From Delftware to Klimt’s Lost Portrait: My Favourite Finds at TEFAF Maastricht 2025

Pauline at TEFAF Maastricht 2025 © artfairmag

I haven’t missed a single edition of TEFAF Maastricht since… 2009! And the craziest part? The fair still manages to surprise and amaze me every time. 2025 is shaping up to be an especially successful year for TEFAF, kicking off at full speed despite a particularly tense geopolitical context. Dealers, collectors, and visitors were strolling through the aisles with big smiles on their faces—myself included.

The visit to TEFAF always begins with the discovery of the fair’s signature floral arrangement, with fresh florals by Ten Kate Flowers, which gets more creative and beautiful every year. And because old habits die hard, my first stop is, of course, Galerie Kugel’s stand—probably the best antique dealers in the world—where I worked for 8 years before starting my artfairmag adventure. I’m not the only one who appreciates the eclecticism and rarity of their pieces and, let’s be honest, you have to elbow your way in a little. The artwork that definitely intrigued me the most was the Eva Anatomica, the earliest recorded life-size anatomical sculpture, first half of the 17th century. At the crossroads of Art and Science, it was certainly commissioned for educational purposes by a major Italian or Spanish university of medicine. Originally made entirely of wood, the sculpture was later enhanced with wax at the end of the 17th century to increase its realism.

Eva Anatomica, Italy or Spain, first half of the 17th century. Polychrome wood, wax, metal, threads. Showcased by Galerie Kugel © artfairmag

One of the fair’s standout masterpieces this year—and one that sparked a lot of buzz—is the portrait of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, from the Ghanaian Osu tribe, painted by Gustav Klimt in 1897, the year the Vienna Secession was founded. The style is still naturalistic, before Klimt developed his signature touch, but the golden light and soft green background, sketched with flowering branches, already show his poetic eye. The profile of the prince is simply stunning.

Even more incredible: the painting is a rediscovery. Last shown in 1928, it was later looted by the Nazis during the Anschluss. A collector couple brought the damaged canvas to the W&K gallery—under the grime, a faint Klimt estate stamp was spotted. A quick call to Klimt expert Alfred Weidinger confirmed it: this was the long-lost portrait he’d been searching for for two decades. It’s the only known depiction of a person of color by Klimt and captures a key transition in his work. It also reflects a time when ethnographic exhibitions put colonized people on display. Offered at 2 million euros, the painting is a major rediscovery. And the cherry on top? A second portrait of the prince, painted from a different angle by Franz von Matsch, Klimt’s collaborator, now belongs to the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg.

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), ‘Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona’, 1897. Oil on canvas, 65,5 x 54 cm. Showcased by W&K – Wienerroither & Kohlbacher © artfairmag

Another curiosity of the fair was a section of Galerie Flore’s booth, entirely covered in thick moss, designed by Belgian florist Thierry Boutemy. It gave off a strong forest-floor scent and created a truly immersive experience. Nestled in the green alcoves was a stunning selection of ceramics by Bernard Palissy. These 17th-century lead-glazed earthenware pieces—dishes, bowls, and ewers—were of remarkable quality and looked absolutely perfect in this lush, intimate setting.

Another personal favorite was the perfect blend of old and new at Aronson. Inside 17th-century Delftware vases, contemporary artist Anna Volkova had arranged hyper-realistic porcelain flowers. Each petal, incredibly delicate, is hand-shaped and hand-painted, forming breathtakingly beautiful bouquets. I was lucky enough to meet the artist at the booth on opening day—what a joy to chat with her and hear her speak about her work with such passion and humility. Sadly, I couldn’t quite gather the €120,000 needed to take one of the four bouquets home. But some collectors were luckier—two had already sold by the morning of day two.

Other vases—of a very different kind—also caught my eye: those by the brilliant Italian designer Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007), shown side by side on the Friedman Benda stand, which dedicated a striking solo show to his work. The display mixed pieces from his 2006 ‘Kachina’ series with earlier works from the ’80s and ’90s, creating a lively ensemble of varied forms and bold colors, with Sottsass’s signature play on transparency. The glass works were accompanied by a 1964 sofa, a monumental aluminum bookcase, an abstract cabinet in Tamo (Japanese ash), and a playful chest of drawers in birdseye zebrano from 1997.

Solo show of Ettore Sottsass in Friedman Benda’s booth at TEFAF Maastricht © Friedman Benda

A more eclectic but just as inspiring vibe could be found at the stand of New York–based gallery Van de Weghe. Specializing in Modern and Post-War art, the gallery presented an elegant display, alternating dark grey and white walls, brought to life by top-tier works. A beautiful 1964 painting by Pablo Picasso, Nu Allongé et Buste d’Homme (Reclining Nude and Bust of a Man), greeted visitors, with four copper and zinc squares by Carl Andre at its feet—often overlooked by visitors who casually walked over them! The eye was instantly drawn to a bold “Smoker” by Tom Wesselmann, the carmine red lips echoing the bright red square canvas by Keith Haring from 1987. Two small, charming paintings by Andy Warhol would have perfectly complemented Bare Branches, a delicate and seemingly fragile sculpture by Alexander Calder that really moved me. It was also hard to stay indifferent to the 1946 oil on canvas by surrealist painter René Magritte, bearing the mysterious title L’Invention du Feu (The Invention of Fire) and featuring a suggestive, enigmatic composition.

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My love for painting is quite obvious in my selection of works! From the Old Masters, I was captivated by a stunning canvas by Melchior d’Hondecoeter, featuring his unmistakable birds set against a theatrical backdrop of ancient ruins. Adam Williams Fine Art was offering it for €450,000. Of course, there was Modern art with the previously mentioned Gustav Klimt portrait—an exceptional beauty that fully justified its €15 million price tag at W&K Gallery. And for Contemporary, I was drawn to an enigmatic painting by Antoine Roegiers at Templon. I’ve been following and admiring his work for years, and this piece, Le Grand Duc, was available for €35,000. Finally, because I simply can’t resist them—no matter how often I see them at art fairs—there was a François-Xavier Lalanne sheep. But this one, all woolly and extra irresistible, took the cuteness to another level. A pricey little wonder, though, listed at €1.2 million by Galerie Mitterrand.

With over 260 exhibitors spanning 7,000 years of history and an exceptionally broad range of specialities, offering a full overview of TEFAF Maastricht feels almost impossible. You’d need at least three full days of focused, methodical exploration to even begin to take it all in—and I’ll admit, it’s frustrating not to be able to dive into every piece that caught my eye.

So here’s a quick spotlight on my other art crushes: the extraordinary Miss Clara rhinoceros (1742–1745) by Petrus Camper at Kunsthandel Mehringer, the elegant secrétaire by Adam Weisweiller featuring Minerva at Galerie Léage, the bold oil and acrylic on Dibond Stranger Things by Xenia Hausner, positioned just outside the Landau Fine Art booth, Le Grand Duc by Antoine Roegiers at Templon, the striking Roman Artemis of Ephesus (1st–2nd century AD) at Galerie Chenel, and the beautifully curated booth of Tomasso, whose floor echoed a Roman mosaic panel from Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli—now transformed into a table. The rest of the space was filled with breathtaking sculptures, mostly from the 17th century.

In short, the 2025 edition of TEFAF was a brilliant counterpoint to the doom-and-gloom predictions of timid collectors and slow sales. Buyers—including major institutions—were very much present, and the fair dazzled with both its energy and its quality.

Tomasso’s booth at TEFAF Maastricht 2025 © artfairmag