At Spain’s largest auction hall: “This is my last chance”

first impression arcade. A huge basement occupied by fifty chairs distributed in pieces and pairs for sale. In the background, a stage with seven twenty-somethings equipped with phones and computers is a kind of solidarity gala. In the middle is David Amorós, president of the Spanish Chinese antique collectors association and president of the chamber, who led the ceremony. A Chinese vase from the Qing dynasty was awarded two million euros on Wednesday; On Thursday the 21st (the date of this report) a hidden Ribalta in private hands is expected to sell for more than 140,000.

But the stones appear before Gordo. “I come to almost all the auctions and this one I will bid on a painting for 60 euros,” says David, a 41-year-old electrician. “I really love Valencian traditions and here you can find works by Pinazo or Germán Gómez. It’s a very distinct art style that you can’t fill the house with because your wife kicks you out,” this Velluters resident jokes. “Then there’s another battle, ‘Saint Martin shares his cloak with the beggar of Ribalta.’ I have never seen such an expensive painting sold at auction.. I hope the Generalitat protects this.”

A few chairs to the right are waiting for two boys with piercings and tattoos. They are Almez and Lara, born in this century, and they see antiques passing by like someone going to the theatre. “One day I was at the bus stop, I went in out of curiosity and saw a very beautiful carpet. The starting price was 150 euros, I still buy it,” he says, adding: “Although in reality we come for the experience”.

Lorenzo Blanco, who has been a regular at auctions for more than 30 years, has experience with carrycots. “I would go to Pasaje Ripalda market and sell my own works for over 15,000 pesetas. Now I come here because I’m retired and because It’s a good time to buy. Everything is so cheap art devalued” he assures. “The seller told me that Lorenzo has two types of art: those that sell and those that don’t. This art teacher, who has classes at Torrefiel, states that we now have much more of the latter.

In the background, the 290-lot auction continues – there is in-person activity but the largest sales volume is generated by phone and online, particularly in the Asian market – hammer prize pieces and it won’t be long before Ribalta emerges. digital catalogue. While all this is happening, 60-year-old psychiatrist Eduardo searches on Google for the author of the painting he just bought. “Apparently he is a Brazilian painter. “I loaded the poster like in the movies and saved it for 550 euros,” he says. “I’m a bit of an artist because I’m interested in neuromarketing and I’m taking my first steps into graphic design. I usually bid on Ebay too but this is more stressful, you have to click at the last second. “You are here at the expense of what the lord of the altar commands,” the 64-year-old doctor continues. “In this room It’s not about luck, it’s about money. Although some of us are coming to play too.”

Auction houses although they offer in-person presence adapted to online transactions After a history full of changes. The current pattern of buying and selling initially arose as a model for the allocation of slaves and goods acquired in conquests; However, it was not until the 17th century that it began to be systematically implemented in Scandinavian countries. It is thought that the first auction house in history was Stockholms Auktionsverk, which was founded in 1674 on the initiative of the then governor of Stockholm, Baron Claes Rålamb. Later, large firms such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s proliferated, and others such as Durán Arte y Subastas or Ansorena were consolidated in Madrid.

‘El Gordo’ is coming

David Amorós continues to throw parties under the València bus terminal, and Emilio watches this ceremony with particular interest. He has a share in the auction. “My mother recently died and I had to give up the paintings because they had no place in my Scandinavian-style home.”explains the Monteolivete operator. “I brought half a dozen oil and watercolor paintings by authors I don’t know but who appear on Wikipedia. The chamber keeps the pieces for a month to show them to the public, and if they manage to reward them, they get 20% of the sale price,” says the 57-year-old man. “Darley Auctions is my last chance. No one on Wallapop cared about the images”.

In Wallapop, which was dominated by bargain hunters in the 17th century, interest increases when Ribalta finally appears on the screen. Maximum attention. The artist’s work for Cartuja de Valldecrist was the subject of an exhibition about the author’s life at the Valencia Museum of Fine Arts in 2015. “Lot 410 comes with a starting price of 140,000 euros,” Amorós said. “We have been looking for this painting for a year to bring it to Valencia for auction… (look at the back of the room)… and we see that there is no interest anyway. Auction canceled. We’re moving on to the next batch.”