yourself. And sometimes the frilly wearers also wear a fur stole around the shoulders.
You hear a lot of French, German, Italian, Scandinavian languages, but especially a lot of English. People talk to each other and address gallery owners. They discuss the artworks with a greedy or critical eye. This is the place to be For connoisseurs. Eyes shine when there is a possibility of purchase in it. Because what hangs or stands here is - if it is your taste - not only beautiful, it is also a good investment. 'Fine art is the finest investment' a gallery owner rubs in delicately. And the Tefaf guarantees quality and uniqueness; certificates of authenticity included.
Anyway, although numerous, the crowd tries to ignore you for a while. You go in search of your own purchase. How to find that in this glut? Just walk into the first stand. And then you see a 'View of Assendelft' by Pieter Jansz Saenredam from 1634, which is immediately a special canvas. Because Saenredam mainly painted (church) interiors and here suddenly hangs a landscape. Unique. What a delight. You move on. You are delighted by a still life by Morandi, next to a canvas (with tear) by Lucio Fontana. And at the gallerist across the street, all beautiful etchings by Rembrandt and Durer. The etchings of war scenes by Goya in the same booth are disturbing.
Drop
Will this continue? All these top pieces of top names? Big chance it will. Because art collectors have been taking less risk in the last year. If they buy anything at all. According to research commissioned by the Tefaf, global sales of art and antiques fell by 7 per cent last year, from 46.4 to 43 billion euros. The main reason is the big drop in auction sales in China. While China was still the biggest seller of art and antiques in the last three years, the art market there has shrunk by 30 per cent due to a slowdown in economic growth and continued limited liquidity. The United States is now the largest art market again, with a world market share of 33 per cent.
Generally, art collectors play it more safe. And that means they sell especially big names at the top end of the market well.
Lots of Picassos
So at the Tefaf, you see a lot of Picassos. Etchings, drawings, paintings. And also by his friend Matisse. And other greats: Giacometti, Renoir, Urillo, Fernand Leger, Pierre Bonnard. You name it. It goes on and on. Caspar David Friedrich, Raoul Duffy, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. By him hangs a work the Minneapolis-based owner recently put on sale. For the first time since 1950, it can be seen again.
Those are nice things to know. That's enjoyment. The Tefaf offers surprises like that on an ongoing basis. Well, it is wonderful to realise that much of what hangs here now is rarely on public display. It is collector's art. Objects that have gone on sale after hanging or standing somewhere in someone's home for years. And even though the Tefaf is 26 years old, it is an annual celebration that all these galleries of repute have come together under one big roof and are showing all kinds of unknown objects. For example, colourful watercolours by Emil Nolde. Or 'Portrait of a gentleman in black tunic with white stand-up collar' by Velazquez (but the asking price is 14 million, so leave that one hanging).
Then let a San Francisco gallery surprise you: a small canvas by impressionist Henri Le Sidaner: 'Les arbres tailles' from 1901. Beautiful in colour, light and atmosphere. You want to know what those three women are whispering about, under those freshly cut trees. It's a needle in the haystack. Will you find it...?
First, take a rest. Because that is clear after the visit: Tefaf mainly offers an excessive amount. Even the fist-thick catalogue only shows a fraction of what the gallery owners have shipped to Maastricht. Hard to choose. You actually feel a lot richer if you can only enjoy the numerous works of art that are briefly shown to the world. And don't have to choose.
Tefaf Maastricht. At the MECC. Tm 24 March 2013. Open daily from 11am-7pm (Sunday 24 March until 6pm). Entrance fee 55 euro pp, including catalogue. 90 euros for two (including 1 catalogue). Www.tefaf.com
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