Rating and value of works, paintings by Friedrich Overbeck

If you own a work by or after Johann Overbeck, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we will guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of the artist Johann Friedrich Overbeck

Johann Friedrich Overbeck left behind a very singular body of work, in the neoclassical movement. Prices for his works are now rising under the auctioneer's hammer. His paintings are particularly prized, especially by English and German buyers. The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €45 to €573,300, a substantial range but one that says a lot about the value that can be attributed to Friedrich Overbeck's works. In 2016, his oil on canvas The Banishment of Hagar dating from 1841 sold for €624,300 while it was estimated at between €459,000 and €734,000.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

The style and technique of Johann Friedrich Overbeck

Friedrich Overbeck was part of the neoclassical movement, painting mainly history. Religious subjects fascinated him. He drew inspiration from the Flemish and Dutch masters, but especially the Italians, using chiaroscuro above all.

The life of Johann Frierich Overbeck

Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789 - 1869) was a German Neoclassical painter. He was born in Lübeck. His father was a lawyer, as were the rest of his family. His uncle was a doctor of theology, and it was probably during this period of his life that he turned to religious subjects in his painting. In 1806, he chose Vienna to begin his career. He was a pupil of Füger, but Overbeck found that he was excessive about the expectations of the Vienna Academy, and said he wanted to withdraw into his own interiority in a letter he wrote to a friend.

He convinces himself that the original purity of Christian art has been corrupted by Vienna and the whole of Europe, even though he himself comes from Protestant pastors, and is therefore in tune with the Beeldenstorm and the iconauclastic crisis linked to the Protestant Reformation.

He therefore decided to go back to basics and take as his model the Italian primitives, those of the very early Renaissance, those before Raphael.

Always against the Academy, he founded with painter friends the Confrérie de Saint Luc in 1809, which was dissolved some ten years later. He decided that he was finished with Vienna and moved to Rome with members of his former brotherhood, notably Friedrich Wilhem and Peter von Cornelius. They avoided Antiquity and the Renaissance as sources of inspiration, because they were too pagan and artistically biased. The field of possibilities was thus considerably reduced, and they concentrated on Peruguin and Raphael's early canvases.

Overbeck eventually converted to Catholicism, and his group was nicknamed the Nazarenes.

Friedrich Overbeck's imprint on his time

Friedrich Overbeck completely turned away from his origins in order to lead a life that suited him better. Inspired by the Catholic religion, he painted religious subjects and churches throughout his career. In Rome, he enjoyed success, with high dignitaries commissioning frescoes for religious buildings.

Today, his work is highly rated on the auction market and sought after by collectors.

Recognizing Friedrich Overbeck's signature

Friedrich Overbeck's works are generally signed. However, with or without a mention, it is important for you to have the work appraised to ensure its originality and to be able to date it. In addition, there are of course many copies.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Friedrich Overbeck, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using the form on our website. A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it. If you wish to sell your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives to sell it at the best possible price, taking into account the inclinations of the market.